Katy's Oz-some Blog: The Daniel's Visit Down Under

The family left yesterday morning. :( So now its back to hostels and shower shoes for me. It was so nice to have them here! We spent the last half of their vacay in and around Melbourne. We rented a car and drove the Great Ocean Road outside of Melbourne. Its one of the world’s most scenic drives and it did not disappoint. The weather wasn’t the greatest as we headed out there but there was more to see than just the beautiful coastline. Our first stop was Bells Beach, home of some famous surf competitions. Contrary to its reputation there was not a single wave in sight!

We stopped for lunch at the Anglesea Golf Club, prime location for seeing kangaroos. As we drove into the club we could see dozens of huge kangaroos poking up through the bushes. We grabbed seats by the window and watched them hop around the course. We also saw bright red and blue parrots, so pretty! After lunch we continued down the road and headed towards koala country. We pulled off Great Ocean Road and kept our eyes peeled for the cute fuzzy koalas. Mom was the first to spot one as soon as we pulled onto the road. We ended up seeing about 10 koalas, most of them sleeping away in the treetops. One guy was eating. And that’s about all they do…eat and sleep.

After we left the koala area the rain had stopped and there was a perfect full arch rainbow over the ocean. We drove the entire length of the route and ended at the 12 Apostles. The 12 Apostles are these rock formations in the ocean, there used to be 12 but now there’s only 8. We made it just before the sunset so the light was actually really good for taking pictures. We stayed the night in tiny Port Campbell.

The next morning we drove back towards Melbourne and had much better weather. We stopped along the way to do this tree top rainforest walk. We walked along these steel bridges that take you higher and higher up into the treeline. Even though I bungee jumped for some reason these bridges made me really uneasy. They slightly sway and you can see the ground through the grated steel floor as you get further and further away from it.

After our rainforest walk we hiked to Triplett Falls, a beautiful waterfall tucked away in the rainforest. We drove back to Melbourne with a few stops along to way to take pictures of the coastline.

On my family’s last full day in Melbourne we took a winery tour to the Yarra Valley wine region. We visited 4 wineries (including one of 4 famous Domaine Chandons…home of Moet and Chandon sparkling wines) and had the opportunity to taste over 60 wines. I didn’t make it through all 60, our tour guide said if we tried all that were available to us we would have to have one every 5 minutes for the 4 hour tour. That’s a lot of wine. It was a great end to a great trip.

They left Melbourne yesterday morning and I stayed at the nice hotel as long as I could, then I packed up my stuff and checked into the hostel. It’s back to the backpackers way of life for me. In the elevator up to the hostel reception a girl asked Sarah and I if we were interested in doing some modeling for cash. We asked what kind of modeling and she said “nude, but its for an American website so its not like anyone you know will see it”. Apparently she didn’t pick up on our American accents. We politely declined then had a good laugh. We are staying here for the next week and a half and just taking it easy and saving money. This morning we slept in, then power-walked/jogged around the Royal Botanic Gardens and walked around town. When we left our hostel building this afternoon there were a million people standing outside and police everywhere. Sarah asked someone what was going on and they said there was a gas leak in one of the buildings on our block so they evacuated buildings around it…but not ours for some reason. The street, one of the main ones in the city, was closed for an entire block. Talk about a major traffic jam, and its not like the city trams can just go down a different street. When we came back it was all over and fortunately nothing exploded.

Next on the agenda is Cairns on June 7th. My friend Jamie, sorority sister and former roommate, is meeting us in Cairns on June 9th and is hanging out with us in Australia for a whole month! We plane to dive the Great Barrier Reef and see Kakadu National Park in Darwin. After she leaves we will head to Brisbane where our other friend Jessica is meeting us and staying for 2 weeks. In August we are planning on going to India and Thailand, then its back to Sydney to catch our September 2nd flight home. I’m excited to head north towards warm weather and beaches. Its pretty chilly down here in Melbourne, fall is in full effect!

(Internet wouldn't let me post all the pictures I wanted to, I'll add them separately later)