Goodbye Melbourne

In Melbourne we had our second accommodation hook up with our friend Chris. We met Chris when he lived in Brisbane with our good friends Alister and Kynan. He and his parents were so generous to take us in and give us a bed. We slept in the front room with the Christmas tree and lights, so it was the only time on the trip that it actually felt like Christmas. Made us a bit homesick. 

One great thing about Melbourne is the trolleys. I love trolleys. A city with trolley is always worth visiting.

Here we were in one of Australia's most vibrant cities, yet all we wanted to do was shop - but the frugal kind. For 2 days when we arrived in the city centre we caught the free trolley and headed out to Harbour Town, a two story outdoor shopping centre full of outlets stores. It's a dream.

Danielle only had one handbag. It's a classic MEC black shoulder bag with all the clips, zippers, and pockets you could need. They are convenient for travelling, but are unfortunately unattractive and I liked to refer to it as her "lesbicka bag". Finally, in Melbourne, D found an adorable and cheap handbag, into which she instantly transferred all her personal belongings. Lesbicka bag spent the rest of the journey in back seat with the motor oil and window washer fluid.

Being on this type of road trip we got used to using all sorts of types of toilets, but this one was not going to be added to our list. A dodgy stairwell leading women with week bladders underground? No thank you.

Here we are with a boy who has the same full name as our brother, and he may be tall, but he's not of the same clan. We also met his friend Katrina and they took us on the long drive out to Phillip Island to see the Penguin Parade. Just as the sun begins to set, the little fairy penguin waddle in to the shore to get back to their nests. It was beautiful.

The kind of road sign you will find on Phillip Island. They have people go out with torches to check under all the cars and watch as you drive out. It was bad enough seen all the dead roos on the trip, but I could not have handled seeing a penguin get crushed.

When we left Melbourne there was a new thrill to the trip, knowing we were really starting the adventure, heading towards the middle of Australia. On Christmas Eve day we exited the big city via the Great Ocean Road, a less direct route to Adelaide, however we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see the coast and world famous rock formations. I had seen them before, but this time I got to see them with a friend whose photos will always be in my album.



See that black dot on Danielle's chin? That is a fly. They are relentless when you are out the bush and will land anywhere. It's amazing that you can only see one, but they were all over us and followed us back to the car. Each time we got out it was a process of running to the spot for a picture, and then running back to the car while frantically waving them off and trying to shut the door before they have time to join you.

Our first encounter with Cockatoos, perfectly posed for us.

The iconic sign, which is in millions of photo albums around the world.

The beauty of the Twelve Apostles.



Other side of Twelve Apostles.

Loch Ard Gorge. We didn't bother going down this time. It was just too cold, so we got the picture and ran.

Danielle and the Snuggie at the last stop of the Great Ocean Road. Although still another beautiful lookout, it was very cold at this point and when you've seen one beautiful rock formation, you've really seen them all.

Danielle and London Bridge.

Mist along the great drive. It reminded me so much of Hawaii.

We made a lot of stops that day and only made it as far as Mt. Gambier for another night of camping, but this time in our new tent with feet safely enclosed.