Adelaide to Melbourne

Photos:
1. Rod Laver Arena - the Australian open (though i didn't get the whole tour because they were setting up for a concert)
2. old Melbourne Jail
3. old Melbourne jail
4. 12 Apostles at sunset
5. 12 Apostles
6. me on the Otway Fly Tree Top walk
7. ancient ferns
8. the Melbourne Olympic Complex with the Rod Laver Arena
9. Bay Of Islands
10. bay of martyrs
11. London Bridge
12. Lord Ard gorge
13. 12 Apostles
14. Mackenzie Falls (nice black rocks- lava)
15.16. 17. 18. hike to the Pinnacle- Wonderland Range
19. 20. 21. 22. 23. - Hollow Mountain- Grampians National Park

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Well, my day in Adelaide was catching up on things, and searching for a place to put my photos on DVD, without success.. I am starting to feel yucky art this point so i took the one day I had here to get some things done and rest.

The three day journey from Adelaide to Melbourne was pretty cool. This are turning green again and getting into more hills and mountains and of course on to the Great Ocean Road (on the list of places to see before you die- FYI)

Our day started with a 5 hour drive to have lunch in Horsham and into Grampians National park. Here we did a 1.5 hour hike into the Hollow mountains which may as well have been rock climbing without the ropes.. challenging again and again a great view from the top. We went to Mackenzie Falls and actually saw water flowing, even though it is the start of the dry season and the are in a drought here. We spent the night in a nice little place in Hall's gap.

We started day 2 with a 4.2 km hike in the Wonderland Range of the Grampians Park. The 2 hour hike took us to a spot called the Pinnacles that had an amazing lookout at the top. Here my knees started to give away, so I will try to take it easy on the down hills for awhile. After lunch we hit the official start to the Great ocean Road on the section referred to as the shipwreck coast. Here the shores are against sheer rock cliffs. We stopped at the Bay of Islands and the Bay of Martyrs for a photo stop. on to London Bridge, an island caused by the ocean bashing away at the sandstone and causing the earth to crash into the ocean. Lord Ard Gorge was where the ship of the same name crashed and killed all on board but two people who miraculously survived. The Twelve Apostles were amazing (though there are now only 8). Standing out of the water perilously awaiting their eventual demise into the waters that beat them daily...... we were here fro sunset. nice.

On the final stretch to Melbourne, we started the day at the Otway Fly tree top Walk. Like the zip line in Cape Tribulation, except that this one had 5 different platforms all attached and you walked to each one. They went from the ground to 47 meters above the ground! Another great view of the rainforest below. The next stretch of the Ocean Road is know as the Surfers coast. here the shores flow onto the beaches and back to seeing people swimming and surfing. That has been awhile! We stopped and checked out some sleeping koalas and some outlet stores for Rip Curl, Quicksilver, Billabong, and Roxy.. all Australian created clothing lines.

I am officially sick and have missed much of Melbourne, though did make it out yesterday to the Rod Laver Arena for a tour of where the Australian Open Tennis Tourney is held each year and to the the old Melbourne gaol... but I was so stuffy I sped through it without reading alot.. mostly what i got from there was that a lot of people were hanged there.

I finally got to have some garlic spaghetti for supper though with hopes it will scare away my cold.. I'll try more garlic tonight...

that is all for now... one more post from Sydney in a few days then off to New Zealand!