The Great Ocean Road

The road along the ocean offers some breathtaking views. Chasing Cicco up and down the windy road, we arrived at our Motel in Apollo Bay. The owners were very welcoming and our room was superb. But somehow it must be alergy season here, because we were both feeling very tired and thus spent most of our time there sleeping. Never the less, it was a lovely town.

On our way to Portland we stopped at the magnificent old light house at Cape Otway. There, we saw a French couple, which, we would find out later, would accompany us for quite a while on our trip. :) We looked out at the open Southern Ocean, imagining that the next land you would reach would be the Antartica.

After reading up on the many ship wrecks in that area, we left for the 12 Apostles, the Arche, the Grotto and the London Bridge, all breathtaking rock formations formed by the powerful and thundering waves.

When we finally made it to Portland, our motel was a bit rough. It was situated at the back of a hotel in a dark back alley and quite a few drunks were lingering outside the rooms. But then again, it made the experience an interesting one :)

The next day we left the coast and headed north towards the Grampians and Halls Gap...

Melbourne and surroundings...

Hi again!

For our first day in Melbourne we thought it would be a good idea to leave the city and go on an organised tour to Philipp Island, about 2 hours south. We travelled in a minibus and our driver/guide seemed grumpy at first, but he turned out to be a very nice, funny and sarcastic guy. :) On our way to the island, we stopped at Maru Wildlife Center to feed Kangaroos, Wallabies and Koalas. Christine got up close with these huge marsupilans and got their sliver (salive) all over her hand as she fed them some kind of grassy mixture.

After those fury encounters, we finally made our way to Philipp Island where we headed straight for a surfer beach...since we forgot to take our boards, we just walked along the sea, watching the magnificent and impressive waves crash on the sand. :)

We stopped at the south-western tip of the island to get some tea and biscuits, while taking extreme good care not to have our cookies eaten by the thousands of seagulls which were breeding on the cliffs. We managed to take a walk on the cliffs without being bombed by the birds...which, considering how many there were, was quite a miracle :)

Later that night, after having had some pizza and having had some interesting conversations with a German girl from Cologne, a bird-watching Canadian girl, two Swiss girls from the Valais and a Malaysian family, we drove to the penguin center to watch the (apparently) famous penguin parade. After waiting for an hour on the freezing benches overlooking the beach (since we were wearing shorts), we were about to witness an amazing spectacle. All of a sudden, little penguins came out of the waves in groups of about 10, crossed the beach wabbling and walked up the dunes in order to return their sleeping holes. Unfortunately but understandably it was prohibited to take photos (although, as always, some people did) and we can't show you what it was like...but the pictures wouldn't have been able to give back this pure excitment and amazment we experienced that night... :)

The second day was spent in good company with Christine's friend Anneliese. She was kind enough to pick us up and we drove to Healesville, about 1 hour drive east of Melbourne where we had lunch and went to the Wildlife Park, where, yet again, we got to see Koalas, Kangaroos, Echidnas, Wombats...by the way, Wombats aren't fat, they're just muscular. Apparently they can crush a dog or a dingo with a huge flat bone they got on their backside. So, they are not as "friendly" as one might think :) After the visit, we headed back to Melbourne by train. Thanks for the great day, Anneliese.

The following day, we did some shopping...yes, we. Even Pat bought something. :) In the evening, we met up with Ann and Joe to have dinner at a dumpling place in Melbourne's Chinatown. Christine was a bit weary about it at first, given some previous bad experience with Chinese food, but it turned out to be delicious. We had a great time talking, joking, catching up, eating and having desert at a famous chocolate place and bar called Cookies. Never the less, Pat did have a bit too much wine (he hadn't drunk any for at least a month) and his liver would thank him the next day :) Anyway, it was a great night. Thanks again, guys!

On the saturday, we got up early to meet Christine's friend professor Dan at Flinders Street Station. After a yummy cappuccino, we had a look at Aboriginal as well as Impressionnist and Romantic art at the ACM, the 'most mathematical building of all'. For lunch, Dan took us to the Sofitel Hotel downtown, to the 35th floor...WOW...what a view and what an amazing buffet. While looking over the whole city, we devoured all kinds of delicacies and Dan told us about horse racing (they're crazy about that in Melbourne) and his experiences in the North West of Australia. He gave us some good tips about what to do and what to avoid, such as getting out of the car at a low bridge over a river and get eaten by crocs. And we don't mean the shoes...Thanks :)

On sunday, we had brunch at a nice cafe close to the youth hostel and Christine suggested to walk to Brunetti's, a fancy and famous Italian (who would have guessed with a name like that :)) pasticceria for some afternoon tea. Even when one travels, one does not like to change one's habits. And so, Christine, in her sweet and kind clumsiness (maladresse), knocked over a glass of water on a posh lady's (eng chic Madame) tray as she turned around to ask Pat what he wanted to eat. She apologised very sweetly, but all she got back was a snobby, disgusted look...oh well... :) Poor Christine felt really bad for the rest of the day because she upset the lady... :) In the evening, we met up again with Ann and Joe, and one of Ann's friends and had dinner in Brunswick, a suburb of Melbourne. The food, and company, were very good.

On the Monday, we went to sell Manfred. It was a relief getting rid of it. Schrottkar! :) We got less money back than we anticipated, since another additional charge for a one-way drop off was added to the price. After a bit of stress we got our cheque and walked to the city.

Since everything had sorted itself out, we needed a new car. Having sold Manfred, we went to rent our Cicco, a Hyundai Getz...hmmm...not the sort of car made for long journeys given its size and 1.4 liter engine...but, at least it worked and it got us safely to our next destination. We were happy to be able to go ahead with our trip as planned. Thanks :)

So we left Melbourne, south-west bound for the Great Ocean Road and our next stop, Apollo Bay...

OK, so here the newest update...

G'day everyone.

After a pause of a good week, we're back. Finally...

As so often, Christine's teeth were acting up. She ended up going to a great dentist, who welcomed her and explained here every step of what she did and what the problem was. What a nice surprise...and a change after Christine's experience of so many unfriendly and seemingly incompetent dentists abroad. :) We left Katoomba and the Blue Mountains, both feeling ill with a cold, and headed towards Featherdale Wildlife Park. We got to touch Koalas' bums and pet tamed wallabies and kangaroos.



Afterwards, we continued our route to Wollongong, a really nice city a few kilometers south of Sydney. After a stroll on the beach, we took Manni to go to the supermarket when the guy in the car behind us started honking like mad. We stopped, and sure enough, we had a flat tire. A huuuuge big nail stuck in the left rear tire. After jumping like mad on the bloody tool to loosen the skrews, we finally managed to change the tire and put the spare on.
The next day, the guy at the tire shop told us that the other rear tire was on the limit and that, if pulled over by the police, we might get a ticket for it. Very pleased with those news, we didn't have a choice but to buy two new tires...we were wondering why we were sold a car that was running on unsafe tires...oh well...

In order to relax after that, we rented out a bike and headed along the coast line on a beautiful path, looking at surfers. All of a sudden, we spotted a weird commation in the sea...whales...even though they were quite far out, it was breathtaking to watch their tails come out of the water and splash back...so we decided to stop, sit and watch. :)



We left Wollongong in a positive mindset, looking forward to the drive to Canberra...Canberra??? Mooooohaha, in our dreams...All of a sudden, while driving peacefully along the pretty rolling hills of New South Wales at 110 km/h, we were thrown forward as the automatic gearbox started acting up, changing into a low low gear, thus taking the RPM up to over 4.ooo (not a good thing for an automatic). As a result, the engine overheated in a matter of seconds and, while we pulled over immediately, water and green cooling liquid were squirting out of the engine and running all over the place as well as steam coming up from under the hood. Happy times, we thought. It was then that a shower of torrential rain hit us and we were trying to stay dry while calling the roadside assistance. After 40 minutes, a very nice and kind man with his kid came in his car to check on us, telling us we shouldn't drive on (surprise surprise), put some water in the engine and proclaimed that he would call us a tow truck. So, after another 90 minutes, another very kind man came out in his truck, towing us and Manni to the small sheep sheering town of Goulburn with its huge sheep statue. :)

After arriving at the garage, the tow guy (who, by that time, had already opened up a bottle of beer with the mechanics from the shop), asked us: "What are you guys gonna do now? They won't look at your car until tomorrow. But there's a nice pub around the corner." We already saw ourselves sleeping on the benches of a pub, so we left our car and all our stuff behind in order to find a place to sleep. This was to be the Exchange Hotel, where we were welcomed by very friendly staff and a newly refurbished room. That already made us feel better. :)

The cinema brought us welcome entertainement for the two nights we stayed in Goulburn ("Charlie and Boots" and "Couples Retreat") and Christine got her hair cut. We have to say, all the people were very very friendly and helpful. But it was so cold that Christine walked around wrapped in a blanket, scarf and jacket in order to keep a bit warm (since all our warm clothes were in Manni, who was at the closed garage)...who told us Australia was hot??

The car had a leak in the transmission, so they told us, loosing liquid and that caused it to act up, but it was all fixed now. Relieved, we left for Canberra where we arrived 3 hours later and went straight to the War Memorial. Guys, what a place! We got a tour by a very good guide, who told us touching and heartbraking stories about Australian soldiers and women, but not without the typical Australian humour. :)

It's a place we can only recommend to visit...it really is worth it. And besides, we had the creeping suspicion that there is not much else to do in Canberra... ;)

And so we left the next day for our following destination, Albury. This lovely little city (city by Luxembourgish standards, town by Australian ones :)) is situated on the Murray River, which acts as a natural border between the states of New South Wales and Victoria. We hit the local swimming pool for a swim in this swim-crazy nation after having failed to go canoeing or going to a pool in the river...our guide must not be up to date anymore...

And so, after 2 lovely days in Albury, we crossed over into Victoria, where we had to throw away all our fruit and vegetables because they are afraid of fruit flies being brought in and possibly endangering the crops in this state where agriculture and viticulture are the main economic pillars. After a very tiring and stressful drive, we eventually saw the Melbourne skyline diving up from behind the horizon and we had arrived...Woohoo. We checked into the Oasis YHA and were greeted by a chatty and very friendly Jonathan. He talked us through everything we needed to know and managed to cheer us up. Good job :) We strolled a bit through the streets of Melbourne, having a moccha at Christine's new favourite coffee shop (no, not the Dutch kind...) Gloria Jean's. Sorry Starbucks. :)

For the Wednesday, we booked a tour to Philipp Island to go and see the Penguin Parade. More about this tomorrow. As well as pictures :) Promised.

So long...

We're still alive :)

Hi guys.

Sorry for not having put anything up here in a while, but we had a few technical problems, as well as crap internet connections until now.

We're in Melbourne, and tonight we'll sit down and brainstorm through the last 10 days to get y'all up to date. :)

Have a good one.

Katoomba and the Blue Mountains

Last day in Sydney, we picked up Manfred (the car we bought) and headed west to Katoomba. Why Manfred? He looks like a Manfred, he sounds like a Manfred and he runs like a Manfred:)

The first day we hiked a little bit, visiting the Three Sisters and walking down the "Giant Stairway" (don't remember how many stairs there were), having our knees nearly fade away. Thus, after having seen the "rainforest room", we decided to take the steepest railway in the world (tha's what they say :) 52degree inclination...) to get back to the top of the canyon.






The second day, we went to the Wentworth falls where we took the National Pass (6km), passing over and behind several waterfalls and continuing over a natural path, running halfway up along the drop of the cliff...Amazing views!!!and Kakadoos flying all over the place...