Accomodation in Wickliffe - is there any?

Wickliffe is just a tiny town, and accommodation is kind of limited. However, there are plenty of accommodation options in and around town. We've put together a list to help you out.

Wickliffe
There's no real accommodation in Wickliffe, other than the pub or camping. You can camp at the farm or at the footy ground (as soon as we get the nod from the Rec Committee). We're also planning to host the morning-after breakfast at the footy shed.

Lake Bolac
Lake Bolac is just down the road from Wickliffe. There is a lake there where you can fish, ski and swim (if there's enough water!) and this is the town where Ayesha went to high school. It's a bit bigger than Wickliffe, so you can find accommodation here. Try the Lake Bolac Motel, the pub, or the caravan park. Oddly, there are no websites for the pub or caravan park, so here are their details:

Lake Bolac Hotel
Glenelg Hwy
Lake Bolac VIC 3351
Telephone: (03) 5350 2303

Lake Bolac Caravan Park
Frontage Rd P.O. Box 73
Lake Bolac VIC 3351
Telephone: (03) 5350 2329
Rating: **

Other pubs in small towns close by
There is a pub in Willaura where you can find some cheap rooms.

Mac's Hotel in Glenthompson (03 5577 4301) or the Maroona Hotel (03 5354 7580) may have rooms, but they'll be basic. Give them a call if you want to check it out.

Dunkeld
Dunkeld is probably the best option for accommodation, although it is a bit further to drive than Bolac or Willaura. The Royal Mail Hotel has high-quality rooms, and there are several more options in and around Dunkeld. Dunkeld is a jumping-off point to get into the Grampians, so this may be a good place to stay before heading off on the next leg of your journey.

Ararat
Ararat is a major town with a highway passing through it, so there are lots of hotels and motels. We're not going to list them all on the blog - you can look at them here and here. Wickliffe is south of Ararat, so it may be wise to avoid those ones on the far north of town.

Also, it's about a 35-40 minute drive to Wickliffe from Ararat (if Mum's behind the wheel). If there are lots of people staying in Ararat, we can organise a shuttle bus so that there will be no hassles about designated drivers and avoiding roos late at night. Please let us know if you're planning to stay in Ararat so that we have an idea how many people may opt for the shuttle bus.

Ballarat
It takes just over an hour to drive to Ballarat, but it's closer to Melbourne so it may be a good option for accommodation and vacationing plans.

Ballarat is even bigger than Ararat, and has even more hotels and motels. [I think it has the highest density of pubs in any town in Victoria, thanks to the goldminers.] Again, it's not worthwhile listing them all on this blog, but go and look here and here. Try to choose a motel on the west-ish side of town. Feel free to check with us if you're not sure.

Hanging out in Victoria

If you're coming from the US (or NZ, or interstate), then you're probably going to stay for a little while and have a look around. We've put together a few suggestions for things to do while you're visiting.

[If you're looking for places to stay, we have some details listed elsewhere.]

Of course, there is a billion things to do in Melbourne! When we visited last Christmas, we had some wonderful tour guides (you know who you are) who showed us some graffiti, some secret bars, some bilbies, some empty space down at Docklands and lots of people at Southgate. It's the beginning of the footy season, so you may get the chance to check out an AFL game at the MCG (or maybe a local game at Wicky!). If you're less interested in sport and more interested in culture, you could visit any number of galleries - including the National Gallery of Victoria, and Heide. There are also stacks of places to see performing arts - Kristin may have some more suggestions!

Ballarat can be a fun place to visit. You can visit Sovereign Hill (an 'authentic' goldmining village) or Eureka Stockade, site of the Eureka Rebellion, or the fine art gallery and it's also kind of nice to lay around in the gardens (it's so green!).

Hamilton is not such a great tourist destination. You can see the Big Wool Bales, but apparently they're not all that fantastic.

South-ish of Wickliffe is the Great Ocean Road. It's a wonderful drive with beaches or cliffs on one side and the Otway Ranges on the other. We stayed in the very charismatic Princetown Caravan Park and enjoyed exploring lots of hikes, waterfalls, beaches, fish-and-chip shops...

North-ish of Wickliffe is the Grampians (Gariwerd). There's lots of good bush-walking, little towns to visit, wineries to sample, and cute B & B's where you can stay. Find out more information here. The Gateway to the Grampians from our end is Dunkeld, resting in the shadows of Mt Sturgeon. We had a wonderful meal at the pub last year - read some reviews here and here.

To get ahead before arriving in Victoria, you can read The Age to keep up with local news, or an Australian bent on world news.

Victorians - we would love to hear about your favourite places! Give us some more suggestions!!

whoops!

We made a little blooper on the invitations. Our address is wrong - but don't panic, the RSVPs are rolling in, so that address works as well. For your future information, the street address should be 826 Headingly Ave NW (not NE). Please update your address books!

Thanks to Trevor for pointing this out to us...

Getting to Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/Wickliffe

A few people have been asking about how to get to Australia. We have flown with Qantas, although Air New Zealand may be a good option if you want to stop off in the Land of the Long White Cloud. If you're trying to find a good deal, check out Cheapoair (a great suggestion from Megan). Also, Becky just introduced us to Vayama, where you can book flights and cars and find out interesting things about your destination - anywhere in the world!

Flying from the USA, you'll probably go through LAX. I've never been lucky enough to fly in or out of San Francisco, but I'm told it's a much more pleasant experience. We usually just put "Albuquerque" as our departure city and deal with LAX.

The closest international airport to Wickliffe is Melbourne (MEL - Tullamarine Airport), but if you find a good deal you can fly into Sydney (SYD - Kingsford Smith airport) . It's a short flight south to Melbourne (although you may be tired of flying by then).

Wickliffe is about a three-hour drive west of Melbourne, between Ballarat and Hamilton. Here's a whacky map from Travelmate that gives you an idea of how to get there (although it's kind of an interesting route). Travelmate also has information about hiring a car. We're thinking about getting a campervan for our outback adventure...

If you are thinking about renting a car, it may be a good idea to get to Ballarat and avoid driving in Melbourne. There are shuttles between Ballarat and Tullamarine, and Ayesha has lots of friends and family going back and forth who would be willing to offer rides. There is also a public train and bus service that goes from Melbourne all the way to Wickliffe (VLine).

If you have any more questions about getting there, please ask us. If you have any more suggestions - or find a cheap flight - tell us about that too!!

Out and about in Taos

Most of our guests are coming from out of town - thank you for coming to Taos!

There are lots of places to stay. We have reserved a number of rooms at the Sagebrush Inn - you can get a discount if you mention our names. If you want to live it up, Casa Benavides could be a good choice, but any hotel on the main drag in to town will be close to the wedding and the reception.

Apparently, there are no taxis in Taos (Ayesha finds this astounding but Howard is not surprised), so you may want to determine a designated driver before heading to the reception (or walk!).

There are a lot of good things to do in and around Taos, especially in the fall. The leaves will be turning gold, the air will be warm in the day and cool in the evening, and everything will smell fresh and beautiful. Hopefully the apples will be starting to ripen...

Howard has lots of suggestions for things to do while you're visiting.

Trips to the nearby mountains, the river, the gorge, the plaza are always a good thing to do. We haven't made it up Wheeler Peak yet, but we've had plenty of hikes around the river and in the foothills close to Jim and Claire's house.

If you don't feel like hiking, you can wander around the shops in the plaza or check out some of the museums in town. You can catch the Chile Line around town.

Taosenos - please tell us if you have any other suggestions for fun things to do or places to stay.

Out-of-towners, if you're looking to carpool - let us know and we'll see if we can organise something for you.

flowers for the Taos wedding

To all you green-thumbed New Mexicans -

We're looking for some help with flowers to decorate the San Geronimo Lodge. We would love to see a crazy mix of flowers brought to us from our friends. That way, everyone gets to take part in the wedding. We hear that chrysanthemums, sunflowers and rudbeckias all flower at that time of year - but you can grow whatever you like! Maybe you can just pick a few wildflowers on the drive into Taos... and grasses could look good too... Everything goes!

If you're interested in bringing some flowers for us, just bring them up to Taos and drop them off at the Lodge on the morning of the wedding.

Let us know what you're growing! Post some comments here or tell us some other way.

Invitations

If you're reading this, then you've probably already received an invitation. Howard made the illustrations of the tree and the apples on the stickers, because we're getting married in an apple orchard in Taos and hopefully under some river red gums in Wickliffe. The tree is depicted as a sapling, but the roots are thick, strong, and deep. The roots are you all, our family and friends that have help to make the two of us who we are. We like to think that we're branching off from those deep supporting roots...

We designed the invitation to minimise the amount of paper we used. You can tear off the bottom portion and send it back to us as the RSVP. [Alternatively, RSVP online for the Taos wedding at our wedding webpage and save some gas/petrol mileage/kilometreage by the postman.]

And one last note - your children and partners are invited to the wedding too! Their names may not be on the front of the envelope, but they are included. Just add them into the "number in party attending" on the RSVP.