In this next instalment of her Churchill Fellowship, Helena flies off to the land down under, visiting Melbourne and Sydney. In this first blog of her Australia adventures, she enjoys a well-earned holiday, taking in the sights of Victoria.
On 24 September I packed my suitcase once again to travel to Heathrow (via Bristol for a Board of Trustee meeting) for my overnight flight to Singapore, and then onto Melbourne. Unfortunately, due to delays and then cancellation of the train from Didcot Parkway, I jumped off the train, shared a taxi to Heathrow with a very accommodating ex RAF pilot, and began phase two of my Churchill Fellowship.
After twenty hours of travelling and a three hour stopover in Changi airport, I finally arrived in Melbourne on Thursday morning 26 September. First stop: a shower! Then I could begin my holiday adventure pre-Churchill.
Starting in the Yarra Valley (three wineries in one day and oozing hospitality and friendliness), I soon realised that wine, charcuterie boards and cheese are the best ways to spend an afternoon. Coffee and chocolate is also on the menu!
From there I travelled down through Melbourne to join the start of the Great Ocean Road and, over the next five days, I sampled the cultures, sights, wonderful accommodation and hospitality of Victoria in Lorne, Apollo Bay, Cape Otway National Park, Port Fairy, Grampians, Halls Gap, Daylesford and finally back to Melbourne some 1600km later. I am very thankful that my husband was with me and did most of the driving!
Arriving back in Melbourne, we had the weekend to sample Melbourne attractions, Philip Island and the penguins, before getting ready to start work and say goodbye to my travel companion. And, of course, see first-hand the changing Melbourne weather, thunderstorms and lightning!
My first day found me walking down hospital avenue on Flemington Road – past Melbourne Women’s Hospital, into the atrium of the Royal Sick Children’s Hospital to meet the palliative care team based there. An impressive hospital site located next to the hotel offers families pristine up-to-date care and facilities. The family hub is a friendly space with facilities (including a kitchen, tea and coffee, magazines, showers, a quiet room and access to friendly volunteers), a beanbag cinema, cafes, a supermarket and laundry! Each floor (from Underwater to Sky) is airy, and each ward (named after animals) is grouped into smaller pods, many with individual ensuite rooms.
Paired with Melbourne University, the education and simulation facilities ensure staff are competent and experienced to care for the children of Victoria. Acknowledging and paying respect to the aboriginal population is vitally important in Melbourne. The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which the RCH is situated, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. The Royal Park outside offers families a wonderful space for respite and play.
First impressions: what a vast country – with amazing food and coffee! I also got very excited by the wildfire and the seven kangaroos in my garden one morning!
Keep an eye on Together for Short Lives’ social channels for updates from my travels over the next three days where, armed with my Myki card, I brave the public transport system to travel to La Trobe University, Very Special Kids and Geelong to do a home visit!
If you missed the first leg of Helena’s Churchill Fellowship in April, you can follow her three week visit to Canada here: