G'day from Perth!

Apologies for the delay but last 2 weeks have been hectic & we are now relaxing with the best hosts in the world Joanne & Paul! - Thanks guys! The house is beautiful, has a pool & spa(Hot tub) weather has been great & beaches are quiet here!

Since our last update we've checked out Melbourne, spent the first day finding everything, saw Victoria market - some bargains to be had! Found supermarket & internet cafe & saw wild possums in the flagstaff gardens on way back to the hostel!

On our second day we strolled to Victoria Harbour, New Quay & the Waterfront Marinas. After reaching the Yarra River we passed Flinders Station & the Australian Open tennis courts & Laver Arena. After lunch in the Treasury Gardens we headed to the houses of parliament & its gardens & down Bourke Street the main shopping street - lots of Opal shops etc!

Next norning was our Phillip Island trip, we were picked up around 12pm & stopped of at a nice winery on the way. Our next stop off was Mayu wildlife park where we got close to koalas & wombats & hand fed kangaroos, wallabees & Gaz braved the emus who nearly took his hand off - where's Rod when you need him! After lunch at the beach we reached the penguin island complex, we sat right on the beach & watched almost 2000 little/fairy penguins coming back onto the beach after fishing for the females & their chicks, they walked right past us - an amazing experience!

The next morning was the first day of our Great Ocean Road trip, we were picked up around 7am & taken along the most amazing stretch of road, great views over the ocean all the way & we saw the memorial arch, the 12 Apostles, Razorback rock, London bridge & the Bay of Islands the colours of the rock formation were really nice. On our way we stopped at Kennett River to see wild Koalas & parrots. The hostel we stayed in that night gave us a free wildlife show & we were able to hold an 8 month old koala who would not sit still! As well as a baby wallabee a python & others!

Next day we headed for the Grampians, we saw wild koalas again & a mother carrying a baby koala which was awesome! A pack of around 20 kangaroos ran past us through the trees as we headed for a lookout over the hill, where we found another large male koala as well as a great view! We saw lots of birdlife & the famous Jaws of Death rock formation, before an ozzie bbq & a few drinks with the group.

Next morning we were up early to watch young kangaroos practicing their boxing on each other! We walked into the Grampians, did a rainforest walk & checked out the elephant hide rocks & nice waterfall. We saw lots more wildlife & checked out the Aboriginal Centre to learn more about their cultures. Our bus dropped us into Adelaide around 8pm.

Adelaide was a lot quieter & we took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep! We looked through the shops & strolled around the sights, churches, town hall, Ayers House war memorials & the gouvernment building but more interestingly Haigh's chocolate store! Very expensive chocolate!!

We too a bus to Port Adelaide next morning & jumped on a $4 dolphin cruise which lasted 2 hours - bargain! It's the only inner city dolphin sanctuary in the world. Although industrial sites line the channel 20 dolphins are permanent residents there & we saw around 6! 2 of them came really close to the boat, jumped out of the water & swam underneath us - quality! We walked back to our hostel through the botanical gardens.

Next morning we took a trip to Barrossa Valley for great food & of course wine tasting! We checked out the largest rocking horse in the world outside a toy shop - random! Checked out a large tree where a German chap & his wife lived & raised 16 children - even more random! Then we got to tsate wine at 2 wineries before a great lunch of all we could eat salads, meats & cake followed by another 2 tastings at 2 different wineries after driving to a great look out over the whole of Barrossa Valley - really green with a fair few grapes! We checked out the whispering wall whish is the wall of a dam & you can speak quietly & hear each other 100 metres away!

After a chill out in Adelaide we flew to Alice Springs to check out the Red Centre. We relaxed at the hostel the first night ready for 6am pick up next morning. After a few hour drive to Yulara camp site, we walked into the Olgas - a ridge of huge rocks which look like the surface of the moon! We only walked so far into them as they are a sacred site for Aborignal tribes. Glad we didnt have to walk to far in the 40 degree heat! After lunch back at the camp we were driven to Ayers Rock (Uluru) for a short walk around part of the base & some info on what the aboriginal tribes used to use parts of the rock for - cooking, teaching etc. We drove to a great spot to watch the sunset & the colour chage of Ayers Rock & had champaign & crackers - which was very nice! The rock is an amazing red colour & both the Olgas & Ayers rock were formed as pressure was exerted on the two plates either side of Australia which pusched the rocks out of the ground. We had a bbq back at camp & got to try bbq kangaroo - not to our taste but not bad!

We were woken at 3.50am to go watch the sun rise at Uluru, we did a 6km walk all the way around the rock, it was amazing to see all of the cut outs & aboriginal artwork that is hundreds of years old. We resisted climbing the rock, which looks a little dangerous anyway! As the Aboriginal people do not like it as it is still used for sacred ceremonies today. We had a swim then lunch & looked out over Mount Conner, before a 4 hour drive to our campsite at the Kings Canyon resort - you don't appreciate how spread out the rocks are until you've been there! After dinner & wine with our group & toasted marshmellows! We hit the sack.

5am start the next morning for our Kings Canyon walk! The canyon is impressive, it is very deep & we got to walk into the corner of the valley where it is lush & green, we saw a huge reptile & wild kangaroo in the valley. Gaz took some pics from the top of the rim of the canyon, it's a steep climb & hard work in the sun but worth it for the views! After another swim back at camp followed by lunch, we began the 4 hour journey back to Alice Springs! We were dreaming of an early night before our flight to Perth next morning, but the guides had other ideas & the 3 of them took us out in Alice Springs for a great cheap meal at a trendy hostel then onto the only nightclub in Alice Springs! Bowjangles but it was a cool place & they played some cheesy tunes!

After limited sleep we headed for the aiport next morning, we arrived in Perth around 1pm, unfortunately Gaz told Jo & Paul 11am & they came to pick us up a bit early! - Sorry guys! It was lovely chatting to them about our travels & they have made us feel really welcome. We spent the afternoon in the pool before going to Samantha & Marcel's engagement party (Jo & Paul's daughter) We had a great night meeting the family, Sam, Marcel, Chris, Jodie & of course Cheyenne! As well as lots of others. After plenty of booze, prawns & limbo we headed home for a bit of drinking & a curry before bed.

We spent yesterday checking out the local sights, Jo & Paul took us to some lookouts over the beaches & Cheyenne spent the day with us. We met up with Chris & Jodie, Sam & Marcel again then played in the pool with Cheyenne before a few beers in the hot tub & another of Jo's famous currys!

The guys have been back at work/school today - Monday morning! So we took a walk to the beach, got our bearings before chilling in the pool. Jo did us a lovely steak for dinner tonight. We're planning on going to Rottnest Island tonorrow morning...

Still more to see so we'll update soon...

Take care guys, see you soon!

Love Gaz & Hannah xxx