The Great(est) Ocean Road

Yester-yesterday Erika, Megan, Kelsey and I got up very early to pack the car, pick up Alex, and head off to drive the Great Ocean Road. After a quick Macca's brekky, we were on our way, all the while listening to some great old hits on Mix 101.1.

Our first stop was Lorne (#lornewithane #alexsurfs). Up until Lorne, the two hour drive was mostly highways and uneventful, though we did go past Geelong (Go Cats!) In Lorne we got a quick bite for lunch (as we wouldn't have another opportunity later on), walked around the beach-town, and then hopped back in the car for the exciting parts of the drive.

The Great Ocean Road is carved into the cliffs to the south-west of Melbourne, and you can make out the literal edge of the Australian continent. The drive is extremely narrow and winding, and we were lucky that we enjoyed pretty safe weather throughout. We had some stops along the way (Alex disposed of some dry chicken, to the dismay of the local inhabitants) and we took in some awe-inspiring sights.

All of this was just a prequel, however, to the main event to come - The 12 Apostles. There were only ever 9 of them, and 2 have fallen down, but 12 in name they remain. The Apostles are collection of massive limestone rock stacks just off the cliff cost of Australia that had previously been connected to the mainland. We arrived at the designated parking area around 2pm, navigated through the hordes of tourists, and finally saw what we came for. A description won't do them justice so I'll just plaster the page with several pictures. This is, however, another site that you really must visit to truly appreciate.

After an hour spent taking the same 5 pictures over and over again, we got back in the car and began the long drive back to Lorne, and then to Ferntree Gully in Melbourne where we were staying. Once we got back, we met up with Tess and Pete for one final dinner. Then we went home to pack, slowly accepting the sad reality that our Australian adventure was nearing its end.

We woke up even earlier this (yester) morning - 6AM Australian time = 4PM Thursday EST. 26 hours, 6 in-flight movies each, and four cramped legs later, we're back in Boston, ready to fall asleep for a long, long time.

Thanks for following our adventures! Until next time!
-Simon & Erika

Back in LAX

Erika and I are back in lax ready for our flights. See you soon, Boston!

Heading home

Erika and I are at the gate at Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne, ready to board our flight to lax shortly. 

We will put up a post about our last day in Melbourne, driving the Great Ocean Road, tomorrow. 

See y'all soon!!

Penguin Island

Yesterday we slept in a bit to try and reboot our immune systems and the extra few hours did wonders for us. We picked up Megan from her morning shift at work and drove on to Phillip Island, about 2 hours southeast of Melbourne. The Melbourne weather reared its impressive and unpredictable head as we head different conditions about every fifteen minutes we drove - from a pouring rainstorm just shy of the bridge, to beautiful blue and sunny skies in San Remo, and then back to pouring rain as we waited for the Penguins!

We had a late lunch in the city of Cowes on the other side of the island and then returned to the penguin parade area. Each morning, the colony of 30,000 little penguins commutes from their burrows along the coast down into the water to go hunting, and at sunset they all return, one after another in waves, to their homes. The Little Penguin is the smallest of the world's 17 penguin species, averaging about 33cm in height.

We took our places early on and were in the very front row when the penguins started coming out. They waddled out of the ocean with an uncanny similarity to how our Contiki group would stumble out of bars in Europe - one leading the pack, a few bickering amongst themselves, some more trying to find girlfriends or boyfriends for the night, and others, still, just smiling and along for the ride. We were bundled up as if we were heading to the north pole and even under occasional pouring rain and bitter wind we still had a stellar time watching the little guys bump into one another as they all gradually found their ways home.

Today we're off to drive the Great Ocean Road. We'll see y'all soon!

Healesville

Yesterday morning we loaded up the car with the two of us, Kelsey, Megan, Tess, and Pete and drove out to Healesville, about 45 minutes away from Melbourne. There we visited the Healesville Sanctuary, a massive zoo filled exclusively with Australian animals. We started with a platypus show, then saw the birds of prey show, and then wandered around for the next three hours visiting baby wombats, Tasmanian devils, wallabies, birds, snakes, and more. It was especially remarkable watching the weather turn from pouring, windy rain to perfect clear sun and then back every fifteen minutes. We finished up our visit by meeting and feeding some adorable kangaroos!

Afterwards we visited the Healesville Bakery and enjoyed some necessary hot chocolate and meat pies, and then headed back to Megan and Kelsey's. Later that night we went to Belgrave for dinner, and then finished the day up at the Sky High overlook on Mt. Dandenong, where we got some amazing (but cold) views of the city.