so it was time to hit the road... mike rocked up with his wheels feeling like the newest member of top gear.... in the nissan tiida... this little babies automatic packed some real power (when compared to a pedalo), it did have cruise control which proved very useful on the long drives.
We were happy to be on the road again and excited about the prospect of adventures that lay ahead... We navigated melbourne's tram network only having to do a few u turns... and hopefully no driving infringements.
first stop bell's beach touted as the original home of australian surfing.. the surf wasn't up so we carried onto our next port of call, anglesea. very cute town with a pretty estuary inlet. Laura was really excited as she had been the first to spot a penguin, but dissapointed in equal measure as this particular one was dead!!
we carried on along the great ocean road stopping at every senic lookout.
it was so beautiful we wanted to stop every where... but our date with appollo bay yha was calling Laura's first night in an aussie hostel. As luck would have it, it was lovely
We awoke the next day and jumped straight back into the car to drive more of the sublime roads around the area. We headed inland to Stevensons falls through twisting mountain/ forest roads. The driving was beautiful!!
We attempted to find another waterfall first however we turned off the main road onto the unsealed roads (dirt tracks) and half way up drove past a road worker sitting down, reading with some sign laying next to him on the floor.........when we passed by Mike looked back to see a rather shocked looking road worker chasing him up the dirt track!! As the man got closer Mike realised he was carrying his stop/ go sign and the man confessed to having fallen asleep and that we couldnt go any further as they were repairing the road!! Assume he went straight back to sleep after that!!
So we carried onto Stevensons falls and again after some 8km off roading that Colin Mcrae would have been proud of (dont tell the car rental company) and a bit of a hike we found the falls!! They were pretty beautiful but Laura was a little disappointed that the water was a little too dirty to tempt her in for a swim!!
We went back after all our excitement and had a big lunch and went to the beach. Once the sun had disappeared with felt cool enough to partake in the beach olympics. Sprint races, triple jump, long jump and hopping races!! Hopping we're sure will be featured in the next olympics and Mike feels he maybe getting a call up after his apollo bay performance.
Slept well that night in our plush digs......free upgrade on the room from dorm to our own private room!! Result!! xx
The next day we decided to back track to Lorne a town we had passed through on the way to Apollo bay.
We did some more sun bathing before checking into our dorm. This really was Laura's first Australian dorm experience. We chose mixed dorm which normally involves 4 or 6 people in bunk beds. Unfortunately for Laura we ended up with ten others and Laura the only female!!
We met some cool people here though.........a local ozzy surf dude who had spent the last 5 years in Lorne surfing everyday. Top guy to talk to!! Sad we couldnt spend some more time there surfing/ kitesurfing and sailing together!! Also met some slightly less interesting people there too like the old dude who hated life and the world!! Got cornered by his conversation for a good hour that night before we made a lucky escape and watched at a distance as he drained the life from all others with his conversation!!
We also met crazy eyes who we were slightly worried about sharing a room with.......he kindly helped Laura out when the parrots attacked her but made sure he went and got his camera composed the picture and took a photo first!!
After lots of whisky and coke donated to the teamMclou charity by Ben and Fleur we headed off to bed.
It was a lovely night of snoring!! Wish we had had a Decibel meter to record the snores as these were louder than even Myra's and Uncle Peter put together.
We had a good night in the hostel but not the best nights sleep for Laura on her first night in mixed sex dorms!!
From Lorne we headed further west again past Apollo bay stopping at the twelve apostles and eventually to Port Campbell. It rained pretty much all day a common occurence for us when we have planned a day of sightseeing around Australias iconic natural wonders (see blog for Blue mountains)!!
This was not a bad thing though as we had a good night in the hostel in Port Cambell. We met some good people here and had a night sitting around the diner table sheltering away from the rain. We did try to get some booze but unfortunately Port Cambels bottle shop doesnt sell any booze after 8pm so we resigned ourselves to a night on the tea!!
mad Max and krazy Kim were from the netherlands and we had a good laugh with them. A couple of Brits arrived later and saved the day with a case of beer!! They were yorkshire lads on a cricket tour and were good for a bit of banter!!
The next day we were back in the car with Max who came along for the ride!!
Sun was shining so we decided to revisit those apostles and get some shots in the light!!
we also checked out london bridge to take many fckin photos. where mike nearly stepped on a snake....Laura and Max were very excited at seeing a snake and looked it up in max's sas book we decided it was either a death adder or a tiger snake.... both in the top 5 most deadly snakes in the world!!
After mike's close encounter we stocked up in walambool and headed for the grampians. on the drive we did a bit of primal scream therapy and saw yet another snake!! As we arrived in the grampians the kangeroos were out and about...mike was pleased to have spotted them first and also fascinated by the way they hop around.
we met another max that night from america we played drinking games and he told us about the fraternity that he belonged to it sounded awesome...just like old skool!!
The next day we had one of the best days we'd had in aus we went on an 11 k bush hike/climb to the pinacle and saw yes you've guessed yet another snake...this time a brown one...again in the top ten most deadly!! Laura was dissapointed that she didn't get a picture.
we then hired a couple of bikes from the youth hostel and went to a really cute cafe. A little gang from the hostel trundled off to mckenzie falls...the highest in autralia....wow beautiful!!
we finished off this day with a beautiful sunset from reid's point..amazing!!
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