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Published: March 6th 2011
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After having had a wonderful week in New Zealand with Ben's parents, we were sad to leave their company and the wonderful country that is New Zealand. However, when we arrived at Adelaide airport, we were quickly swept away by our Aussie host, Sarah (Ben's former colleague from Charles Russell) who told us in the car on the way back to her parents' house (where we were staying complete with swimming pool and tennis court... who says travelling needs to be hard work?!) that she had meticulously planned our next 5 days... what she did not tell us was that she had also factored in a 6am run with her running club! Sarah is one of the most enthusiastic people I have ever met and, together with her husband Mark and her family, encouraged us to see "all of the best bits of Adelaide" on our short visit.
One of my favourite parts of Adelaide was the Central Market (the largest undercover market in the Southern Hemisphere) which has the most amazing top quality food... and coffee! Ben and I spent a good few hours wandering around and making the most of all of the delicious free samples! Being a
cricket fan, Ben insisted that we spend the afternoon exploring the Adelaide Oval (apparently, the prettiest cricket ground in the world!)
At the weekend, Sarah and Mark very kindly took us down to their parents' lovely beach house in Aldinga (45 minutes away from Adelaide) where we were taken around numerous wonderful wineries in the McLaren Valley with very generous servings I am pleased to add! Sarah also insisted that we run and go on long walks which we embraced of course! Having visited a local market one day, we had a sausage tasting that evening with all of the local produce and witnessed the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen whilst eating dinner...divine!
On leaving Sarah's lovely company, we embarked on the next stage of our Oz adventure... driving a camper van along the Great Ocean Road towards Melbourne. Apparently, the Great Ocean Road is one of the top 10 road trips on the planet! Being the poor travellers that we are, we could just about afford the cheapest 'Backpackers' van available... which was literally a white van with a bed in the back! That said, we had a wonderful time living the simple life eating
beans on toast on the camp stove! We visited so many lovely, quaint towns on our journey including Penola, Port Fairy (one of Australia's prettiest heritage villages), Portland, Apollo Bay and Lorne. Highlights for us were completing a long walk around the Blue Lake in Mount Gambier and seeing the 12 Apostles (spectacular rock stacks that rise up to 70 metres from the Southern Ocean). On first arrival at the 12 Apostles, we could only actually see one of them, due to the thick fog which had descended upon them. However, after 10 minutes of positive thinking, the sun burnt through and we saw the magestic Apostles in all of their glory.
The romance of the Great Ocean Road, with its rugged coastline, lush forests and overpowering sense of freedom was an unforgettable experience. Having completed this section of our journey, our next stop was Melbourne. It was very quickly evident that Melbourne is both the cultural and sporting capital of Australia. It is such a cosmopolitan city with its dramatic towers, art galleries, major sporting events, theatres, restaurants and charming river. As we only had a short amount of time in Melbourne, we only managed to squeeze in
a few highlights, including a trip to the MCG to watch a state game (with only 50 spectators in attendance in a 100,000 capacity stadium!), a visit to the Rod Laver Tennis Stadium (where Murray lost in the Australian Open one month earllier!), and a city tour including the wonderful Queen Victoria food market (yes, I love my food markets!)
The final stretch of our road trip involved driving up the east coast from Melbourne to Sydney. One of our first stops was Wilsons Promontory National Park ("the Prom") located at the southernmost point of mainland Australia. From our short drive, we saw spectacular scenery, unspoilt beaches, lush rainforests, an ostrich, a herd of kangaroos and a koala! From the Prom, we drove up to Paynesville where we caught a boat over to Raymond Island where we completed the Koala Trail. This was a 30 minute walk around the island which enabled us to see many koalas in their natural habitat. Ben and I spotted 20 between us (14 of them by Ben he has asked me to point out!)
It may come as a surprise but Ben and I actually preferred the drive from Melbourne to Sydney
over the Great Ocean Road. We found the scenery even more dramatic and the towns we passed through more stunning. Having completed 2,650 km in our little camper van, we were quite sad to give her back in Sydney. That said we were very much looking forward to exploring one of our favourite cities in the world. We love Sydney for its stunning climate, world famous architecture, beautiful harbour and wonderful restaurants. One of the great things about our time in Sydney was that we finally completed the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb (a treat which we were saving wedding money for). We tested our head for heights by climbing to the apex of Sydney's famous 'coathanger', 134 metres above the harbour. We left at twilight just in time to catch Sydney's dusk sky and returned at night when the city sparkled. We also fulfilled another dream of mine which was to go and see an opera at the Sydney opera House which was wonderful.
It just so happened that we were able to catch up with a number of friends in Sydney. Firstly, we met up with Phil and Jodie (a couple who we met on a camp site
in Melbourne). We had a lovely day with them wandering around Sydney and enjoying a boat trip around the harbour. We were also able to meet up with our friends from home, Michael and Nick, who just so happened to be travelling at the same time as us. We had a wonderful day with them - we had a leisurely breakfast and then worked it off by completing the Coogee to Bondi coastal walk which took in stunning beaches, parks and spectacular coastal views. We finished the day with a few G+T's and a lovely meal in Darling Harbour... bliss!
Amongst all of this, Ben also made me go to a local bar at 3.30am to watch the Arsenal v Birmingham Carling Cup Final. I thought that we would be the only ones in the bar at that ridiculous hour but there were Gooners coming out of my ears! Unfortunately, it was a miserable night for Ben as Arsenal somehow lost... I am in the process of convincing him to become a Stoke fan as a result!
We are now in Thailand and are looking forward to spending 3 weeks on a beach! Not long until we are
back in the UK so watch out everybody! xxx
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aine
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yey!!
can't wait to see you!!!!!!!!! have fun on the beach!!! xx