Melbourne

We spent two days in the Melbourne area before traveling along the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide. We rolled into town after departing the Albury caravan park a few hours earlier. After squeezing the Warrior into a narrow parking space downtown, we wandered around the city in search of food and long term parking. Conor and I visited Melbourne last November for the Melbourne Cup and enjoyed our time spent there very much. This trip was rather quick, and without a definite place to bunk for the night lined up, we were a bit panicked as we strolled along the river.


A friend of mine from Brisbane moved to Melbourne a few months back, and we had plans to meet up with her and one of her roommates on Lygon Street later that evening for some good Italian. We were lucky enough to find a parking spot near Katie's house and after enjoying some dinner and three free bottles of wine with the two girls, they invited us to stay at their cute little terrace house for the night. We showered at their apartment and crashed on their floor - perhaps this does not sound like a treat, but it was.


The following day we headed to Philip Island, a two hour drive southwest of Melbourne. Our plan upon arrival was to purchase tickets for the penguin march that takes place every evening on the island. After paying a visit to the Philip Island Information Centre (these centres have been our toilet saviors along the trip - much nicer, cleaner, and warmer than most rest stops) and snagging our four tickets for the show, we drove around the small island, enjoyed some lunch on a secluded beach, and then lined up almost two hours early to get a good seat for the penguins. 


This stop was probably the second most spectacular on our trip thus far, with Sydney Harbour being the first. We sat in the cold for approximately 45 minutes waiting for almost 1,000 "little penguins" to wash up on shore, make their way into the dunes, and then travel on to their grassy homes. The penguins were adorable - weighing approximately one kilogram each, with a beautiful, sleek blue and white coat. They washed up on shore in rafts of 8-15, waddled together across the sand and scurried off into the grass. They were amazing!


After spending a couple of hours with the penguins we hopped back in our van and drove back north to the Mornington Peninsula. We found a fairly nice caravan park that had agreed to stay open for a late check-in. If memory serves me correct, this was the first time we attempted to sneak in two of our campers. Caravan parks are funny places. They charge per head, not per vehicle and after paying $50 to stay at one park, we decided to draw the curtains in the back of the Warrior upon arrival to the parks from that point on. We were somewhat nervous when the gentleman at reception insisted on walking along our van to guide us to the site. But $30 and fifteen minutes later we were enjoying pasta and a few beers in our van.


The evening spent on the Mornington Peninsula was the coldest we camped through yet. They four of us woke up multiple times throughout the night, shivering and complaining. At one point I got up, put a sweatshirt on and then jogged around the park for five minutes before returning to bed. The next morning we quickly exited the park and drove to the Mornington Peninsula Ferry. After crossing the harbour we began our journey along the Great Ocean Road!

Sydney

Okay, so, if you didn't know this already, I love Sydney! I have visited the city four times now and each trip leads to new adventures and surprises. Yes, I have toured the Opera House twice now and seen a show in one of the theatres there. No matter how many times you float past the structure while aboard the Manly Ferry, it is always a spectacular sight! While in the city this past trip, I took several more photos of the Harbour Bridge (I had never sat under it during a rain storm before!) and strolled through the Botanic Gardens, gawking at the insane number of bats hanging upside-down in the trees above - it never gets old!

Pete, Caitlin, Conor and I spent a day in the city and then traveled to Katoomba/the Blue Mountains (a two hour train ride from Sydney centre). Although we half expected it, the mountain air was cold! We hiked between Leura Cascade and Gordon Falls and paid a visit to the Three Sisters and Echo Point. We also rode on the world's steepest cable car line - with an incline of 52 degrees! We strolled through the rain forest for about an hour and finished the day with a "make-your-own" hot chocolate: dark chocolate chips melted fondue style with steamed milk and a metal spoon/straw. Yum!

As usual, we bunked with our friend John Blogg in Manly. John is a relative of one of Conor's co-workers and is a fabulous story-teller and host. His duplex style, 1900 home was once shared with none other than Peter Garrett, Australian musician (Midnight Oil), environmentalist, and Minister for the Environment, (although no longer an elected official after a government funded insulation project gone wrong!).

John set us up with warm beds and showers, good food and a fair amount of gin and beer. We had a great time staying with him, as always. Pete enjoyed John's "prawn sandwiches" while Caitlin was treated with her own jar of Robert Timms instant coffee (the closest thing to drip coffee here in Australia). 

After a few luxurious days, we hopped back in our van and headed further south. Along the way we experienced a rather unpleasant and surprising turn of events. We were driving along a six lane motorway when a woman driving a compact car came barreling across the median and collided head on with the car driving next to us. Conor slammed on the brakes just in time and we were able to avoid impact. The other two vehicles involved were not so lucky. We jumped out of the van and helped the two folks who had been traveling along aside us out of their vehicle. They were in absolute shock. The other driver was not so aware, and most likely knocked unconscious by the crash, and was extracted from her vehicle almost an hour later after ambulance and fire crews tore her tiny car apart. Our van was tied up in traffic for quite some time before we were able to escape the city. About an hour later Conor was pulled over for a random breath test. Although it only took moments for the police to clear Conor and for us to continue our travels, the stop was another roadblock in our travel to Melbourne.

After a quick stop in Canberra, Australia's capital city, we drove into the night and eventually stopped to eat and sleep in a small town, Albury, NSW. We parked next to some public toilets and a lovely park and enjoyed an episode of Flight of the Conchords before bed - a much needed laugh after such a long and stressful day.

The Warrior

I cannot explain it. I love writing. I love telling stories. I love exaggerating when I tell stories. I like to think a fair amount of time passes between posts because I am waiting for inspiration or the proper mood to strike - I want each and every post to be perfect. I know this cannot be true, however, because I am lucky to see and do pretty amazing (and inspiring) things every day. It has been a busy few weeks - make that months! I have at least a dozen stories to tell, but in the interest of time I will brush upon a few major highlights of the past five to six weeks below.

1. On April 18 my parents arrived in Brisbane. They spent two weeks traveling and relaxing with me and Conor. After hanging around the apartment and wandering around the city for three days, the four of us flew north to Cairns and then stayed in Port Douglas for two nights. We spent time on the GBR, cruising the Daintree River, wading in the Mossman Gorge. We had a fabulous time. 

Mom, Dad, and I then flew south to Sydney, while Conor returned to Brisbane for work. We stayed in Manly with our friend John for four fabulous nights. We visited all of the tourist hot-spots, such as the Rocks, Opera House, Botanical Gardens. We walked around the down town, rode the monorail and took a stroll through Luna Park under the Harbour Bridge. On our last night in the big city we saw Regina Spektor perform at the Opera House - it was wonderful!

2. On May 1, one day prior to my parent's departure, the four of us headed to Mt. Tambourine for wine, beer and cheese tasting. We visited a few wineries, and after purchasing a few bottles of wine, set up a picnic on one of the vineyard lawns. It was a gorgeous fall day. On the drive back home that afternoon, we stopped at an overlook and got out of the car to wander around. It was dusk and the valley was just beautiful. Conor asked me to marry him (and of course I said yes) and we were able to celebrate that evening in Brisbane with my parents. It was a fabulous end to my parent's stay. 

3. Just over a week later, on May 12, Pete and Caitlin arrived from Buffalo, NY. We were incredibly excited to see some of our best friends and welcome them to Brisbane. We were also very excited for their arrival because it marked the start of our one month holiday and Australia road-trip!

The past week and a half has been full of crazy adventures. On May 15 we left Brisbane and drove south to Byron Bay. We spent our first night on the road parked on the side of the road in our Back Packer Camper Van, also known as "The Warrior". I had never slept in a vehicle on the side of the road before. We pulled up next to some public toilets, turned the kitchen table into a bed, and spent the night by the ocean (similar to most Byron backpackers, I'm sure). After walking along the ocean to Australia's most eastern point, we jumped back in the van and drove a few more hours south to Port McQuarie. Not too much to report on Fingle Bay or New Castle - except I now know why flights to New Castle are sometimes only $9.

Since Port McQuarie, we spent three nights in Sydney, a night in Melbourne, a night on the Mornington Peninsula just south of Melbourne, a night along the Great Ocean Road in Apollo Bay, a night in the middle of nowhere at a caravan site that we drove into quietly after dusk and departed from quickly at dawn, and now, I sit Adelaide, attempting to summarize the madness that occurred along the way. There are definitely more stories to come on Sydney, Melbourne, and the creepy caravan park. 

Tomorrow we head slightly north of Adelaide to the Barossa wine region. After that comes Coober Pedy and perhaps a lack of phone and internet service! Outback, here we come!