Melbourne, Great Ocean Road, and Grampians

It was an early last morning in NZ. Up at 3:30am to leave for the Wellington airport to catch a flight out to Australia. Not the best morning, and my initial bargain flight became not so cheap after I got nailed with some exorbitant baggage fees! 

I arrived in Melbourne, Australia at 8:30am ( they are two hours behind NZ,)to lots of sun. After checking into my hostel I decided to walk around the city. It wasn't a very thorough walking tour, but I got a good sense of the city. It was really odd to be in a big city again. Melbourne has a population the size of the entire country of NZ so it was a bit of a shock to see so many people and cars (and people so dressed up). It made me miss the simplicity of NZ. Having woke up at what have been Oz time, 1:30am, it was an early to bed kind of night. 

The next day I did a free walking tour of the city. Like most tours, it was really well done, and a good way to see parts of the city I otherwise might not have seen. 

Melbourne is a really cool city. It's know for it's arts and culture scene, and it has quite the rivalry with Sydney. While it doesn't have the flashy, iconic spots of Sydney, Melbourne was really interesting in an underground way. 

So many hidden lane ways (alleys) that were full of interesting eateries and delicious coffee shops. Also, there were a lot of beautiful shopping arcades. Our guide said Melbourne tries to make their coolest places hidden. 

Throughout the city, there were 14 alleys designated to graffiti and stenciling, some even featuring commissioned work. (Like the aboriginal boy, below)

The next day I was off on a 3 day tour of the Great Ocean Road. The Great Ocean Road is a 150 mile long coastal road, built by returning WW1 soldiers as a memorial to those killed in WW1. It is the longest war memorial in the world. 

Because I didn't want to rent a car, the tour was the best option. It was a really cool tour--lots of interesting people and an awesome guide. 

The first day was really focused on the Great Ocean Road. It was beautiful, but there were way too many people. 

At one point we stopped along the road to see an area where koalas liked to hang out. It was so crazy to see an animal in the wild that I'd only ever seen in books. Koalas, I learned, are rather boring animals. They sleep about 22 hours of the day (because they can only eat eucalyptus and it is so toxic that it makes them perpetually sleepy).

 

At that same area we saw lots of parrots. You could buy food to feed them, but I was a bit apprehensive to let the birds get so close. Well, a random girl asked me if I wanted the rest of her food and within 2 seconds of me saying yes and scooping up the food, the bird landed on me. (Before I even had time to process what was happening). As you can see by the pic, I was a good mix of fear and excitement. 

Later on we visited a few iconic Great Ocean Road spots...

The 12 apostles (even though there aren't 12). This spot was so overrun with tourists (and it wasn't even all that great). 

This was called London Bridge. It used to connect, but due to all the water perpetually crashing against it, one day, it just collapsed (leaving tourists stranded on the other side:)

Overall, I liked our last few stops on the Great Ocean Road a lot better than the 12 Apostles. There were fewer crowds to contest with. All along the road, the scenery reminded me of the Algarve Coast in Portugal (which I must say I liked a little better:) Overall though, I'm still glad I saw it. 

The next morning we went to a wildlife reserve where we had our first wallaby sightings (and kangaroo sighting). Really cool to see (at first...that wore off during the day). Our driver said in his 18 months giving tours he's hit 5 wallabies/kangaroos. That is a startling statistic, but I can see why. They are everywhere, and they jump (HOP!) out in front of cars, worse than deer I think. We almost hit a few.  

Then we went on a walk where we saw lots of emus. 

Then we carried on to an aboriginal museum. Really interesting (difficult) to learn about the aboriginal history.  

That afternoon we arrived at the Grampians. I was really excited to visit this National Park, but a bit let down (I think that comes from having just left the amazingness of mountainous NZ). 

We did go on a nice hike that afternoon. 

After the hike, we stopped at a cricket field on the way into the small town we were staying in. 

Apparently, around mid day, the kangaroos flock to this field to eat and sunbathe. It was so funny to see so many kangaroos just hanging out. Kangaroo par-tay!! They were quite tame, but I was really nervous to get to close (as demonstrated by the picture). 

A friend I made was a professional photographer. He took this. 

That night we had a great barbie, and I got to try a kangaroo steak. Eating kangaroo is popular here. It's a lean, healthy meat, and there are an over abundance of kangaroos here, so that fact helped me not feel so bad. For someone who doesn't eat a lot of meat, it was pretty good, actually. 

That night we sat around the fire and watched a AFL game (Aussie Rules Football League). What a weird game! It's a mix of soccer, basketball, rugby, and American football... but played on a cricket-like field. So unusual, but it's HUGE here in Australia. Our driver was really into it, which was funny. 

It was so weird to come from NZ, where there are no dangerous animals, to Australia, where you have to watch every step you take. There are guide books dedicated to all the dangerous animals of Australia. 

That night when we got back to our bunk room, there was a huge spider on the wall. I killed it, but not before taking a picture to verify how bad it was. Apparently, in Oz, the smaller the spider, the more dangerous. I had nothing to be scared of, but it was really quite big. 

The next day we went back to the Grampians and did a few more shorter walks. 

Then it was back to Melbourne. That night I met up with some people from the tour and we went out to the beach area of Melbourne, St. Kilda. Our driver told us there, at sunset, we could see the local colony of penguins come in for the evening. After some searching for the right location, we found it. We only saw three before we for too hungry and tired. It had been a really long day (and last few days) full of lots of new animals :). 

Iphone photo quality at dusk, while zoomed in is poor at best! 

The next day was my final day in Melbourne. I took the train about 30 minutes out of the city to Brighton Beach. There they are known for their beach huts. Apparently, back in Victorian times, they were used by the elite as huts to get changed into swimsuits. Now (still only owned by wealthy people) they are used to store kayaks and other water sports equipment, and they're painted up in such fun ways!

After time at the beach, I went back to the Queen Victoria Market. What an enormous market!!! I mean cheese, meats, pre made food, sweets, produce, a whole building just for organic produce, and then a huge building just for goods--all types of things. Fun to see, but I only caught the last 30 minutes. 

Afterwards I caught the tram back to my hostel. Melbourne has a great tram system, and it's free! (Well just the CBD, but still, a nice perk). 

Early to bed and up early (on Easter Sunday) to catch my flight to Sydney!