Thursday 18th November We breakfasted and collected provisions for our 9 hour flight without trimmings to Bangkok. As the skies slowly cleared after leaving a cloudy and rainy Melbourne, the landscape revealed below showed occasional lakes and rivers, winding through a vista of beige and olive green cut by an occasional road and very little else. We are very high up but there is little to see through the window of this part of Australia, sheltered to the East ...

Tuesday 16th November Once again a rather cloudy start to the day but the weather soon brightened. Melbourne appears to have a coffee culture, you either sit in a cafe and drink it or you walk around holding a cup of it. We visited the art gallery. A modern, purpose built structure housing some of Melbourne's wealth of art. We tagged on to a free guided tour, given by a very enthusiastic and informative gentleman. The tour started with an exhibition of indigen...

Wednesday 10th November After saying our goodbyes to Sarah, we travelled with Gary on the train to Melbourne Southern Cross station. They have both shown us such kindness, making a great effort to show us their part of Victoria. It's a part we wouldn't have seen without them as it's a long way from Melbourne and it is quite unlike any other part of Australia we visited.It played an important part in the development of the country. Sarah was not in the full peak ...

Sunday 7th November Drove up to the high point by the war memorial for the view. A large group of bikers had gathered to remember their fallen colleagues from the Vietnam war. We then went on to Hanging Rock through the rolling hills and past fields of cows and more enormous vineyards. It was a windy day with the sun making appearances from behind fast moving clouds. There were good views as we climbed the rock but it did have an eerie atmosphere and it was eas...

Thursday 4th November Said our goodbyes and Peggy drove us to the bus station (very early start) for our Great Ocean Road trip. They have been so kind and generous with their time, making us both feel very welcome, even the dogs! The tour bus was late but eventually arrived, driven by Foggy - the female tour guide who blamed a taxi driver. She won everyone over by recounting the tale of the moaning Germans on her previous trip. Our first stop was for breakfast ...