AUSTRALIA - Victoria & South Australia

Melbourne & St. Kilda

After arriving in Melbounre we were a bit shocked by how cold it was... a mere 14 degrees C. THIS IS AUSTRALIA, IT IS SUPOSED TO BE HOT! Even more depressing after speaking to Guy in Manchester where it was 12 degrees C, it really was like being back in England! We tried not to let this phase us and made sure that we wrapped up warm. Melbourne, however, is a beautiful city so there was lots of things for us to do, including the Victoria Central Markets, Eureka Skydeck - the tallest building in the southern hemisphere, I went with Caitlin to get her nose pierced, we took walks down south bank along the river and found cheap deals at the pancake parlor!

But I think the best thing we did in Melbourne was Neighbours Night! haha! Caitlin and I were picked up in the Neighbours Bus and taken across town, watching old re-runs all the way, and delivered to an intimate venue for the evening. We teamed up with some of the people that we met on the bus and got quizzed on our Neighbours knowledge... we didn't win but apparently it's the taking part that counts! The highlight of the evening was getting to meet some of the stars...

For the rest of the evening we were at the front of the crowd watching Dr. Karl Kennedy and his band preform :)
After a few nights in the city we moved to St. Kilda, St. Kilda is a small bohemian beach town just outside Melbourne. Luckily the weather was getting better by now so it was nice to browse the shops, walk on the sand and lie in the sun in the botanical gardens. We made sure we were back at the hostel in time for the free BBQ and a drinking session in the dorm with our new roommates.

Phillip Island

We wanted to get away from the bright lights and see what else Victoria State had to offer...destination Phillip Island. On our way over to the island we stopped off at a wildlife park and went to see some of the creatures that Australia is home to. We spent the morning hanging out with tazmanian devils, kualas, wombats, dingoes, peacocks, ponies, emus, cockatoos, kukaburras, donkeys and the most fun > kangaroos!

At the park the kangaroos were tame so we were aloud into the enclosure to feed and interact with them. They were so enjoyable to be around, seeing the babies in the mothers pouches, watching them fight over carrots and also having a lie down with the Big Daddy!

On the island there were some beautiful beaches to visit, although it was still too cold for a swim there were very nice for a stroll, watching the waves and rock pooling. One of the stretches of coastline is called 'The Nobbies' where there is a colony of sea birds (sorry, I've forgotten the name). there were a huge number of birds about and some cute fluffy chicks too. But what was more amusing was watching a bloke get attacked by 100's of birds for his tray of fish & chips!

The main event for us on Phillip Island came one evening at dusk.We wrapped up warm again and took some mats to sit on down to the beach. As the sun began to fall behind the horizon we were waiting for the "harking" of the Little Penguin as they came to shore to nest for the night. The Little Penguin is the smallest of all penguins, measuring only up to 17 inches tall! When they came onto shore we watched them in little groups waddle up the sand across the beach up to their nests to rest for the night - ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!

Great Ocean Road

Caitlin and I had heard from many people that no trip to Australia is complete without a drive along the Great Ocean Road. We sorted out transport to take us along the Great Ocean Road to finish in Adelaide (South Australia). As we drove the ocean was always in sight on out left hand sides. Not only was the coastline hugging drive picturesque but we also had time along the way to make some nice stop offs. On the first day we stopped at 'Bells Beach' one of Australia's most famous surf beaches, made famous my the movie Point Break starring Keanu Reeves. In season (winter) Bels Beach is home to the best surfing action in the country. Another interesting was when we just pulled off the main road to stretch our legs and were greeted by parrots (I think because the feed was out!). We spotted some of the wild Kuala's in the eucalyptus trees too.

We decided to stop the driving in the afternoon at Apollo Bay. We sorted out accommodation and headed to the beach over some small sand dunes that led to a bay rimmed by a pristine curve of sand. As the sun got cooler later in the day we took a walk out of town to the end of the bay and up a very VERY steep hillside to reach a view point to see the entire bay from above!

The following day in Apollo Bay was pretty active (by our standards! We made a packed lunch and head off on bicycles up the Barham River Valley. Once we got to the end of the road we left the bikes and went for a little walk through the forest alongside the river, crossing bridges and stepping stones that would take us to the Mariners Waterfall.

After our picnic lunch we headed home. Even though the ride back was mainly downhill we felt knackered by the time were were back at the lodge. In total we had covered over 27 km! After a well deserved lie in Caitlin and I were back on the G.O.R.. Similar to before we were able to stop along the way to marvel at the coastline features. We saw the 12 Apposals (now only 8) which are huge 80 meter high sad stone pillars which jut out from the ocean and have been created by years and years of erosion from the waves bashing at the cliffs.

Other interesting rock formation we saw on the way were London Bridge and the Salt & Pepper Shackers. We also went down the cliffs to explore Lords Arcs Gorge.

Adelaide

To be honest there wasn't a great deal to do in Adelaide HOWEVER it had been one of my favorite times whilst in Australia! We met some amazing people staying in our dorm and spent our time together being silly at the beach, going to chocolate factories (for the free tasting!) or partying all night and feeling sorry for ourselves the next day!

This was all of us dressed up for Halloween... TRICK OR TREAT!?