So long Australia

Hey guys,

After our awesome time in the center of Australia we boarded the Ghan -- a train named after the Afghans and their camels who were one of the first to forge their way from Adelaide to Darwin, to take us across country to Adelaide in South Australia.
Going an average speed of only 85km/hr, Conor and I thought the train would pick up speed at some point but it never did. After some nice scenery, a night spent in a reclined chair and twenty-two hours later, we arrived in Adelaide. We spent our day in Adelaide running errands and ended it by having dinner at Gleneg Beach -- a really nice european-style strip, full of cafes, and cobblestone walkways. We made it back from the Glenelg sunset and into central Adelaide in time to run for the free apple pie our hostel was offering. It was the first real pie I've seen since leaving Canada -- they only have pies filled with meat here.
To our misfortune we couldn't rent a campervan for less than 7 days so we rented a car to take from Adelaide to Sydney -- seeing the Great Ocean Road in between. This meant that we slept in a car for 3 nights. Uncomfortable but cheap. Every night we kept our eyes peeled for kangaroos and avoided hitting any. Among the plethora of wildlife (including bandicoots) we saw a kangaroo that was about 6 feet tall (alive), and one about 6 feet tall dead. We just had to take a picture to show you what drivers here are up against when they hit one of these babies.

We saw the Great Ocean Road on a nice and overcast day, it was wonderful -- perfect viewing of all the scenic lookouts like the infamous 12 Apostles. The winding cliffside road going toward Melbourne became a bit precarious -- very reminiscent of New Zealand, but it was gorgeous all the same.

We spent the next day in Melbourne simply looking around the city. Melbourne is a very artsy and european looking city compared to the rest of Australia and is like a combination of Montreal and Toronto, it was nice to be in a city again.

We only had a day for each of Adelaide, the Great Ocean Road, and Melbourne but I got enough of a taste to know that I want to come back one day to explore these places further.

We drove to Sydney today and leave for China tomorrow...
Five months to the day we leave Australia - it's been such a part of who we've been these last months making it hard to believe that in 24 hours it will be in the distance, and in our memories. From hard working days, to playing in the sand and sea, to encounters with kangaroos and life on the road - Australia will be missed, so long Australia.

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