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The Simple Life
It was a fairly uneventful flight. We did miss the comforts of Singapore Airlines though!!!! Arrived in Adelaide and got ourselves sorted with the time difference. As usual we were the last passengers to get their bags offloaded. We headed to pick up our hirecar and this is where the traumas began!
Having been given the completely wrong information when booking we had to sort everything out again but were nicely surprised when the lady gave us a free upgrade on the car. Clearly we didn't listen to her instructions as we wandered about the carpark aimlessly for about 15 mins trying to find the car. Car located (nice silver Nissan Pulsar) but hostel not, apparently they'd moved. As if Lyndsay pulling part of the car off and opening the boot whilst in traffic wasn't trauma enough we then found ourselves driving on the wrong side of the road! We wondered what the nice lady in the car next to us was trying to tell us, oops. In our defence we did think it was a one way system! Found the hostel but decided to jack it off as it was a farce. We headed into the city to find somewhere else. Took us about a day and a half to find a carpark but it was running with the theme of the day.
Luckily we did find a hostel a lot easier and it was a nice place. We strolled around Adelaide city centre, looked at the shops and treated ourselves to dinner out. Like we hadn't dined out enough in the last 2 weeks!!!! This again wasn't as simple as it sounds. As it was only 5pm nothing was open or if it was didn't start serving till later. AARRGGHH...... Eventually almost passing out from hunger we found a restaurant and had a gorgeous meal. Chilled at the hostel that evening and arose early the next morning for our drive to Mount Gambier.
After being given very clear instructions we still managed to drive the wrong way out of the city and had to turn and go back. Lynnith's map reading skills were then tested when she noticed we were on the wrong highway but yet hadn't turned off anywhere, doh! Much to our delight, well after Lynne managed to pour petrol over herself, we were told we were on the right track and were taking a more scenic route. Note Jacobs Creek vineyard photos, yippee......
We had booked into an old jail converted hostel in Mount Gambier thinking this would be an experience. How right we were but in the wrong way. After 7 hours driving we arrived to find no office, no-one to check us in, the jail untouched since it was in use, and a little scared. 2 scary men eventually helped track down the owner and we were thrust into a cell with a swedish guy! Feeling a bit cold by this point we were practically in tears when we discovered the chilling area and kitchen was actually the old chapel and the seating was still the old pews. We attempted to get into the vibe but the mere sight of Ashton Kutcher on a TV advert sent us running to the nearest cinema to check out his latest film. We also had fun bowling beforehand. It was like a 1st date minus the men hahahahaha........... Please note there will be no photos of this evening.
After having a pleasant evening we returned dauntingly to the jail only to be chased by a barking, ravaging dog. We f*king pegged it screaming, and could nae get the key in the cell door fast enough. No Funny!
We were up and out the door at the crack of dawn the next morning. Whilst packing the car the snarling dog from the previous evening came to say hello, how surprised were we to discover it looked more like a hamster in the daylight!
We stopped to see a few sights in Mount Gambier before driving on to Warrnambol. Our plans to see Discovery Bay was a little more rustic than we envisaged. Several kilometres down a dirt track was bad enough but when it turned into a sand pit a 4WD was required, i'm sure the hire company would've been less than impressed by our exploits! We did see some great scenery and even a few Emu's off the beaten track though!
Back on soild tarmac we made a couple more scenic stops before hitting Warrnambol. We practically fainted with excitement when we saw the hostel - it was superb. Big screen TV, DVD Player, chill out areas with big sofas and clean kitchen and bathroom. A chilled night in the hostel actually turned into 2!!!
Reluctant to leave the following day we headed out to start the Great Ocean Road, but 10km down the road, in the driving rain we decided to turn back and spend a lazy day in the comfort of the hostel. With the weather being so bad we would've been unable to see or photograph any of the sights.
We took over the sofas and the TV that whole day and night and were totally refreshed and rested when we embarked on the journey the next day. The weather was clear and bright too. We were ready to leave South Australia and hit the Great Ocean Road.
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