Rainy Day

Since yesterday evening it has been raining continuously and is expected to rain all day. With the constant rains, there is nothing much to do other than sipping hot tea and spending time reading or watching something on the laptop.

The rains today made me nostalgic of the treks that I used to go on, when I was in Pune! It used to be the same weather and a bunch of freaky friends who used to make random plans to explore new places in the rainy season. We used to pack and carry some light snacks and start-off early morning by the public transport that's convenient and centrally located to all. We used to reach the trekking site pretty early with an intention of covering most of the places nearby. It used to be an absolute pleasure to the eyes to see the lush green farms that we used to pass by. It used to be fun to get drenched in the heavy showers as we climbed and walked. Just to overcome the chill, we would often have a cup of tea when we spot a "tapri" (a small tea house). On reaching the destination, there used to be nothing more to relish than the variety of eatables that all of us used to carry. After a lots of roaming around and rejoicing we used to start our return journey.

Each trip gave us new experiences and innumerable teachings of combating unexpected situations and reacting smartly to those keeping aside our fears. I truly cherish those moments not only because they were good lessons in life but because their remembrance still binds me strongly with my friends!  

Porcupine

We met a spiny rodent yesterday while heading to one of the beaches in Nepean National Park. Yes, a Porcupine!

 

It was a creepy creature busy digging the sand to find some food. I had heard that Porcupines have a coat of sharp spines to fight its predators but got to experience this fact only yesterday! 

We were surprised to meet this little fellow exactly at the same place as we returned after our site seeing. Maybe he was down on luck yesterday!

Blackburn Lake Santuary

To enjoy the fresh air, we went on a nature trail along the Blackburn Lake which is quite near to our house. This place is one of the natural bushlands in Melbourne and is surrounded by extensive network of walking tracks for the residents to enjoy. It also a had nice play area for kids.

As we walked along the trail we came across a number of spots which gave a nice view of the lake. People were relaxing on the wooden dock like construction 'The Landing'. On our way we came across pine trees which had number of dried pine cones hanging in huge numbers. It was the first time I saw these many pine cone laden trees in one stretch of a park.

It was surely a good choice of a trail to spend the evening!

Mordialloc Beach

"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." This could be the exact one liner for this beach trip!!! We just started our ride and continued straight on one road and drove almost 17kms and reached the shore of Mordialloc beach (that was really interesting..and its very common here with most of the places of visit in Melbourne, that you hardly need to use the GPS for directions, specially after being able to navigate without GPS in India..;P:P) The beach was silent but wonderful. There were quite a few people who had come over with their families as it was Friday evening. It seemed to be favorite destination for families as there was ample play area for children. There was also a beach hotel serving seaside delicacies. Kids were enjoying their play in the golden sand and elders taking a walk on the shoreline. Irrespective of age, all felt the soothing and gentle sea breeze rustle through and get them refreshed to have a great weekend. As we walked by, there were some jelly like slimy creatures (not sure if they were any marine life, surely not jellyfish!) that were just near the water and also a bed of seashells that looked soo amazing. Few were fishing on the shore-side but seems luck was not on their side that day! As it was almost 8pm by this time, people started getting parcels and enjoyed their meals looking at the sun dip into a pool of internal light and its reflection on the waves. We too enjoyed the sunset and orange hues of the sky and simultaneously clicked many pics as it was an outing that we had after a long time. 

Finally we meet the Kangaroo's...!!!

Melbourne has many grasslands in and around the city. Me and Praveen decided to go out for a drive on Tuesday evening to a nearby parkland called the Longridge Farm in Warrandyte area and it turned out to be a really exciting evening!! As we approached the lush green farms, we spotted out troops of Kangaroo's grazing all around the fields as we drove along. This was our first experience after coming to the Kangaroo land. The sunset skyline over the hilly region and the amazing architecture of the houses in the surrounding areas added to scenic beauty. It was surely a cool and refreshing place to visit often that we found out.