Melbourne & The Great Ocean Road (December 29 - 31)

Immediately after getting off the plane and picking up our rental car we were off to Yarra Valley. Yarra Valley is to Melbourne what Napa Valley is to San Francisco. Our first and my favorite stop was at this tiny winery called Panton Hill Vineyard that was a few miles back on a dirt road. The owner spent plenty of time talking with us and discussing his wine. We tried each and ended up buying a bottle of the Shiraz and Chardonnay Liqueur. We stopped at several other large scale vineyards (Domaine Chandon, Oakridge Winery), but I most appreciated the microvineyard we stumbled across on a whim. We also tasted some excellent cheese at the Yarra Valley Dairy before heading back towards Melbourne.

That night I was treated to another surprise when I found a beer store within walkable distance of our hostel in Saint Kilda. I was surprised because this beer store sold brews from all over the world including microbreweries. I was shocked and delighted to see brews from New Belgium, Oscar Blues, Lagunitas, and Rogue among others.







The next morning Matt and I set out to spend the next two days travelling along the Great Ocean Road, which rivals driving on the California State Route 1. We began in Melbourne making our way to Torquay, following the route below. We noticed that the vast majority of travelers will not head past Peterborough, which is unfortunate since we continued to see breathtaking land formations well after the Twelve Apostles and London Bridge, which can be seen below.

At many of the stops along the way you will see these beautifully etched informative plaques made out of granite. They tell of how that stretch of the road was slowly built following World War I by veterans. In fact, the entire road is dedicated to the WWI veterans who lost there lives making it the largest war memorial in the world. The road stretches 243 km (151 mi) and took thirteen years to build (1919 - 1932).

Typical gorgeous panoramic view of the road. The Great Ocean Road has the cleanest most blue water I've ever seen.

Matt was trying so hard to fit in with the locals. This unsuspecting local had no idea Matt was in the photo with him.

A rocky beach near Cape Otway Lighthouse hidden well back on some dirt roads.

Ocean waves near the Twelve Apostles.

The Twelve Apostles

Of the twelve, nine are / were visible. Two have fallen into the ocean recently., one in the 1990's and one in the 2000's, which leaves the seven remaining that still stand today that you can see above and below.

The Twelve Apostles

The London Bridge Before Falling

The London Bridge Today

The Grotto

Sunset at the Bay of Martyrs, which is remorsefully not given the appreciation it deserves since many turn around before enjoying this equally beautiful yet less famous structure.

Sunset at the Bay of Martyrs

Possibly the greatest surprise discovery of the entire trip! Preposterously delicious milkshakes, a caramel and chocolate thickshake to be exact, found several miles outside of Warrnambool on the Great Ocean Road. It made for an excellent breakfast after staying at this super sketchy bar/motel. We didn't have much of a choice having not made reservations, but this was the type of place where one wrong word and the good ol' boys lock the doors of the bar and you never come out.

Loch Ard Gorge

Loch Ard Gorge

After the previous two days spent exploring The Great Ocean Road, Matt and I raced back to Melbourne for New Years! We found a bar in downtown Melbourne (Young and Jacksons) and I almost cried because they had college bowl games on live. That night we were able to try a few Australian brews: Terry's Colonial Ale, Young and Jackson's Naked Ale, Feral Hop Hog, Dog Bolter Dark Lager, Moon Boy Golden Ale, and Vale Ale. After a few hours we went to probably the best Mexican restaurant that I will eat at within a span of a year living in Indonesia. And it was ONLY 37 AUD for both of us! Well actually that was a misinterpretation of the menu, I laughed, but Matt felt a little foolish.

We missed out on attending the Australian Open by a few days. Darn it! After talking to several people in Melbourne I was surprised at how affordable the tickets were.

Happy New Year!

Kangaroo Island (December 27 - 28)

The first few hours of our journey were spent waking up early and heading to the Adelaide bus station where we would be shuttled to Cape Jervis. From there, Matt and I boarded the SeaLink shuttle boat, which took us to Penneshaw on Kangaroo Island. There we met our energetic and cheery tour guide Kate.

First stop:

I never thought that I would see sheep shearing in my life. Nor did I think it would be this interesting. This profession takes an incredible toll on the body, which is why sheep shearers use a harness to alleviate some of the back strain. After Rob finished shearing this sheep we felt the wool and it is soft, but surprisingly oily. The oil, called lanolin, is a wax excreted by the sheep to make the wool waterproof. Historically, sheep have been able to shed their coats without human intervention, but over the coarse of thousands of years they have become reliant on humans to shed the wool. They are shaved annually and if they are not shaved they will eventually be unable to move from the weight of the wool.

Our next stop was at a placed called Emu Ridge Eucalyptus. They sold eucalyptus based items like soaps, cleaners, cough drops, etc. They also sold Kangaroo Island honey, which comes from honey bees exported from Italy several hundred years ago and remain the only pure strain left in the world. I bought several jars because it was the best honey I have ever tasted. Unfortunately, this was confiscated from me at the airport when I left Australia and several of you are without gifts. Ma'af! (I'm sorry!)

This was a quick roadside stop that we made. I asked if many surfers came here and my tour guide replied, "Some, but not many. There are too many Great Whites in this area." I didn't realize that after South Africa, Southern Australia is one of the best places in the world to do Great White cage diving. If only I would have known earlier...

Seal Bay was our next stop through Kangaroo Island. Here reside the endangered Australian sea lion that swim into the ocean hunting for three days, then follow it up with three days of sleeping and laying on the beach. Matt and I were especially fortunate to get up close to one of the pups that decided to walk within a few feet of us and put on a show that eventually created a crowd of observers. Our tour guide said that in the two years that her boss had worked their that none of the seals had come that close to anyone, let alone put on a show.

Sand surfing at Little Sahara was the next challenge of our journey. Little Sahara is located slightly inland and as the name suggests it is a sand dune that shockingly springs out of nowhere. Our tour guide gave us a pair of boards and a spray that was essential for eliminating friction and being able to board down the sand. Lets see how I did on my first try...

Before reaching our final destination of the night we stopped at a southern beach where I dipped my feet into Arctic Waters.

When we arrived at our accommodation after a botched attempt at kayaking. Matt and I noticed a few friends in the backyard that kept us entertained...

The next morning we set off to Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. We set off on a walk through the gum trees (eucalyptus trees) and saw a ton of wild koalas. Most people know that koalas are lazy, sleep a lot, and just eat eucalyptus leaves. An interesting fact I learned at the sanctuary is that koalas are lazy because of the eucalyptus leaves, which have little to no nutritional value. Even more interesting was the fact that koalas are not born with the enzyme to digest eucalyptus. To survive, they need to eat their mother's feces when they become too old to drink their mothers milk.








Another interesting fact I learned and witnessed/heard is that when koalas fight they make this sound that is part Gremlin and part wailing cat. If I had not been told before hand what the sound was I would have thought one of the koalas were dying.

After koalas, we headed to Flinders Chase National Park. Our first stop was the Remarkable Rocks, which are naturally sculpted formations balancing on top of a large granite outcropping. You can see pieces of granite sticking out of different areas of the rocks. Below is the most famous image of the rocks and look only one hand to lift it.

Our next stop in Flinders Chase National Park was the Admirals Arch. Home to the New Zealand Fur Seal.

Next came a delicious lunch made by our tour guide Kate. We made on other beach stop at Stoke's Bay and then it was sadly time to leave Kangaroo Island. It was a treat to visit such a natural and ecological phenomenon that has remained relatively untouched by humans.

Adelaide (December 26)

 This is an echidna, which are found only in New Guinea and Australia. They are one of only two remaining monotremes left in the world, the other being the platypus. A monotreme is a mammal that lays eggs rather than giving live birth to its young. Unfortunately, the only one I saw happened to be in the Adelaide Zoo.

Inside the zoo, I sat and watched the only pandas in the southern hemisphere. They are beautiful up close and larger than I expected, there movement was similar to other bears. There entire back end would waddle back and forth as they would walk.

Matt and I were also fortunate to see the endangered Sumatran Tiger, which comes from Indonesia's northern island of Sumatra. They are critically endangered with estimates ranging from 400 to 600 remaining in the wild. We caught this one during feeding time.



Enjoying a few beverages with our friend of a friend and gracious host Vince. He gave us a break from staying in hostels and showed us an excellent time in downtown Adelaide.

I particularly enjoyed Adelaide with its Madison feel. A well designed, health conscious, and organized city. The downtown was surrounded by several blocks of parks perfect for running and outdoor games with the north side containing the university, zoo, and athletic facilities. Very walkable with a centralized strip containing excellent bars and eateries. If given the choice this would be the city in Australia where I would reside. Thanks Vince!