Australia - Adelaide to Melbourne (3 day tour)

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We left Adelaide at 7am on Sunday 22 July with our tour group of 22 people. We drove through the Adelaide Hills stopping at a 'Pink Lake' before entering the Grampians National Park. Here, we hiked up Hollow Mountain giving us great views of the surrounding area. After some more driving, we stopped in a small town for lunch before continuing to Mackenzie Falls. We spent an hour at the Falls and then drove to The Balconies and Reeds Lookout to see the sunset. Just down the road was our dorm accommodation where our guide cooked us a delicious spaghetti bolognese. We spent the evening in the cosy living room with log fire and played cards, read magazines and then watched the Formula 1 European Grand Prix. On Monday we woke up at 6.30am and drove to the base of the Pinnacles. It took just over an hour to climb to the top and we spent some time admiring the views. After our descent, we went to an aboriginal culture centre and watched a DVD before walking around the museum. Ian and I then walked around the surrounding gardens and played with the kangaroos. After driving further south, we stopped in another small town for lunch before continuing on to the Great Ocean Road. We made a number of stops along the road including the Bay of Islands, Bay of Martyrs, London Bridge and Lock Ard Gorge before seeing the sunset over the Twelve Apostles. A further 1 hour drive took us to the small town of Princeton where we stayed in dorm accommodation. Our guide cooked a lovely meal again including mash potatoes, peas, sweetcorn, carrots, sausages, beef burgers and chicken burgers. After dinner, I read magazines and listened to music before having an early night. On Tuesday we woke up at 6.30am and drove to the Twelve Apostles where we climbed down the Gibson Steps to the beach. Our next stop was the Otway Fly, a 25 metre high elevated tree top walk through the cool temperate rainforests of the Otway National Park. A further drive took us to the gorgeous coastal town of Apollo Bay where we had fish and chips for lunch. Driving along the beautiful coastline, we passed through Lorne before stopping to go on a walk looking at koalas and parrots in the wild. Further along the coast, we stopped for an hour and went shopping at the surfing outlets. After another couple of hours driving we arrived in Melbourne at 7pm.

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