Melbourne-Adelaide

Whist in Melbourne we managed to see quite a lot over the short period of time. The neighbours tour was obviously the highlight although I didn't get to meet Harold which was quite disappointing! We went to Erinsborough High, Ramsey Street and then met Dr Darcey. It was so wierd being in the street, and people actually live in the houses. There's a security car that sits in the street 24hrs a day so the residents don't get any trouble, as it has been known! Would have been good to see the set, but we didn't. I enjoyed myself anyway and so did Ian! We spent the following day having a good look around Melbourne, went to the Telstra dome one of the stadiums and had a look around the harbour. From there we got on the tram and went to the immigration museum, quite a Geography teacher thing to do but it was really interesting to see Australian immigration history. It would be a great Geography school trip! Obviously my favourite bit was standing in the cabin of a 1900's ship pretending I was sailing to Australia over 70days!
From there we went up to the observation deck to see Melbourne from above, 253 metres high, only half the size of the CN tower that I went up in Toronto, but still pretty cool and plus everything else in Melbourne isn't as high. We walked to Federation Square, Treasury and Fitzroy Gardens where we saw Captain Cook's cottage and a model tudor village. The cottage was transported from England and rebuilt. By then we were shattered from walking all day, went back to the hostel and then walked miles again in the evening to go to the cinema in the evening. Went to see 'Persuit of Happiness', good film, but 'The Holiday' still wins! Came out of the cinema and it was raining, but managed to see nice views of Melbourne at night.
On Wednesday we left the hostel in the car and went down to the Olympic Park area, Ian insisted on breaking into the Rod Laver Arena to have a look at where the Australian Open was held. We looked at all the courts, went over to have a look at Olympic Pk and the Vodaphone Area and then onto the MCG. We were hoping to watch some cricket, but got there to find it wasn't starting until 2pm and we couldn't stick around that long otherwise we'd have ended up sleeping in the car again. Ian was gutted we couldn't get in, so we hung around until 1:30pm, were going to pay to go into the stadium for about 5 mins to take a photo! They actually let us in for free (imagine that happening in England!), was a massive stadium. Put a big smile on Ian's face anyway!
We left Melbourne and started our journey along the Great Ocean Road, took lots of photos along the way. The coastline was unreal. We reached the 12 Apostles about 6pm, little dark for some photos. There's actually only 7 Apostles, I like the view the other side where you can only see two stacks.
We continued, went to several more lookouts, but couldn'y find anywhere to get any food. It really amazes me, how you arrive in what you think is a town on the map and it's got 2 houses and no food! We finaly arrived to Port Fairy our bed for the night about 9:30pm. The beds were so small, like sleeping in a cabin on a boat!
The following day we went to Tower Hill reserve quite early in the morning, we saw some Emu's, Wallabies and a koala asleep up a tree. We also found an injured Kangaroo, I felt so sorry for it, it couldn't move and was bleeding so we had to report it. We left there and went back to Port Fairy and walked around Griffith Island, it took about an hour, saw another lighthouse! Got some beautiful views. Drove from there to Portland, made our cheese and pickle sandwiches (I'm eating well!) and then drove another couple of hours to Mt Gambier. A large town which had an incredibly blue lake created from volcanic minerals. It really was so blue. From there we made our way to Robe, our bed for the night. Definitely the nicest hostel so far. The place was beautiful, big old house with fantrastic big rooms. It was so nicely done out, wished we could have stayed longer. We had BBQ and then played bingo!!
The following morning we had a wonder around Robe and then got on our way to Adelaide. We stopped at a couple of points along the 128kms of Coorong National Park. The expanse was unbelievable, just miles and miles of sand and dunes. From there we had a quick stop in Murrey Bridge for an icecream and then arrived in Adelaide. We said goodbye to the car and then Sue picked us up. We're staying with Gary and Sue, some friends of Ian's parents. They came to England last year, so it's nice to see them again and it's great to be staying in a house!
Yesterday I met up with Jess who I travelled with in South America. It was so great to see her! We met at the cricket Oval so Ian could get his fix and then we had a look around the city. Walked over the River Torrent and to the markets and the botanical gardens, saw the largest greenhouse in the Southern Hemisphere. We saw a random bird with yellow eyes! We left the gardens and wondered around the city, Ian and I bought a tent, cheaper form of accommodation! Then went to the bar where Jess works of a drink, it was really nice. Was kind of strange saying bye to Jess as I feel like I may never see her again, but we've become good friends. So hopefully we will see eachother again. Gary and Sue picked us up and they took us for a meal. Ian had kangaroo, was quite nice. Today Gary and Sue took us out after Gary's delicious beakfast. We went to Glenelg and Brighton, the beach areas of Adelaide. There's a lovely marina and some great houses down there....I want one! It's absolutely boiling here, 38 degrees. Hottest day of their summer so far! I'm glad the house is airconditioned!
Tomorrow we're flying up to Alice Springs, meeting Ang and Pete on Tuesday and travelling with them to Uluru (Ayers rock), camping along the way....could be interesting!