The most livable city in the world

Tuesday 10th September was the day the car had to be returned and meant the end of our awesome road trip - we checked out of our hostel (as it was a bit out of town and expensive to boot) and relocated to one right at the edge of the CBD, unloading our bags and leaving Cherina and Melanie to deliver the car to the airport. I took a stroll along to Flagstaff Gardens and the Harbour, and we all reunited at the huge Queen Victoria Market. After we had made the most of closing time bargains we decided to take a loop of the free tram then walk around for a while to get a feel for the city. We visited the Yarra River until we got too hungry and cold and returned to the hostel.

View over the Harbour

I strolled down the Yarra to the Botanic Gardens the following day before taking a tour of the Parliament and visiting St Patrick's Cathedral and the Melbourne Museum. After yesterday's experience cooking in a rather cramped kitchen, we took a trip down to Chinatown for dinner, enjoying the novelty of using an iPad as a menu.

Witnessing Melbourne's 'Four Seasons in a Day'

A trip down to the State Library came the day after; I probably would not have come in here had a 'chugger' not recommended I visit to see Ned Kelly's armour on display, but was glad to witness the huge reading room (and also to access free to use computers and wifi!) and generally get lost in the vastness within... Following this I opted for a free walking tour, one of many free events the hostel appeared to host. The tour took us round the centre of Melbourne, incorporating stints on the free tram and free bus and showing some cheap ways to enjoy Melbourne. Among other things this included Harbour Town (a dirt cheap shopping area rejected by locals), fancy looking Crown Casino, ACMI (for a bit of old school gaming) and some alleys which had been heavily graffitied. As the free tour had taken most of the afternoon somehow the hostel decided it was only fair that we were given free food and drinks for the evening :)

Victoria State Library Reading Room

City behind lit up Flinders Station

I spent a bit more time at the library the following morning, still feeling deprived of internet. I had seen signs to a chess collection but not had time to locate it yesterday, and as I headed there, overhearing a school tour, I discovered it was in fact the largest in the Southern hemisphere and people await challengers there! Once I had defeated Boris at chess it was time to visit highly regarded Chocolait for a rather filling hot chocolate before heading off for a walk along Brunswick Street, and a second short visit to the museum. I walked around the North end of the centre of town, visiting the gaol and baths (sadly neither offered much to see...) before collecting my bags and heading to Federation Square to meet Ross, who had visited us in London and whose parents I had seen in Brisbane. After taking me out for dinner and taking me on a quick guided tour by the river we returned to his flat in Flemington where we watched the end of the AFL 'finals' game that was being played at the MCG.

Melbourne Fire Show

On Saturday I walked along to Kensington station (there is also a South Kensington but I did not make it there) to experience Melbourne train catching. I could not believe that on  weekends you can travel as much as you like on public transport for $3.50 (just over £2) and made the most of it, visiting Harbourtown again and taking a Sea Shepherd tour on the temporarily nearby Bob Barker anti-whaling vessel. This was followed by a tram trip down to the Shrine of Remembrance followed by a walk along St Kilda waterfront and the nearby area. On the return to the centre of town I met up with Ross for dinner and returned for an early night - I was not feeling 100% :(

Melbourne skyline viewed from the Shrine of Remembrance

St Kilda waterfront

We made a late start in the morning and Ross kindly drove me down to Phillip Island. We started off at the information centre then straight to the beach for a stroll in the warmest weather I had seen since arriving in Melbourne (I was not even cold without a jacket). Our next stop was the surprisingly large town of Cowes, (it has Woolworths, Coles and IGA supermarkets) where we walked along the pier and fought seagulls for our fish and chips. As darkness approached we got our front row seats at Penguin Parade; little penguins come ashore shortly after sunset and waddle up to their living quarters. After checking under the car for penguins trying to smuggle themselves off the island we started the long return journey...

Ross at the beach

Penguin going home

THE Great Ocean Road

Sunday morning (8th September) meant an early start to get us to the Great Ocean Road. We sped (at the speed limit) along to Warnambool to top up on a couple of grocery supplies which had dwindled before heading East, stopping at every viewpoint on the way! First up we took a pit stop in Peterborough after everyone shouted out at seeing the sea. There were bits of rock sticking out of the sea and we were half convinced we had reached the Twelve Apostles already...

Not the Twelve Apostles...

Next up was The Grotto, generally accepted as our favourite stop of the day - it was possible to walk right up to the arch, and it was here we also witnessed a 'solar halo' phenomenon. Apparently this indicates nearby storms...

The Grotto

Next stop was London Bridge, so called because part of it fell down, and the rest will fall at some point.

London Bridge

We stopped at several more places, including Loch Ard Gorge where we walked to Thunder Cave, a sea made cavern which magnifies the sound of waves as they enter.

Thunder Cave

Here there was a split in the road and ironically, as we were talking about how efficiently we had managed to get things done during the morning, our party got split up; naturally we could not contact each other as we seemed to be in a bit of a phone reception hole... After a bit of walking and driving we all met up again, ready to proceed on to our next port of call. This was the Gibson's steps leading down to the beach - here a couple had either just got married or we doing a photo shoot (but without a camera in sight).

The famous Twelve Apostles stop was next on the list but not before another small mishap, we managed to miss it! Assuming the turn off would be on the right we wrote the huge car park off as a very popular helicopter tour, having to turn back a little further down the road...

Some of the Apostles

Past the last of the 'famous' landmarks we took a more secluded turn off towards Wreck Beach, reached by descending many stairs and walking along beach that was dangerously close to being cut off by the tide. It was worth the risk for the strange rocks and boat parts we encountered.

Wreck Beach

After the tough hike back to the car we moved on to Melba Gully; we had heard talk of glow worms but sadly failed to spot any before we were getting hungry and anxious to reach our destination, Apollo Bay. While last night's hostel had had a certain charm, sadly the same could not be said for the one we found for this evening - the less said the better, although we have just about got to a point where we can think back to it and laugh!

In the morning we left with a vague plan: after discovered a famous ice cream shop would be closed until Friday 13th we stopped at Sheoak Falls and Erskine Falls, both a short walk to a spectacular drop.

Erskine Falls

Following the windy Great Ocean Road we took a few scenic lookout breaks to admire views and photograph our travels. Slightly off the beaten track and up a rather steep hill (even our faithful behemoth of a car seemed to complain about the climb, and I am glad I was not the one doing the work!) we reached Teddy's Lookout, with breathtaking views back along the coastal road. After a short stop in Lorne we visited Split Point lighthouse, before brief visits to Anglesea and Torquay. Unable to find reasonable accommodation for the night along the road we continued to Melbourne, staying in a hostel in the St Kilda area...

Section of Great Ocean Road