Blogs from Victoria, Australia, Oceania - page 618

So after two late nights out with Rob, I was very worried that I'd miss my 7 am pickup on Tuesday for the Great Ocean Rd. trip. My alarm clock was so quiet (with no volume control!?!) and I was so paranoid that I barely slept the whole night (or was that because I had no sheets on the bed and there were trains every 15 minutes right outside the window?)...so at 5:30 am I dutifully got up and checked out. I was at the bus station at 6:40; 20 minutes early! I wait....and wait.....and wait some more. I walk around a bit, thinking maybe I am in the wrong spot. I keep looking for the tour logo on any van to no avail. At about 7:20 I am sort of wondering what the deal is. ... read more

Nou, eindelijk is het dan zo ver, het gezin is eindelijk herenigd!!!!!!!! Wat een heerlijkheid zeg, dat witte donsballetje dat eindelijk lekker rondhuppelt in ons huisje!! We zijn allebei zo gelukkig dat onze kanjer het allemaal zonder kleerscheuren heeft overleefd, en belangrijker: hij is gewoon nog de oude!!! Hij is zo lief, en in een opzicht is hij wel veranderd: hij is nóg knuffeliger geworden dan hij al was! Hij loopt mauwend door het huis heen, continu rondjes draaiend om onze benen, en wil continu aangehaald worden! Is ook wel begrijpelijk natuurlijk, we hebben dat beestje door een kleine hel laten gaan, hij heeft heel wat stress over zich heen gehad de afgelopen maand. Maar gelukkig heeft hij alles overleefd, en ligt hij nu als de koning van het huis op zijn nieuwe mooie krabpaal ... read more

Said goodbye to Sydney and made a quick 24 hour stop in Canberra. Went on an excellent tour of the New parliament and the War memorial. Both highly recommended! Then headed on to Melbourne where I spent 5 nights with my friend Wendy and her parents on the Mornington Peninsula. Wendy proved to be an excellent tour guide and I managed a trip on the great ocean road, a pictoresque ferry crossing, a Brit Art exhibition in Melbourne, shopping and the highlight a drive to Ramsay Street. No sign of Lou Carpenter or Harold Bishop but it was great to see where Neighbours is filmed after 20 years of watching the show. Poor Wendy has never seen it so didn't have a clue whose house was which! Next stop New Zealand!... read more

It was 34 degrees when we landed at Avalon airport near Melbourne. From the air Victoria looked quite flat and dry and we had an extremely hot drive into the city. We dumped our bags at our backpackers on Elizabeth Street and set off for a walk to the visitor info kiosks, which we are now regulars at in every town, and picked up some brochures about Melbourne. Dinner was at a noodle bar near our guesthouse before crashing into bed, only to spend most of the night fighting to keep our ear plugs in with some very noisy neighbours in the dorm next door... Next day we woke to grey skies and torrential rain! Just our luck when Lisa had planned to take Keith walking the length and breadth of the city. So we opted ... read more

Hi everyone. So heres the update. Since monday been seeing a bunch of people everyday (lots of lunches). Was great to catch up with Mandy (SG) and will be going out with her tonight. Saw Stix and looks like he is doing great. Onto tourist happenings - went to the Melbourne Jail, melbourne museum, Shrine of REmembrance (I have a thing for statues), yesterday took a trip down the Yarra River and of course Ive hit all the bargain shopping hotspots. On wednesday went into all the posh shopping places and tried on exorbatently priced clothes that I could never afford - like R1000 for a dress. but it was good maybe in a few years when Im a millionaire. its been great staying with Gary and he has really looked after me. We had a ... read more