Arrived in Adelaide in one piece last night, after a packed 3 days with Oz Experience. It was a blast, not just because of the stunning landscapes of the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians, but also because we were an awesome group of people – 13 altogether, plus our guide Kate. We all got on like a house on fire, which made it all that much better.
But first I need to recap the last days in Melbourne: I spent some more time exploring the city, including the Botanical Gardens, the Queen Victoria Market and the Shrine of Remembrance (war memorial). I also took a tour of a lovely historical home, Como House, and looked at an impressive Art Deco exhibition at the National Museum.
Then the tour: The first day we drove along the Great Ocean Road to the famous 12 Apostles. On the way we saw wild koalas, cockatoos and parrots, took a walk among the tree tops at Otway (nothing for people with vertigo) and generally got to know each other. In the hostel in tiny little Princetown we met a tour going the other way (Adelaide – Melbourne), including a Swiss girl from the Valais (yay for Swiss German! *g*). The second day we left the coast (lots of wind and rain – and rainbows!) and drove to the Grampians, where we did a hike in the Wonderland, which was great but incredibly windy. That night we stayed at the best hostel EVER, in Halls Gap. The third day consisted of another hike (or rather, mountain climb, as we had to go on hands and knees for most of it) up Hollow Mountain and then a long drive to Adelaide, leaving Victoria behind for South Australia. We saw emus, wallabies, kangaroos (including albino ones) – and naked men… *g*
In Adelaide a bunch of us (Lauren, Layla, Mike and I) ended up at the YHA and we met up with a few others for dinner that night. Us three girls then proceeded to buy matching t-shirts to commemorate the tour and the almost-loss of four backpacks when Kate forgot to close the trailer!
Today we had to say goodbye to Layla and then Lauren and I met up with Tom, Sonja’s husband from Melbourne, in town for business, and we went to the Botanical Gardens and the South Australia Museum. We also bumped into three people from the tour – Alan & Jane from Scotland and Kim from Korea, and tonight we’ll meet up with our French girl Lucile for dinner. Altogether I’m having a simply marvelous time! Stay tuned for more exciting adventures, and in the meantime enjoy the photos on my Flickr…
