We're fresh back from two weeks in Australia, and in the interest of getting something posted fairly quickly I'm starting with some numerical odds and ends from our visit.
18,912: miles flown round trip from Missoula to Melbourne, with layovers in Denver, Los Angeles and Sydney. The longest leg was about 15 hours from L.A. to Sydney.
Oct. 31: Halloween, the day we didn't really see because of crossing the International Date Line. (We did get to carve pumpkins with our niece and nephew in the Denver area during a long layover on Oct. 30.)
Nov. 14: the day that seemed double, again due to crossing the International Date Line.
17: number of hours Melbourne is ahead of Missoula.
92: value of the American dollar in Australian cents at the time of our trip. We came out ahead even with foreign exchange and ATM fees.
One: the number of Australian states we visited - Victoria. Hey, it's a big country. A continent, in fact.
Six: the number of cities and towns we stayed in - Melbourne, Port Campbell, Halls Gap, Bright, Omeo and Yanakie.
2,702: kilometers driven in our rental car. That's about 1,679 miles.
1.20: rough estimate of the average price we paid per liter of gas in Australian dollars. Equals about $4.18 per gallon in U.S. dollars. It cost more than $45 Australian to fill up.
6.80: price for a full-day tram ticket for Melbourne's central business district in Australian dollars. Downtown is extremely walkable, made even more so by the trams.
60, 80, 100 and 110: the most common speed limits we encountered, in kilometers per hour (about 37, 50, 62 and 68 in miles per hour). Sixty was normal in urban areas (occasionally it was 40 or 50 kph), 80 entering and leaving urban areas, 100 on most highways, and 110 on freeways.
Six: also the number of national parks we visited - Great Otway, Port Campbell, Grampians, Alpine, Mount Buffalo and Wilsons Promontory.
85: low estimate of the kilometers we walked in the bush; couldn't find distances for a few walks. That's almost 53 miles. Our longest outing was the 22K (13.7-mile) round trip out The Razorback to Mount Feathertop and back.
Four: number of mountains we walked up - The Pinnacle, Mount William, Feathertop and Mount Cope.
26 and 12: average high and low temperatures for our time in Victoria in Celsius (about 79 and 53 in Fahrenheit). By comparison, the high and low temperatures the day we returned to Missoula were 36 and 22 Fahrenheit (about 2 and minus 6 in Celsius).
30 and 70: SPF of sunscreens we wore. Still got probably the best tan of my life.
One: also the number of bushfires burning in areas we visited. Saw smoke from The Razorback.
Five: the number of koalas we saw. Also saw a handful of emus, wallabies, kookaburras and rosellas, and too many kangaroos and cockatoos to count.
Two: the number of AC/DC references we saw in Melbourne - ACDC Lane and a poster of Angus Young advertising an art exhibit we never found.
Six: also the number of microbreweries we visited - James Squire in Melbourne, Flying Horse in Warrnambool, Halls Gap Brewery in Halls Gap, Tooborac Hotel and Brewery in Tooborac, Bright Brewery in Bright and Grand Ridge in Mirboo North. (Victoria is home to 35 of Australia's 120 microbreweries, according to "The Beer Lover's Guide to Victoria's Microbreweries.") Bright's Razor Witbier hit the spot after walking The Razorback out to Mount Feathertop. Six is also the number of bottles of craft beer that made it home to Missoula in our checked bags without breaking.
One: also the number of distilleries visited - Timboon Railway Shed in Timboon. Tasted five liqueurs. The Nocino green walnut-based liqueur is delicious.
One: also the number of wineries we visited - Heytesbury Ridge outside of Timboon. Tasted four wines.
One: also the number of cheesemakers we visited - Apostle Whey in Cooriemungle. Tasted 14 cheeses.
Zero: meat pies or pasties eaten. Sorry, vegetarians here. The vegetable roll at the High Plains Bakery in Omeo was great, though.
Of course, there was much more to our holiday than this, and more posts will be coming.
