ATL couple spends night in Aussie gaol

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The day started out looking pretty bad...cloud cover and raining. We are headed for the Great Ocean road and hope for some good weather. The first glimpses of the coast in the rain has it's own beauty and intrigue. There is a bush walk into the rainforest so we put on our rainjackets and head out. It was amazing to see the mosses and ferns growing on everything.

The Twelve Apostle stone formations are as grand as everyone describes. You just want to sit and gaze. You may notice a pile of stones in one picture...one fell in July, 2005...there are eight left. Another picture shows an arch, in the 90's a stone arch collapsed leaving some startled tourists on the wrong side. Words cannot describe this section of the south seashore.

It was intriguing to begin to see the differences from NZ. The cows were all a different color. And they cows and sheep were dropping calves and lambs all over the place. Daffodils were blooming and it was like we had gone from winter to spring. We were glas for the warmer weather, not sure if I've mentioned it before but residential buildings in NZ & AUS don't have central heat. Everywhere you go you have to turn on the oil filled unit heaters you see at Home Depot. Never really warm until you're in bed for several minutes. The middle of the night going to the toilet and the early morning showers are quite "refreshing."

The cemeteries have a unique look also. I really enjoy seeing all the old windmills still in use to pump water into the remote pasture watering tanks for the live stock. Couldn't resist taking a picture of one aagainst the modern windfarms.

Ruth found a spot for spotting Koalas, which was quite fun as they are usually asleep in a furry ball at the top of trees. She also found a great wildlife area in a volcanic crater. We hiked to the top and found a kangaroo enjoying the view as we did. The rock formations were quite unusual. Got to Mount Gambier about sunset...had a nice dinner with the local wines and the next thing we know we are behind cell number 21 door in the old City Gaol (we say jail). Early the next morning Ruth saw an opportunity to escape so we took it. (Another hostel renovation).

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