17 March:  We took a drive north from Red Beach with stops in Warkworth and Wellsford before driving out to Pakiri Beach for a walk on the beautiful pink /white silica sand. A stop at the Puhoi cheese factory yielded the purchase of their delicious Gorgonzola cheese and a couple of homemade ice cream cones. As we sat down to dinner tonight we were treated to the bright orange full moon as a backdrop. Everything is packed, and we are ready for our Australia adventure.

18 March:  Once again we said "see you next time" to great friends and headed to the Auckland airport. We returned out rental car...having driven over 6,000 km all over NZ. Our bags cleared the weight check, and we settled in to wait for our flight. The plane needed a new tire; so we arrived in Melbourne almost two hours later than planned. Got the rental car and headed to our hotel in St. Kilda. City driving is not among Buzz's favorite activities, but between the GPS and a call to the hotel, we found the Cosmopolitan without too much trouble. The location is excellent, and the staff very helpful. We settled in and walked around the corner to a small Mexican restaurant for a late meal.

19 March:  Frustration!!! I bought an Australian SIM card for my phone, but it wouldn't work. Turns out my phone was locked. Two hours on a Skype call with Vodafone, NZ and $30 later, I had a working mobile phone. We walked to the Jewish Museum of Australia and had an excellent guided tour. The Jewish community in Melbourne is vibrant, and the museum- completely privately funded- is a jewel. In the evening we took the tram into the central city to meet our friend Keith Walls for dinner. We haven't seen him for many years, and it was fun to catch up over a delicious Thai meal. When we exited the tram at Luna Park on the return trip, we stopped at Menchies for a serve yourself frozen yogurt sundae.

20 March:  We left the city and headed south for Torquay and the Great Ocean Road. The day was warm and sunny, and we drove as far as Laver's Hill with many stops along the way to dip our toes into the sea, walk to the Split Point lighthouse, and take many photos. Our stop for the night was at the Otway Junction hotel.

21 March:  The day dawned grey and misty and only got worse! We left Laver's Hill and stopped a short distance away to take a walk at Melba's Gully. This is a 45 minute loop track through a beautiful rainforest. It was only raining lightly, and we really enjoyed the walk. As we returned to the car, the rain and wind started in earnest. We wanted to see the rock formation called the 12 Apostles (only 9 cliffs remain); so we zipped up our rain jackets and set out. The view of these cliffs jutting up from the ocean floor was worth the walk through driving rain. We stopped in Peterborough for a pub lunch and pressed on to Warrnambool where we had a reservation for the night. A supermarket roasted chicken and some fresh sweet corn made a delicious "home cooked" meal. Later in the evening we went toMcDonald's for free internet!

22 March:  Today we began our drive north with Red Cliffs near Mildura in our sights for Sunday. We stopped at the Saturday market at Port Fairy as well as the tourist info center to check on the possibilities of detours because of a bush fire yesterday. All clear, and we had a beautiful sunny day's ride through the Grampians National Park....an oasis of green and mountains surrounded by flat lands as far as the eye can see. We stopped for a zillion photo ops and then at Lake Bellfield for a picnic lunch where we were treated to the sight of a large kookaburra and a few rosellas foraging around. At the Halls Gap culture center we got a lead on a motel in Warracknabeal.  

23 March: The Motel in Warracknabeal was fine, the meal at the local hotel bar forgettable. This morning we continued our drive north through miles and miles of harvested wheat fields punctuated now and then by huge grain silos. Our friend, Frank Tucker, met us on the highway and took us to see their paddle boat which we will travel on tomorrow. Then, on to Frank and Kay's home at Red Cliffs. We were welcomed as old friends even though we only met briefly in NZ two years ago. A wonderful way to end this week.