Blogs from Apollo Bay, Victoria, Australia, Oceania

My first week in Australia I got settled in with my Uncle Waz and Stu. I arrived in Melbourne airport and drive along the Great Ocean Road. We made a pit stop on Bells Beach and I had calamari for my first time. We then stopped at Kennet River and saw my first Koala. :) I fed a few rosellas. Beautiful colorful birds, and a few cockatoos arrived. My second week in Apollo Bay I started part time job at Chris's Restaurant. I met the locals and met other wonderful people. I have been to see 12 Apostles and then Marina falls. I have been here for 6 months now and I am getting ready to head to the east coast on May 31, 2011. Till then folks!! :) text=Text or ... read more

So, on to Part 2 of our Oz experience… After flying into Melbourne, we hired a Spaceship and we were off! Our campervan was basically a converted minivan which was nice and cosy for 2 people. We had all the modern conveniences like a fridge and a DVD player. It was the perfect way to explore the Great Ocean Road. It wasn’t exactly beach weather as our daytime highs were somewhere between 10C and 15C, and the nights were quite chilly so we had to break out the sleeping bags and toques. In lieu of the beach we went to some nice waterfalls and saw loads of koalas in the wild (some even right at our campsite one night). The coastal scenery is simply spectacular. The Great Ocean Road is only about 250km, but we managed ... read more

What a difference once we got out of Sydney city centre. The traffic eases till we were the only ones left off the highway. Beyond the Blue Mountains the gentle hills stretch as far as the eye can see, the soil red, the grass golden and the sparse trees one by one surrendering to the unrelenting heat. The birdlife colourful, animals cute and insects of all shapes and sizes enough to make you itchy thinking about them. The heat knocks you out for six (which reminds me - well done England for stuffing the Aussies in the Ashes series). That was until some of the worst floods in Australian history arrived. It's been a great concern to all following years of drought normally experienced at this time of year. Unfortunately the weather has followed us ... read more

Left Mt Gambier early on Saturday morning and before we knew it we were in Victoria. Roads became pot-holed and windy, but that might be more as a result of the suddenly hilly landscape. Lots of pine and eucalyptus plantations, sheep and cattle in feed up to their bellies and dairies everywhere. Devondale seems to be here. Travelled through to Heywood then took the C191 inland instead of the supposedly more superior A1. There are no superior roads here! Port Fairy was a beautiful little town with bluestone buildings, huge churches. Very undulating right to the sea, with lots of heath covered paddocks (heath so we're told) and very few trees. We think it must be windy here! Warrnambool was also a real surprise for us. It is a city but with some fantastic views. Check ... read more