Rob the Pom

And so I face the final curtain.... it was time to head back to Sydney for my final night in this fantastic country. I was sad to be leaving Melbourne. It really had so much to offer and like the other cities and areas I have visited I know I have only just scratched the surface. The flight back was fast and uneventful, I got my favourite seat again (4B) and enjoyed the legroom of being at the front of the section (absolute result for those with long legs). The flight was quiet so the crew got chatting to me, and were fascinated to hear where I had been - they were quite surprised as to how much I had done and where I had been, and the "good on ya" kept being said. And so ... read more

Woke to grey skies - oh no! Can this be - a grey day in Melbourne. Well I need not have worried as after an hour the greyness had turned to brilliant blue skies and it was warming up nicely. As I left the apartment to wend my way down St Kilda Road and to St Kilda Beach I was greeted by thousands of runners taking part in the Melbourne Marathon - it was quite a spectacle watching the runners as I walked down to the beach - all shapes and sizes, from the most serious to the most leisurely but a very inclusive sport. At not even 9am I had arrived at the beach, and not a soul in sight - clearly most were still sensibly sleeping or still paying for last nights libations. Time ... read more

And so the flight from Brisbane to Melbourne and the final leg of my Aus-O-Rama. Another good flight down to Melbourne (turbulence permitting) and again the 2 and a half hours flew by. A great vista of the city as we flew in and being in seat 4b meant me being off the plane in now time at all, a quick wait for the bags and then off to find a transit to St. Kilda. Unfortunately for me a very unhelpful Aussie (the first I encountered) greeted me at the transit desk (think male equivalent to Vicky Pollard and Computer Says No and you have the person) and so I was to be stranded for two hours.... or so I thought. In true Mr Ben style an Iraqi man appeared asking me if I needed transport. ... read more

After a good night's sleep I woke up scratching away, somewhere between PD and Brissie a mosquito had decided to have a feast on me - interesting fact - did you know it was only the female mosquito that snacked on human blood? It was still quite early and I had the day to myself as all were working or away. I had decided to head into Brissie and do the walking tour from the Lonely Planet Guide. It had also recommend a good place for brekkie as well - which today was a light breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, mushrooms, orange juice and green tea - well I needed the energy for the 5k walk!! Brisbane is an interesting city - in parts very modern, and in other parts very colonial (more so than Sydney). ... read more

After a day's chilling in Port Douglas today's excursion was to the Daintree Rainforest and onward to Cape Tribulation where the Great Barrier Reef hits the mainland. We ventured through the town of Mossman which was reminiscent of many an outback town which catered for the needs of all within a 50 mile radius of the town. It was before 9am as we passed through, and there was little activity except for those heading to the local school. We continued on through the savannah or sugar lands of the region where harvesters were busily gathering the sugar cane for refining. Suddenly we entered the Great Daintree Park and immediately left the lush fertile lands of sugar and banana plantation to be met by a jurrasic forest, all now a world heritage site (but only since 1981). ... read more