We arrived in Melbourne just after 7pm and booked ourselves straight into a hostel for one night. We had an early start the following morning as we wanted to get our van and get out of the city. So one train ride and 1 bus ride later we found the 'Wicked' camper van hire company in a not so nice part of of Melbourne city and were handed over the keys to our car/kitchen/bedroom/living room for the next 10 days!

Our first destination was Torquay and the infamous Bells Beach which Ash really wanted to check out. The day we got there it was completely overcast and a thick fog hung in the air. If it wasn't for the sign that said 'Bells beach' we would have driven right past it. We later learnt from a local who'd lived in the area his whole life that it's never been like that in all the years he'd been living there!! Sods law!

Our first night in Torquay was a chilly one! After Ash cooked us up a delicious chilli-con-carni we folded down the kitchen table and made the bed. Because the van was so badly beaten up and dented there were drafts coming in from every nook and cranny - i was so cold i had to dig out my thermals for Alaska!

We awoke nice and early the following morning, feeling like we'd spent the night in a fridge so decided to get the van packed up and head straight for our next destination which was Bendigo. Only trouble was the van wouldn't start. Fortuantly a guy drove past after several failed attmepts of jump starting the car ourselves and gave us a hand. Within minutes the engine was roaring and i was ready to go, however ash had engaged himself in deep convosation about surfing and where the best breaks were!

We'd been driving for about 20 minutes when we decided we'd better stop for petrol but when we were ready to hit the road again the car, once again, failed to start. It was no good, we had to take the van back to Melbourne which wasn't too much of a nuisance as Bendigo was more or less in that direction!!

After making several stop offs in quaint little towns we arrived in Bendigo just after 6pm and cracked on with dinner - another one of Ashley's specialties, vegetable omlette and baked beans, I took great pleasure in watching! We parked outside someone house down a quiet street and into a col-de-sac in order to avoid getting moved on by the Police. The following morning we decided that 3 days without a shower was long enough and so went in search of a public shower. Supprise supprise there was no such thing in Bendigo so we grabbed our wash bags and snuck into Mcdonalds diabled toilet to have a wash and a shave in the sink! Now that's what you call students travelling on a budget!

Feeling slightly more refreshed we wandered around Bendigo town for a while and then headed for Echua, our next port of call which was the biggest inland port in the country, it was like stepping back into the late 1800's - smith and western style!!