May 6-7: Great Ocean Road Days
So ladies, if the only reason you're here is to find an Aussie man, you are in terrible luck. We've traveled from Urldunda to Melbourne, even mixing groups, without a single bloke in sight. Squatter has told us that if we're looking for a rich Aussie bachelor, we need to visit the Great Ocean Road homes over Christmas and New Years. So let me go ahead and make plans for that.. Not.
Girl Power!
The Ausie dollar isn't only worth more than the American dollar, things over here cost about two to three times what you would pay in the US. Everything except for flights, that is. Or so I thought. Jetstar is very cheap- a base price of $35AUD to fly Melbourne to Sydney-- HOWEVER, there are a lot of fees they don't tell you about up front (seat selection, baggage, Internet fees, etc) and changing your flight can be a nightmare. I had to do that the other night over the phone- thank you Squatter! Let's just say I had to pay a decent amount over the base price of the flight and I was not happy. I had a nice little conversation with the JetStar man who was NOT helpful.. And by the end of my phone call he had emailed me a $50 voucher. What in hades am I going to do with that!? I gave him a not so lovely piece of my mind and saw Squatter chuckle a little as I let the American from the south come out in me more and more.
Nick, you're getting the voucher, I'm hoping you can use it!
So note to self and others:
Buy the flight for an extra $19AUD just in case you need to make any change. At all. Or jut got with Quantas- I had a very pleasant experience with them (Syd to Alice).
Other than that, my experience along the Great Ocean Road was wonderful. We stopped at all of the lookouts possible, and the mostly untouched beaches were smoothed over by the somewhat rough, yet glass-like sea. They were absolutely beautiful. This drive also was a park- the Port Campbell National Park. It definitely was not a "you've seen one, you've seen them all" type deal. Each had a different type structure or story to go along with it, and these were true stories- not the dream stories I've told you about!
There were many shipwrecks along the coast and come to find out.. The Great Ocean Road is actually a memorial itself, built for the Anzacs in the First World War.
It was nice doing the GOR from Adelaide to Melbourne because it felt a little less touristy as people were mostly coming from the other direction.
We saw the 12 Apostles first, and quick fact is that there were never twelve to begin with. Nice marketing scheme there, AUS! Other stops included Bay of Islands, Bay of Martyrs, Shipwreck Coast, the Grotto, London Bridge, the Arch, Gibson Steps and walking on the beach. Lots and lots of beautiful views during the early morning until sunrise.
One of the stories involved a wealthy, married man. He and his secretary went to see the London Bridge along the GOR and were able to cross a bridge to stand on the rock. The bridge snapped behind them and they were stranded until help came for them- oh and the news! BUSTED. Later on, as they were in interviews , the wife called into the station telling everyone they were getting a divorce. Classic.
Both mornings, Squatter woke up and made us pancakes! That surely got me out of bed and ready for the day with a smile on my face! We were used to people handing us bread (sometimes stale) to toast and cereal that I ate without milk, so you can imagine how pumped I was for pancakes. Oh and ps, that was his choice to make them-- so nice!
Waking up in the Grampians, I felt like I was at camp. It was a chilly morning in what looked like our mountains in the southeast. Loved it! We headed out after breakfast and went for a hike- Pinnacle Mountain and the Balconies. It was beautiful when we got to the top. There was an amazing lookout, and mom would have died seeing how far we went to the cliff for pictures!
We ventured to the cultural center where we learned more about the aboriginals in a less biased environment. We saw two videos that depicted the dream story and scientific way of forming the Grampians. We then painted boomerangs of our own with traditional dot painting. I thought that was pretty fun. We got to bring out our creativity. Woo!
We grabbed lunch in town and went over to Tower Hill where we spotted a koala! Squatter woke him up in good fashion by banging on the tree to make him move! We stopped at more places down the GOR and had dinner at a quiet pub near the hostel we stayed at in a beach town. This hostel was interesting. Surf-style bathrooms and showers, meaning that there were stalls in the hall, showers that ran for 10 minutes at a time also in the hall, and a separate room for sinks. Interesting for sure.
Up early for pancake breakfast again and then out the door to see the rest if the GOR! We drove along the road and saw the waves of the ocean dancing beside us. It was a winning view for sure. We stopped in at the Koala Cafe for a much needed lunch. I tried shark for the first time! I had a Shark sandwich, and it was 1. Delicious and 2. Not illegal.
Squatter sat outside and all of a sudden parrots flew out of nowhere to sit around him. There were ducks, carellas, and some stork like bird too. Wow. Then we saw another group feeding them. The birds were flying around like crazy near the campground where we were walking and the would fly to your shoulder for food. It was cool for a little bit, but then they got a little pesky. I was there to see some koalas, and koalas we saw!
Squatter woke up a few by banging on the trees again. This made for prime pics since they sleep 20 HOURS per day!! Woah. They are so cute!
We stopped at the GOR archway sign and took pictures of course and then made out way to Melbourne to end our tour that night and drop everyone off along the way. Vera and I stayed in a room with the Colombian girl, Sandra. We went out that night for a good meal and drinks to celebrate the end of our trip. I was sad to be finishing it up and leaving a new good friend.
I felt like I've known Vera a lot longer than just 11 days! We've had a lot of good times and deep convos along the way, and I realized we're a lot alike. Thanks for the good laughs and being so nice the whole way.. Not to mention being my ice cream buddy! Miss you already and wish you were doing this next tour with me too! Have a great rest of your time I'm AUS and safe travels back to Holland. Can't wait to visit!
Our hostel room was a good last laugh. The beds were sensitively squeaky to the point where you would wake the whole room to roll over or get down from the top. I slept on the top bunk above some Chinese guy who couldn't speak English very well. First of all, he took my comforter- who does that!? Sorry you're cold mister, but layer up! There were some English girls in there. One was sporting a Tampa Bucs jersey.. Nice at first. Well after we had gone out and done laundry, I went to sleep about
1:30am and had to get up
at 6:30. English girls busted in at about
2am drunk off their arse and giggling. They turned on the lights and yelled "Hello room!" What in the bleep da bleep is your problem!?
There was also a French guy in there. Let's just say it was an interesting first experience staying in a mixed hotel room with 8 people. Oh the English.. I got them back early the next morning with my flashlight in their faces, going in and out of the room and packing up my bags.
Sorry not sorry :)
I'll give Nomads an A for effort but a C for quality. I'm sure it could be a lot worse, so my grading may change at any given point -disclaimer.
The GOR was beautiful, but I think that the outback was so unique that it's my favorite so far.
Tarryn, I really liked your city. I had no idea it was so big! Melbourne was a big city, but pretty laid back. I liked it. We found a cafe street and ate along there. I wish I would have spent more time there. But I have to leave more to see when I come back some day. I would definitely love to drive Sydney to Wagga to see Lucy and then to Melbourne to see Tarryn. Then on to Tasmania. One day!
