Location: Melbourne
Miles Travelled: 28189
Time Zone: GMT + 11:00

Today we started our final bus tour with Dennis,Marijke and Cindy. It was the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians Tour. We got collected from our hostel and headed straight out of Adelaide. After some morning tea enroute we stopped to view Mitre Rock and Mount Arapiles before heading for lunch in Natimuk. After lunch we went to see the Mackenzie Falls which were well worth the rather steep walk down to them. We then arrived in the Grampians and went to see the Balconies (which are large pieces of rock which look like balconies coming out of the side of a hill) and got to check out the view from Reids Lookout. The view was amazing and looked like something out of a story book with miles and miles of rolling hills and valleys. Then it was off to Halls Gap where we were to stay for the night. We checked into our rooms and feasted on lots and lots of meat (or salad in Angs case) and then had a few drinks and played some cards before heading to bed. We got to know alot of our group who were great: Bob and Trish from Norfolk, Tara and Jacque from Canada, Lolly from England and Tim from Germany. The next morning it was up and straight off for a walk up Mount William Summit. The walk was painful to say the least as it was extremely uphill and the top never seemed to get any closer - however once we made it the view was again spectacular as we were on the highest point in the Grampians and could see everything. This is where our lovely group photo was taken. For lunch we went to Tower Hill where we were surrounded by wildlife, Koalas were in almost every tree and there were a couple of Emu's just wandering around as well as several lizards - it was brilliant to see all these animals just hanging around. After lunch it was on to several grogeous parts of the coastline: Bay of Islands, Bay of Martyrs and The Grotto. We arrived in Port Campbell just in time to dump our stuff and head out to the Twelve Apostles for Sunset. The sunset was lovely although the wind was freezing. The next day was our final day on the trip. We went to see LochArd Gorge and Cemetry before going on a helicopter ride over the Twelve Apostles which was brilliant as neither of us had been in a helicopter before and we loved it! There were two more scenic stops at Gibsons Steps and Maits Rest before we went to the rainforest for a little wander before lunch in Apollo Bay. We then headed to Cape Patin Lookout which gave amazing views of the Great Ocean Road coastline. We stopped at another similar lookout and performed a community service by cleaning a defaced Koala sign, well actually Cindy cleaned it but we did offer great support. Our next stop was Bells Beach, famous for being used in Point Break. We then headed sleepily into Melbourne. Once we'd all gotten sorted in our various hostels we all met up again for a few end of tour drinks and to celebrate Jacques birthday. It was good night out although we did struggle to find anywhere that stayed open late!!
The next day we had arranged to meet up Jacques, Tara and Lolly for some sun worshipping on St. Kilda beach. The beach was lovely although we stuck to the grass nearby and spent a few hours chilling out in the sun - it was lovely. After that we headed back into town and on our way to the hostel we bumped into Brian Cantwell (a university class mate!!) which was crazy. We did know he was in Melbourne but the chances of physically bumping in to him are hige so it was a bit of a shock for all concerned. Brian was off to Noosa for a long weeked to compete in a Triathalon so the only night he had free was that night. We had made plans to do the table quiz on our hostel that night with Dennis and Marijke so Brian came along. The quiz didn't go too well but we had a good night catching up with all the news. The next day we spent a whopping 4 hours in the hostel sorting out photos and burning them on Cindy's laptop. It was Cindys last night in Melbourne and with us so we all headed out for the evening to the cinema to see The Departed. The next morning it was up bright and early to go to the Immigration Museum with Cindy, Dennis and Marijke. The museum was huge and full of info on how Australia came to be. After the Museum we headed back to the hostel for lunch and to say farewell to Cindy who was heading to Sydney to stay with Odie and Scott! The four of us then jumped on the free city circle tram for a spin round the city to give us a feel for what there was to see. That night Julie and Joanne were arriving for the weekend and so we waited for them before heading for a few drinks. The next day Ang, I and Marijke headed to Melbourne Museum which we thought would take about 2 hours to see...ha ha. We ended up in there for 5 hours and only left as they closed. It was a great museum with tonnes to see. That night we all headed out to St. Kilda to the Elephant and Wheelbarrow. There was a live band on and we all had a great night. Tim even came along too as it was just around the corner from his hostel! Oh and we also found 2 guys taller than Dennis...almost a foot taller and that would make them over 7 foot....yikes! The next day we headed to the Old Melbourne Gaol for the free weekly show about Ned Kelly. The show and Gaol were both really interesting and kinda chilling as you got to stand right beside the gallows where so many were hanged! After the Gaol we went for a bit of a wander and I finally bought a backpack. We headed out for dinner and to the IMAX that hnight to see Ant Bully in 3D which was brilliant. 3D movies are definetly the way to go! We met back up with Julie and Joanne and headed to the Crown Casino and then to Chapel street that night. The next morning we headed to watch Ireland v Australia in the International rules, luckily Ireland won! After the game we went for a little wander through Victoria Markets which were great and full of goodies which alas we couldn't buy due to space shortages in our bags! That evening we just hung around in the hostel bar playing pictionary which was great fun.
After saying farewell to Julie and Joanne the next morning we were up and away on a Philip Island Penguin Parade day tour with Dennis and Marijke. On the way to the Penguin Parade itself we got to see lots of stuff including the Maru Wildlife Park. In the park we got to feed Kangaroos and Wallabies and see Wombnats and Tasmanian Devils as well as lots of birds,Koalas, Emus, Dingos and even Alpacas. We had lunch there before heading off and going to see Woolami beach and the Nobbies before going to the Penguin Parade. Although it was pretty chilly it was well worth the wait to see all the little penguins coming in from the sea and wobbling their way up to their homes - it was fantastic. The parade went on until 9ish so once we got back to Melbourne it was late and so we all hit the hay as the next day was our last full day in Melbourne and Australia.
As it was Halloween Ang and I decided to get into the mood and after having brekkie next door we headed to a shop near the market and got ourselves some costumes. Due to a very restricted budget and item choice we ended choosing some tinsel wigs and coordinated inflatable guitars...obviously we were going to be punk rockers. Shelina popped round to the hostel in the afternoon for a catch up as we hadn't seen her since we'd gotten to Melbourne. It was lovely to see her and to find out that she'd gotten a job and found somewhere to live which was great. That evening Ang, Dennis, Marijke and I went out for dinner as it was our last night together and in Oz. The dinner was fab and we all rolled back to the hostel to get costumed up and join in the mayhem that was the bar. Brian who managed to not only survive but finish the Triathalon managed to make it for a few drinks too and got caught up in the halloween vibe. It was a great night and a fab one to end on in Oz. The next morning we all got packed up had brekkie once we'd checked out. Ang and I headed to the post office and the pharmacy before heading back and saying farewell to Dennis and Marijke who were heading home.
It was sad to say goodbye but hopefully we will get to see them in Amsterdam sometime! After our farewells we headed to an internet cafe to do our blog...alas we ran out of time and so only got halfway before having to dash off to get to the airport and catch out flight. So I'm only getting to finish the Melbourne blog now but thats it complete. All our Oz adventures were great but it was time for us to move on.