Screeching Cockatoos             By Daryl Morrow

The birds gathered overhead as dawn broke and formed a rowdy flock, then headed north.

Buses and Trains

Silence now as Ken, Lee, Kaye and Daryl studied the timetables for a mystery day on the buses and trains.  The weather looked promising after the heavy rains of the last two days.

Whilst we waited for bus 902 from Eltham a Vietnamese lady took our group photos, she was visiting her son, but could hardly speak English.

The bus arrived and the journey had started. Later we caught bus 280 and stopped at the Pines Shopping centre, boarding bus 906 to Warrandyte, there was evidence of last night’s large hailstone storm, wind and rain, the tree leaves were stripped and lifeless on the ground and roadway.

Here we boarded bus 364 to Ringwood and gazed at the high rise apartment buildings near the new railway station which is elevated like a sky rail with a bus terminus on both sides at ground level.  Then we boarded bus 380 to Croydon, then the 670 to Lilydale, which is on the outskirts of Melbourne.

Here we decided to walk the long main street, marvelling at the earl architecture, some as early as 1850.  We had lunch at a noodle shop, very large serving, and then walked down Chapple St, passing an old brick church with a weatherboard chapel still in great condition.

Nearing one o’clock now, we decided to travel by train to Box Hill, waiting at the Lilydale Station.  The train pulled up and the driver alighted and locked the train up.  We were surprised to note the driver was a lovely female; we engaged in conversation and were surprised to learn Rachael was previously the local Postie and delivered the mail on her motor bike for years, how her life has changed, now she is the Lilydale electric train driver.

The train was a much better ride than the buses, through Mooroolbark to the high rise apartment blocks of Box Hill.  What a culture experience stepping out of the train down stairs one level to a very large food market.  Box Hill seems to be the love child of China.  Kaye, who had taught in China for 6 years, explained this is a carbon copy of Chinese homes, transport, shopping and employment; perhaps this is the answer to future development.

Well, what a great day of adventure and comradeship, nearing the end of the day now, but wait there is more – onto bus 293through and past Doncaster across the Yarra River stopping at Montmorency where Lee and Kaye live, Ken and I walked down Were St Monty to the train and I disembarked at Eltham whilst Ken journeyed alone on to Diamond Creek.

In the morning, we gathered together us four and enjoyed our time together, but as the day ended we dispersed and disappeared separately as shadows do in the night.

Written and photographed by Daryl Morrow, 23 January 2020 and still going.

darylmorrow@hotmail.com