The Southern Bit

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The last couple of weeks have been a bit hectic since leaving Alice Springs. We have managed to cram Adelaide, Melbourne and Syndey into less than 2 weeks. Here goes:

The bus got into Adelaide late afternoon and we had 2 days to see as much as possible in Adelaide. I wanted to go round the Adelaide Oval, one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the world, and Sam wanted to go to a chocolate factory. She ended up having a Verucca Salt style tantrum and demanding an oompa lumpa so I caved in. The Oval tour was pretty good. It was the day before a Tour match featuring the Sri Lankan touring party and we were lucky enough to be around the nets while they were practising. I was stood about 1m behind a batsman facing Murali. Very good. Then we went off to the chocolate factory, although it was just a normal factory without any rivers of chocolate or squirrels or oompa lumpas. Quite disappointing.
The next day we went on a wine tasting tour of the Barossa Valley, the premier Shiraz area in Australia (they say the world). We tasted about 40 different wines, including a couple that were inxs of A$150 a bottle. I personally prefer the cheaper stuff, but there you go.

That was that for Adelaide. We then hired car to drive the 1000k to Melbourne along the Great Ocean Rd. This stretch of road has some of the most interesting features that have been carved from the limestone by years of tidal erosion. These include the famous 12 apostles, London Bridge, the Arch and many more. It started raining like you wouldn't believe half way through so we rushed around the second half, but it was still an excellent day.

What does every English person do when they get to Melbourne? They go to Ramsay St. Then they say "It's a lot smaller than it looks on the telly". And it is. We got to meet someone from the current cast (?) and got to tour the backlot. I haven't seen the show for about 10 years and was only able to correctly guess that Clive was the first resident of one of the houses. Very very cheesy, but good fun.
That left enough time to go to the MCG, one of the largest stadia in the world with a capacity of about 105,000, and have a mooch around there. Lots to see and lots of history.

But Melbourne was over far too quickly. We had a redeye flight into Sydney on Friday, with only the weekend to catch up on everything missed the first time. It rained from the moment we landed till the moment we took off on Monday morning. Friday evening we met up with a couple we toured Uluru with, then spent the next couple of days walking round the city. By this time budget was blown and we were both trying to conserve a bit of cash for New Zealand.

So that's it. Australia is done and finished. 3 months and we managed to see most of it, but will definitely have to come back and spend some time in Western Australia and New South Wales. We never actually made it to Canberra or the Blue Mountains, so there is still lots to do. But we are nearing the end of the trip. Next is 4 weeks in New Zealand, land of Glaciers, spectacular bungees, zorbing and Lord of the Rings...........

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Photos

London Bridge
This rock was connected to the mainland. It fell into the sea about 15 years ago with 2 people stranded.
Gutted!