Our first stop in Victoria was Portland...and we were met with winds and rain! Welcome to the rainy state. It's about 20 degrees cooler and a lot rainier in this neck of the woods. It was the first time we have seen rain for 2 mths! Portland is a large-ish seaside town with nothing much to see or do when the weather is a bit rubbish and as there was no surf either (surprise surprise) we only stayed one night . However the great thing was we saw a koala very close up walking on the road!

We then headed inland to the Grampians. As the weather forecast was for rain all weekend, we decided to stay in a hostel as a treat and had a very enjoyable weekend. The weather wasn't as bad as predicted so we had most of the day dry to visit lovely waterfalls, go on some walks (without the 40 degree heat which was bliss) and see some great scenery, especially when we were above the clouds at Baroka Lookout...it was like we were on top of the world! We stayed in a really nice hostel and it was luxury to have a room and a double bed for a change!

After our nice weekend in the mountains, we headed back to the coast and visited Port Fairy and had a walk along the wharf before heading to Warrnanbool where we stayed in a nice campsite with a TV lounge so we had some luxury again and something else to do! The coast is nice here but other than the beautiful scenery of the 12 apostles and company, the Great Ocean Road is a little unspectacular. We prefer where we have been than where we are or where we are going!

We spent a great day exploring the scenery and visiting the iconic rock formations of the GOR - Bay of Islands, The Grotto, London Bridge, The Arch, Loch Ard Gorge and The 12 Apostles. We spent the next few days in the seaside resorts of Lorne, Anglesea & Torquay and Max got to do some surfing in Jean Juc (woo-hoo) The weather is still a little unpredictable down here so we can't really plan for anything so we are taking each day as it comes and enjoying every moment. When we have quiet times, we get to plan our wedding which is lots of fun too :o)

From Anglesea we headed towards Melbourne, stopping in Point Cook to see the RAAF museum and see an air display which was great! He even did some aerobatics (the pliot, not Max :o)

Then we headed to Melbourne. The weather had turned for the better so we were greeted with sunshine. We took awhile to find the campsite and it wasn't too far away from town so we were happy. The first day we just headed in to Fitzroy and mooched around Brunswick street, looking in lovely boutiques and having chocolate tapas in San Churro. De-licious :o) we had churros, hot melted milk chocolate, white chocolate ice cream, chocolate almonds, chocolate pretzels, chocolate truffles and strawberries....again, I have to say De-licious :o) We then headed to the city and had a look around the shops before going for a walk along the Yarra and heading back to Federation Square to sit in the sunshine before heading to china town for dinner - We have decided to treat ourselves in Melbourne. We headed back to the campsite late-ish.

The next day we drove across town and checked in to our hotel for 3 whole days and nights - soooo lovely! It even has a bath. We spent the afternoon watching movies and walking around St Kilda before heading out to dinner. As both Max and I have been to Melbourne before it is so nice to not have to be mad tourists, rushing around taking photos of everything and spending all day in museums. I even treated myself to a much needed hair cut! We also caught up with Tom and Lisa and Louise and Joe and had a lovely evening in Williamstown with great food and seconds!

I also caught up with Claire and we had a nice lunch off Flinders Lane before we headed to the Chill-In bar - a bar totally made of ice and about -11 degrees! Even the glasses, seats, tables etc are made of ice and they give you boots, a jacket and gloves to wear. We were only in for 30 mins but realllly cooled down. An interesting and unique experience! Melbourne is a great town to visit over and over and the weather was fantastic so we had a great time!

After Melbourne, we headed to Healesville and the Yarra Valley for a few days. We visited the Healesville sanctuary, home to everything Australian and got up close and personal with cute Koalas, especially a baby one called Benny as well as platypus, tasmanian devils, wombats and kangarooos. I think we have now seen everything either in the wild or in a park - we are all animaled out!! From Healesville we headed to Belgrave and took a trip on Puffing Billy, an old steam train which was really good fun.

Then we headed to Hoddles Creek to spend the weekend with Max's Aunt and Uncle and Cousin Rob and it was very cosy. They have a family run tulip and hyacinth farm and live amongst some beautiful countryside - lots of space and land and chooks running around the garden! We took a trip up to Marysville which is one of the towns devestated in the February bush fires and it was bizarre to see so many vacant plots that have been cleared that once had a house or a business. They have done a great job in clearing it all up and there were lots of visitors but nothing to do as they need to build the town up still.

From the Yarra Valley we headed to the Mornington Peninsula which is the boot below Melbourne and we were a little disappointed. The weather didn't help as it was raining but the towns were non-descript and had nothing much to see so we did it in a few hours and stayed in Somerville before heading to Phillip Island. Again, rubbishy weather didn't help however the the island is pretty ordinary. We ended up bowling and I lost spectacularly. It's always my idea and I should stop it as Max whips my bum everytime. I only won the last game as he bowled half of it with his left hand!! We stayed in Newhaven for the night and left the next day with the sun shining and a lovely weather day ahead of us.

We left Phillip Island and spent the day at Wilson's Prom, a beautiful area with lovely beaches and walks and we spent the afternoon on Squeaky Beach (the sand really does squeak when you walk on it!) and that is where we are now..... :o)