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Arrived in Melbourne after my two days stop over in Auckland and it was sunny, woop! I had met a family in Sydney over Christmas who live in Melbourne and very kindly offered me a room at their house so I stayed with them. I did some babysitting and some cooking for them to earn my keep! I spent a week in Melbourne all together and I did a variety of things. I had a day where I went to Museums and Galleries, very cultural. I went to St Kilda, where there is a nice beach, on the tram. I got talking to a couple of Aussie girls who are planning a trip to the States and went for a drink with them as it was St Patrick's Day. I also met a group of people who were working on a ride that travels aroudn the country and saw them again in Sydney. I spent a bit of time walking around the arcades in Melbourne as they are very cute and very English. I had dinner with Simon, Judy and their son James in St Kilda and then we went to see the little penguins up on the break water. They
are very cute and difficult to take a photo of in the dark without blinding them with the flash.
From Melbourne I did a tour along the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide. To start with we went to Bells Beach, a famous surf beach on the Surf Coast section of the GOR. There were lots of surfer dudes and dudesses there due to it being a Sunday, they are all so good, I can't surf at all I just end up feeling like I'm inside a washing machine. Took some photos at the Memorial Arch which is the third one because the others have burnt down or collapsed. We went for lunch at Apollo Bay and afterward we went for a walk in a forest to see some trees that aren't very clever because they grow too tall to live, snap, rot from the inside then fall over. Also saw a maple tree that might be three trees Eddy (our guide) didn't tell us which it was. Down Gibson's steps to a beach with very big waves that stole a girls flip flop and amazingly she got it back, we saw the first of the Twelve Apostles, big rocks
in the sea, pretty huge I have to say. Now there were never 12 of the Twelve Apostles I think the guy that foudn them jsut thought it sounded cool and they keep falling down so there are only 8 left but the name remains. I took a lot of photos of them so anyone lookign through my photos might think there are more than 12, I think I will forget why I took them all and just see yet another picture of a big rock, I hope I don't though.
The next day we visited a wildlife park and got to feed the kangaroos, wallabies, deer, wombat, koalas and monkeys. There were also lots of birds, one of which was very friendly and said hello to everyone who came past. I got to hold a snake, a flying squirrel, a baby wallaby and stroked a hormonal koala, he was a bit roudy. Went on the Pinnacle walk in the Grampian National Park, really good views and very hot weather. The hat and water were a good plan. That evenign we had a BBQ cooked by the Germans in the group because apparently English BBQs are always burnt... I did
try and correct that to no avail. It was a very cold evening and I even had to put on a jumper and sit in front of a heater!
The next morning was still cold but the walk down to Mackenzie Falls helped to warm us all up. Afterwards we went to a big rock called the Jaws of Death, it is shaped like big jaws. After a short lunch stop at Halls Gap most of us were on our way to Adelaide, quite a long bus journey. I met some of the people from the tour for dinner and said good bye to some who were leaving the next day 😞 It was a really fun tour with a great group of people and a tollerable tour guide, good all round.
Adelaide is quite a small city, but very pretty and it is the Capital of South Australia. There is also a half hour time difference from Melbourne which I found confusing if only to work out the time in England. I met a girl called Ina from my tour group for lunch in Chinatown, well the street that calls itself Chinatown at least. We walked to Tandanya
National Aboriginal Culture Institute and took a look at the art, most of which was quite provacative. Aboriginal people were not treated well when the Europeans came to Australia and there continues to be some very strong feelings in both directions. It was interesting to see some of these opinions displayed in art. Afterwards we bought a drink and sat in the Botanical Gardens and then had a walk along the North Terrace where the old buildings and State buildings are. In the evening a group of us from the tour met for some drinks and I went clubbing with the Swedish girls and their frind Mark. It was really cheesy music, a disco ball and flashing lights and dancing and I really enjoyed myself, its been ages since I went clubbing, it was a really good night!
The next day I went to the Barrosa Valley, a wine growing region just outside Adelaide. It was a lovely day and we visited 4 wineries and had a tasty lunch too. It was a very merry day.
I flew to Ayres Rock aka Uluru the next day so excititng!
Photos on the way I promise!
Lots of love, Jenny xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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