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Published: December 24th 2007
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In my last post I was in St. Kilda, which is not a nice place despite initial appearances. It is full of hobos, tramps or vagrants, whatever term you prefer. We moved on fairly swiftly and decided to get a head start on our Great Ocean Road trip. We drove out of Melbourne to a place called Geelong, which marks the start of the Great Ocean Rd from Melbourne way. It worked as a good stopover for us. There are a few pubs dotted around playing live music and it is famed for Ford cars and Wool, apparently.
In the dull, grey skies of the morning we drove onto the Great Ocean Road. I felt happy that we rented a car as we wove down the twisty roads looking out onto the vast ocean, rocky cliffs and stretches of sand. Even the weather could not spoil it. There are lots of towns and attractions along this road and our first stop was probably the most important one for us. Most people probably won't know it but there was an Australian tv program that was on when I was young called Round the Twist. If anyone has watched the program they
will know there is no way I can sum up what it was about as it was nuts. Anyway our first stop was the lighthouse where the family from this program lived and it was apparently also used in Mad Max. At the back of the lighthouse there is walkway down to the edge of the cliff which provides another great view. The next leg of the drive involved spotting little dark lumps in the trees otherwise known as koalas. There was a small stretch of road where you could see these lumps every now and again sitting in the trees. We stopped to take photographs of a few. Other people seemed to stop upon seeing us taking photos rather than looking for the bears themselves which is cheating in my opinion. After having a chippy lunch we drove onto an attraction called the Otway flyover which is just off the coast. The flyover is a steel walkway which goes through a small section of rainforest. The walkway is generally about 20-25m high and this is also a tower which goes up to 46m. The idea of this walkway is to look over the rainforest and be closer to the
tree tops. It is a great idea as it is amazing to see the rainforest from this unique vantage point. As we were well into the walk around the heavens opened and the rain came and came. I was absolutely soaked through within minutes. After 20 minutes or so of walking in this downpour I was freezing but it was strangely enjoyable as the rain put the forest in a different light. It is a disadvantage living out of a car when you are soaking wet. I had to get Donkey to drive the car near a shed structure while I got changed using the old towel round the waist switch the undies trick. I am not too good at this trick so maybe some aussie shielas got a lucky or unlucky peek whichever way you look at it.
The rain kept pouring down so we abandoned the rest of the Ocean Road and started making tracks back in the direction of Sydney. the roads where so bad we could not see out the windscreen we had to stop at a service station and wait for it to calm down. So much for the Aussie summer. The next day
we arrived in Canberra, the capital city and our last stop before Sydney. The weather was a bit better and it definitely made Canberra look like a really nice city. According to the map we were pretty much in the centre yet I could see no buildings worth note before uddenly buildings seemed to spring out of the trees. I was also amazed at just how unbelievable quiet it was for a capital city. It made a nice change from the big cities we have been in for the past few weeks. The thing that lets Canberra down is that there is so little to do. It has a few shops and some buildings and landmarks, thats about it. It was definitely worth stopping there for a day though. On the night we went into the Canberra casino, where I ended up losing a massive $10 on roulette after being $5 up twice. Its a good job I don't have the money to gamble.
We drove on from Canberra the next day in order to arrive in sydney around lunchtime. On the way we stopped off a winery to do a bit of tasting. Both Donkey and I have
not got a clue about what you are supposed to do when tasting wine but the woman there was very helpful and seemed to turn a blind eye if we were breaking etiquette. From watching the film Sideways I know you have to swill it about and then smell it and say it smells like oak, salmon etc. The most interesting taste I got was of white port which I have never had before. I purchased a cheap bottle of 50% Merlot, 50% Chardonnay, which has been made from left over grapes from two wineries. Classy.
We arrived safely in Sydney and gave back our temporary mobile home (Toyota Corolla). we are staying in a hostel called Base Backpackers which is situated right in the city centre of Sydney. It is a really nice hostel probably the best I've been in, although after sleeping in the car I'd of been happy with a garden shed and a mattress. Donkey has had a reoccurance of an ear infection he got in Malaysia. I'm gutted for him as I can imagine how crap it will be being ill over Christmas. On the night we just went for a quick wonder down
to Sydney harbour to see the Opera House and the bridge. The whole scene of the opera house and the bridge lit up across the harbour is truly awesome. There was also the biggest cruise ship I have ever seen docked in the harbour. The opera house is really unique and pictures do not do it justice. Back at the hostel we were able to hear Karl Kennedy (from Neighbours) playing with his band in the club next door. I wish I could of gone in to see it.
Today I have been doing a solo tour of the city but I only ended up going to the aquarium, walking round the marina and doing a bit of shopping. The Sydney aquarium is absolutely brilliant and is by far better than the Sea Life worlds we get in England. The Oceanarium is the highlight where you can see massive sharks and a couple of huge turtles, who I personally think could take the sharks in a fight. Tomorrow is of course Xmas day and we will hopefully be getting down to Bondi Beach where most Brits go to be homesick and get drunk.
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