Monday 9th Nov - After a nice smooth flight from Auckland, we were confronted with stifling heat when we stepped out the airport at Melbourne. A bit of a shock to the system, but actually quite nice! After sussing out the ‘skybus shuttle’ we managed to sort out transport to Southern Cross Station, where we were able to catch a courtesy bus to our hostel – Perfect!
After a brief walk around the neighbourhood, we had a much needed early night. We had arrived into Melbourne whilst it was in the grip of a heatwave – temperatures were reaching 38C!

The next day we checked out the Queen Victoria Market, which has over 300 stalls selling everything from clothing to food to every possible ozzie souvenir you could ever want! Apart from 2 cheap and cheerful beach towels (which we’re pretty sure we will get our moneys worth from) we resisted everything else.
We had 2 main tasks for the day 1) arranging a hire car for the next 3 days and our Great Ocean Road adventure! 2) finding a new rucksack for Andy. His trusty backpack of no less than 8 years had finally called it quits. The front strip pinged – the clip had broken. Just to note – Australia has to be one of the most expensive places we have ever seen to buy a rucksack! Great! If only we could get to Blacks or Millets back home....
The car hire was fairly straightforward – following a recommendation from the hostel. The backpack was a little more challenging, but eventually we were successful. Andy was now the owner of a lovely bright blue backpack! As i like to say – it looks like he is carrying a giant smurf on his back!

Fortunately for us, the manager of our hostel used to be a tour guide who worked the GOR route – and wrote us a detailed plan to follow!
We had a lovely uncomfortable journey to the car depot on board one of Melbournes many trams - We were the annoying people with rucksacks – in the way wherever we stood. It was a relief to get off!

Once we were introduced to our vehicle for the next few days (of course we gave it a nickname...this time it was Feline Felix – it was sleek, black....i’d like to say it purred..but it tended to cough and splutter. All in all – it was utterly knackered, but we were just relived it had air con!)

The Great Ocean Road
After a nice smooth exit out of Melbourne, we were on the Princes Highway and well on our way. First stop – Torquay. We were unable to resist the lure of Maccy D’s. More specifically, the soft serve cones. 50c! Bargain!

According to the hostel managers route – we first took a break at Bells Beach. Unbeknown to us, the carpark we stop at is a good 15 minute walk to the beach. This wouldn’t usually be an issue, however we are harassed by hundreds of flies every step of the way. To passing traffic – we both look like we are fitting! A stunning beach - after swatting flies for 10 mins or so, we race back to Felix and drive along the Circuit Road around the coastline.

Next stop is Aireys Inlet where we walk to Split Point Lighthouse, one of the many that cover Australia’s 36,700km coastline. This one was established in 1891.
Further along the way, we stop very briefly at Cape Patton Lookout. If it hadn’t been for the aggressive flies we would have stayed a while longer to enjoy the views, however it’s hard to concentrate when you have numerous flies trying to fly up your nose/in your ears/inside your sunglasses! Still, there are magnificent views along the coastline.
Next stop - Lorne , where we have been given a tip off for a good coffee - Arab Cafe – and it doesn’t disappoint. With views looking out over the beach – it’s just perfect.
Further along the way, we pull over at Kennett River , hoping to catch a glimpse of a koala bear – we hear they like to hang out here. Sadly it seems this is not the place to be seen today, so we move on to our resting place for the day - Apollo Bay. As we go in search for a place to rest for the night, we stumble across a small backpackers hostel run by a little old man, who just happens to know Harrow. Its a small world! After filling in the necessary paperwork, we are given a set of keys and directed to a house further down the street. Well, we step inside, not sure what to expect – it is like going back in a time warp! With every possible piece of chintzy furniture you can imagine! This is great – we have a lovely homely house to ourselves! Bags dumped – we head back to the bay, stock up on some ciders/beers and set about some relaxation on the beach. Its just paradise! We are joined in our chintzy house by an older gentleman who has “taken off with his bike for the weekend – just me and the open road” (not so much a motorbike in our opinion, more of a moped scooter) and low and behold, he just happens to originate from London! Its a small old world.

The next day, we continue on our GOR journey and veer off at the Cape Otway national park, heading towards the Cape Otway light station. Once we finally reach the lightstation, we are disappointed to find that you must pay to visit it and they have made sure there is no chance of catching a glimpse (very tall fences and gates!) without paying the admission fee! We decide to skip it and head back out...but the detour is not a wasted journey. We manage to spot numerous koala bears up in the trees along the way! They are allot bigger than we had imagined, and look down inquisitively at us....mostly though, they are just so cute! Who needs lighthouses when we have these guys to look at !

Next stop - Gibson Steps, where we walk down to another paradise beach (whilst heeding the many warnings signposted about snakes in the area – such a friendly environment here!)

Next stop – The Big One! The 12 Apostles (or rather, 4 apostles that we can see) Although the sky is clear when we arrive, within 10-15 mins a huge veil of thick mist has descended over the area. We are relieved to have had a clear view of them at all – they are phenomenal to see – somewhat mystical we think!
There is still plenty more to see! Next we visit Loch Ard Gorge, Island Arch and Razorback – all amazing rock formations within the ocean.

We decide to sort out accommodation for the night at Port Campbell , which results in us having a 6 person dorm to ourselves. In fact, there are only 2 other people in the whole hostel! A lovely lady (Margaret) from Perth and an Italian chap, who lives in China and is hitchhiking his way around Oz! His stories about his experiences of hitchhiking in oz thus far have us all in stitches! Our final sights to visit for the day are London Bridge and The Arch. All the scenery here is absolutely stunning, emphasised and highlighted by the surrounding bright blue waters and sky!

The next day, we set off from Port Campbell and begin the journey back to Melbourne. Popping by the 12 Apostles for one last look, they look even more impressive than before, not a bit of mist in sight this time! We definitely got a bit carried away taking photos.

The plan had been to spend the night at Lorne, unfortunately (for us) due to the fantastic weather forecast for the weekend it looks as if lots of people were taking a long weekend, and everywhere in Lorne was booked! Nevermind, we would just continue onto Geelong and stay there – or so we thought. Little did we know – the only hostel there didn’t open until the 20th nov! Last resort – Queenscliff – and what turns out to be one of the most beautiful hostels we’ve ever seen! A cross between an old public house/a B&B and a hostel, The Queenscliff Inn has stunning period features – including a beautiful drawing room! The perfect place to stay for our last night. Our only complaint – what is marked as “Queenscliff beach” on the local map is nigh-on-impossible to find! We searched for a good 20 mins, before settling on a park close to the shoreline – nevermind, it was still lovely – except the aggressive seagulls!

Sat 14th nov – The Xmas Day Myers parade in Melbourne city centre!

We decide to return the car as early as possible to avoid being caught up in this (in our opinion) too early festivity!. By this point, Felix has acquired a mind of its own. We have established that the (non-central) locking is absolutely knackered. When we lock the doors or boot and head off – it is unlocked on our return. Also, whilst driving the locks open and close spontaneously. It’s like driving a haunted car. Luckily we manage to return it without too many hitches (except the stupid road layout near the depot, wherein we end up looping around the depot a couple of times and got shouted at by a bus driver for cutting him up (sorry but needs must!)

Overall a successful trip and our last stint in a hire car! We are passengers from here on in!
Our home for the following 4 nights in Melbourne city centre can only be described as....WEIRD. The Yellow Elephant Hostel. Superb location opposite Flinders Street Sation...but just plain weird. What appears to have been a 3 storey office block has been transformed into a hostel, with partition walls....that don’t quite reach the ceiling. It is like sleeping in a giant open plan office! At least the location is good...
We seem to have picked a very popular time to be in Melbourne. We are joined by the likes of Tiger Woods, Britney Spears and Nickelback! Fed Square is the perfect location to catch up on e-mails (it is in the 21st century and has free wifi!) and watch Tiger Woods play golf on the huge screen. We love the cushions they put out for people to perch on – its like an outdoors cyber cafe here. We also enjoy lazing around in Fitzroy park and gardens . Our gripe with the city centre is the apparent lack of cheap pubs! After wandering around for 45 mins and receiving 2 txts from friends in the area who confirm its pretty impossible to get a cheap drink(especially on a Saturday night) – we abort the plan and settle on getting ice cream instead.

On Sunday we have arranged to have a day in St Kildas! First off, perusing the craft market, but most importantly some beach time, followed by meeting some friends we made in Fiji – Corinne and Luke!

It’s not the best beach we’ve seen, but we are just thrilled to escape the sticky city! Its great to see some familiar faces! We head to a wee pub for some pub grub lunch and refreshing drinks. The day whizzes by, and before we know it we’re back in the city at PJ O’Briens Irish Pub and its 11.30pm. A really fun day!

On Mon 16th Nov We arrange to go on a tour of the Rod Laver Arena – Andy’s childhood dream. An expression of pure amazement spreads across Andys face on catching first glimpse of the courts. Our tour guide is not the most informative of chaps, and somewhat repetitive – he seems obsessed with reeling off which pop acts have performed here...in particular...’Pink’. Unfortunately centre court was setup for the impending Nickelback gigs....so we are lucky (?!?) to hear their sound check taking place. It was interesting to look around the grounds, Andy was utterly thrilled, after having spent many years waking up at stupid o’clock in the morning, to watch the ozzie open! Its just a shame we wont be here in time to catch any of the matches. We even caught a glimpse of the Australian women’s No.1 conducting interviews on one of the courts – and no , we don’t know her name!

Later that day we have another reunion with 2 of Andys Teaching course mates from back home - Colin & Alex. We head over to Richmond and catch up over a few drinks, swapping lots of travelling stories and hints and tips on future trips! (They give us some ‘must dos/places to visit’ on the east coast) A fab little pub and great company – what more could we ask for!

Tuesday 17th – A real Melbourne highlight – The Neighbours Offical Tour. Having dedicated allot of our childhood (and adulthood – that is until work started to interfere) to following this cult programme we couldn’t resist visiting Ramsey Street! Definitely the cheesiest tour we have ever been on (the guide did warn us) but really good fun. A highlight being the retro episodes we watched on the tour bus, there’s nothing like a bit of nostalgia! (And who doesn’t love Scott and Charlene’s wedding?!)
Our final evening in Melbourne is spent having a few quiet drinks with Luke and Corinne, who we may hopefully see in Sydney for NYE! (Come on guys! You know you want to!). We have had a brilliant time in Australia so far, the time is really flying by. We’re pleased to have done everything we had hoped to so far and are excited for the journey down the east coast to begin.

Cairns here we come!