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The Chocolate Factory
Dame Edna made from Choccies!So the last place I headed to before flying out of Sydney was Melbourne. I was staying just out of Melbourne in a place called St Kilda. St Kilda is on the beach and the hostel I was staying in was very nice. Their kitchen was being renovated so they were putting on free dinners and breakfasts for everyone – very handy! The first day I just relaxed and went to bed early as I was very tired from the Rock Tour. The next day, I took the tram into the city centre and used their free tourist bus to look around the city. Then I headed back to St Kilda to spend the afternoon on the beach.
I booked a Philip Island day tour for the next day. On this tour we went to a winery, a chocolate factory, a wildlife park and then on to watch the penguin parade! Every sunset hundreds of penguins (known as the Little Penguins as they are the smallest species of penguins in the world) emerge from the sea and march up the beach to their burrows. The weather was horrible - freezing cold and wet - but I really enjoyed it! The
The Chocolate Factory
Chocolate waterfall. Heaven! penguins were the cutest things in the world, and I was just amazed at the number of them. There were literally hundreds marching up the beach.
The next day, I went on a 2 day tour of the Great Ocean Road. There are many tours of this road leaving from Melbourne, with most of them being a 15 hour day tour or a 3 day tour that ends in Adelaide. I didn't have time for the 3 day, or the money to then travel back to Melbourne, so I managed to find a company called Ride Tours that was for 2 days. The trip was a lot of fun and I got to see the spectacular sights of the Great Ocean Road. On the first day, we did the boring bit of driving 6 hours straight to the other end of the road. We stopped in a few towns on the way. We then went to the twelve apostles to watch the sunset. Interesting info on the twelve apostles: There have been a varying number of rock stacks over years, starting with over 14, to around 9 since some have crumbled into the sea. No real idea why they
Wildlife Sanctuary
The cutest baby Koala ever! are called the twelve apostles, except that maybe the tourist board thought it sounded better to tourists! We stayed in a gorgeous hostel that night, with some of us going out for a game of pool and a drink at the local pub. I met one girl on the trip - Elaine - who I got on very well with.
The next day were again full of lovely views and lots of interesting photo opportunities. We saw the rock known as London Bridge. Part of it has now falled into the sea, where there lies another funny story. I think our guide said it happened in the late 90s, though can't remember now! A couple got stuck on the rock bridge when the connection to the mainland crumbled away. This obviously generated a lot of press, with reporters and helicopters watching the action as the couple were rescued. They seemed very interested in not showing their faces to the cameras though and were always trying to hide. Turns out they were having an affair and had told their respective partners that they were away on business, when they were actually having a dirty weekend! Classic!
Enjoyed the roadtrip,
the weather was a bit poo, but then brightened up a lot on the second day. My last day in Melbourne was lovely and hot. I met up with Elaine and we went to the Moomba Festival, where there were loads of stalls, carnival rides and watersking on the river. Was a great day! I did enjoy Melbourne, but have to say I preferred Perth. Still not a huge fan of these BIG cities. This was the last part of my trip around Australia. After Melbourne, I flew to Sydney for a few days, getting ready for my adventure in New Zealand! I have ABSOLUTELY loved my time in Australia. It has been a trip of a lifetime. New Zealand has a lot to live up to!
(As you are all aware, I am in fact back in the UK. Have fallen massively behind in writing my blog, but am determined to finish writing it! So bear with me as I relive my glorious adventure around New Zealand and Fiji!)
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