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Days 71,72,73 and 74
After a 7 hour flight we arrived into a drizzly sydney airport, where the prices really showed we had left Asia. We had to change terminal for our connecting flight to Melbourne and the 2 minute bus cost us $7 each!!!!!!! The flight was only an hour, but the weather was much better on our arrival, and after a short bus/train ride to South Yarra we arrived at the Claremont Guesthouse. We were both tired and hungry so after some lunch we decided to have an afternoon nap, which we didn't wake from until 6. We had already paid to go on a 3 day Great Ocean Road tour the next day and had to be up and ready for 7am (3am Singapore time), so it was a case of an early night despite our nap.
We were reminded again that we had left Asia as our pickup for the tour arrived on time. We were greeted by our guide Peter, who Michelle thought looked like Big Bird. On our tour we were once again the only English on board along with two Aussies, six germans, two taiwanese and a french guy. Our tour guide was really good and was not as pushy as others we have experienced before. We opted for the 3 day 2 night tour so that we had chance to see all of the Great Ocean road and the Grampians. Our first stop was Torquay and then the famous surf spot Bells beach. The waves were huge!!!!!! but im not sure the professional surfers would have appreciated a body board in their way, so it was onto another location along the coast for us. We also stopped at a lighthouse where the tv show Round the Twist was filmed. After lunch in Lorne, we went to Kennett river for some Koala spotting. Shell was the first to spot one, doing what Koalas do best...nothing. The Kennett river was also home to some very friendly parrots, and with a bit of bird seed I had two sitting on my arm. Michelle chose not to participate but a parrot decided her head looked pretty comfy, and perched there anyway...cue hilarious screaming and flalling arms. After even more scenic coastal roads, we stopped for a rainforst walk ending at a waterfall view, before arriving at our campsite for the night (Bimbi park). It was BBQ for dinner followed by marshmellows toasted on the campfire, which gave everyone the chance to get to know one another. We had decided to pay $5 more to stay in a cabin rather than a tent, which turned out to be a very good decision as the temperature plummeted at night, and the cabin was nice and cosy.
After an early breakfast the next morning everyone got excited when a Koala decided to come down its tree for photos, some people in the group got very close despite the warnings that Koalas are not as cuddly as they look. We took a short drive before we arrived at the most famous spot on the GOR, the 12 Apostles. The view was unforgettable from the beach and from the clifftop lookout and although windswept we could have stayed there all day. We then headed on further up the GOR with stops at London bridge and the Bay of Martyrs before leaving the Great Ocean Road and heading inland towards the Grampians. Our route took us past Tower hill, which is a dormant volcano and is now home to Kangaroos and Emus. There was just enough time for a quick walk through the bush and wallaby spotting, before the sun set. Our cabin for the night was at a place called Asses ears in the foothills of the Grampians, and after such a full and tiring day we fell asleep very quickly.
Our guide told us to expect a medium intensity climb to the summit of Hollow mountain the next morning, but on arrival we discovered he was in fact a liar. The ascent invloved climbing up near vertical sections and a scramble though a narrow cave, but once at the top the climb seemed well worth it. The way back down brought us to some Aboriginal cave paintings, which to me looked like a four year old had been let loose with a red crayon. Just down the road was an Aboroginal cultural centre, which housed some more impressive examples of artwork and different types of Boomerang etc. There was a pretty long drive back to Melbourne ahead of us with just enough time to stop in the Gold mining town of Ballarat for tea and cake. The tour had been one of the highlights of our whole trip, and I think having a good guide really made a big difference. We arrived back in Melbourne pretty late and exhausted but the trip was definitely a 10/10 for both of us!
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