January 13th - 18th

Jan 13th
Rented a car, and started our journey to Adelaide via the coast road. Stopped at Fitzroy Falls, and hiked out to see the falls. Started to get cloudy and misty-rain is predicted.
Drove down Kangeroo Valley, to this Pie shop, which was highly recommended by Paul! The pies were delicious! This shop is in the middle of nowhere, but cars were parked all around it, and we had to line up to get our order in.

Drove on to Jervis Bay, very pretty. Then to Ulladulla. By this time it was raining heavily, with thunderstorms predicted. I managed to persuade Derek to check in at a Backpackers lodge, instead of camping. Judging by the noise of the storm last night, it was a good choice. At least the storm has broken the heatwave, and temp. now hovers around 25c.

Thurs 14th
Walked up Pigeon House Mountain, which is 719 meters high, and climbing all the way. Lovely and cool to walk in, but once we got to the top, the fog from the storm had not cleared and we couldn't see anything! But got a pic anyway! By the way, both our T-shirts were dripping wet, I think we're out of condition. Hiking down, one of the hikers ( or Trampers as they say in Australia) noticed a leech on my leg. Why is it that all critters are attracted to my lily white skin, I've had my fair share of bites from mosquitos, sandflys, horseflys and now leeches!!
Drove through Batemans bay, which is very touristy, and had lunch at Moruya. Beautiful town so we had lunch by the river. We have a one-ring cooker, great for tea, coffee and one pot dinners.
Moruya has a beautiful beach, which was empty. Even though the sky looks dark, it was still warm at least 25c. Drove on thru Narooma, lovely seaside beach, thru Merimbula, which looks like the English countryside, lots of sheep, cows and rolling hills.
Pulled into a rest-stop, which allows camping and stayed the night. Very cold at night, which we didn't expect. We gave all our warm clothing to Christopher and Michelle to take home, as we didn't think we would need them, as a heat wave was hitting Australia! We also didn't take any sleeping bags when we borrowed the tent from Paul, as we thought we might possibly be sleeping outside in the heat.
Fri 15th
Decided to walk up Jenoa Peak ( 1607 ft), which was a boulder and rock climb. Quite adventurous, as we didn't sleep too well in the cold night. Hard climb, but well worth it, great views
Viewing platform from Jenoa Peak.
Huge boulders on this peak, which you actually have to climb over as it's part of the pathway.
Lizard was sunning its self on the platform, and quickly ran in to grab a gingernut cookie crumb.
Great views on the coastal road to Adelaide.
Sat on 90 mile beach for an hour of sun and watch Aussies having fun. There are so many beaches to choose from and they're all great beaches. Stayed the night at camp site at Sale.
More great views from the coastal road. Stopped at several beaches and watched the surfers. Beaches around here are known for the surf, and many host world competitions.

Most of the local parks have electric BBQ's, and the kitchens are well looked after. Decided to buy some english sausages and have a english breakfast ( or breky, as Australians say).
Not sure what these birds are called, but they're in all the parks. Arrived in Melbourne at 6.30pm on Saturday night. Backpackers lodge was full, as were all the other accommodations, because of the Australian Open Tennis. Drove out of town, and stayed at a Formule 1 hotel. Good to have a hot shower, and a comfy warm bed! Hotel had television, good to catch up on the news. Reporters were on a " Willy watch", awaiting Prince Williams visit to Sydney. Also, heard the news of the earthquake in Haiti.
Sun 17th,
Headed back into Melbourne, and passed this stack of Smart cars. Had to take this picture for Denny!
St. Patricks Cathedral in the heart of Melbourne.
Parliament house , with a circle tram outside. These trams are free, hop on and off trams to take you around the city center. Great idea, and there is commentary at each stop.
Cooks cottage in Fitzroy Park. This cottage was built in England in 1755, by Cooks parents and shipped and erected here in 1934. It is named as the oldest building in Australia. Anouncements were being made for a charity tennis match to help the victims of Haiti. This would be a Pre Australian Open game, and all tickets were $10.
Got in and saw Serena Williams,Roger Federer, Kim Cloisters, Rafa Nadel, Leyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick, game was umpired by Jim Courier. All the players had mikes and the banter was very entertaining.

Rod Laver Arena, and the surrounding tennis courts.
Melbourne skyline.

St. Pauls cathedral. Two cathedrals in the city, very close to each other. This is a great city, with lots of parks and the Yarra river flowing through the middle. All attractions are within walking distance of each other.
Left Melbourne in the evening and headed out to the coast road again. Raining again, where is the sunshine and heat??
Great views even if it is raining. The Great Ocean Road runs along the coast all the way from Melbourne to almost half way to Adelaide. As it was raining hard, we stopped at Lorne and stayed the night at a backpackers lodge. The lodge was converted from a country cottage, and very well done. Beautiful place. White Cockatoos were flying around , but didn't see any Koalas which are quite common at this town.
Mon 18th,
Another storm has passed through, and it's quite cool here. Started driving again and stopped at " The twelve Apostles" which are rock formations formed by the sea erosion of the Limestone cliffs. The blue of the water and the orange colour of the cliffs are beautiful together.
Look out at the Apostles



Took loads of photos of these rocks, but couldn't put them all on this blog. This is the best thing I've seen on the coastal road!
These rocks were called London Bridge, until one of the arches collapsed into the sea. London bridge is really falling down! As the rain stopped , we decided to chance camping and stayed at a rest stop, just outside of Portland! Still very cold at night- lesson learnt-never go camping without blankets or sleeping bags!