Great Ocean Road

Me at Great Ocean Road Memorial Sign

We're now in Adelaide, got the overnight bus last night from Melbourne. We're staying at a Hostel in the centre of town. Tomorrow is another public holiday-Queens Birthday this time! We're hoping to do a Winery tour, but not sure if it will be running because of the Holiday.

Great Ocean Road was really nice, we stopped the first night in Apollo Bay and the second night in Warrnambool. Saw all the main sights, and had plenty time compared to Tasmania. We hired a car again and did around 700km. The weather was ok, but not spectacular - only to be expected as it is Winter here now. The Twelve Apostles were very impressive, and there were lots of Arches and Gorges around the coast. Anglesea Golf Course was a highlight - as there are loads of Kangaroo's all around the course! My photos are up on Flickr

Heading upto Alice Springs on The Ghan on Wednesday.

Kangaroo's at Anglesea Golf Course

Tasmania

Me in King Solomans Cave (With Limestone Column)

Thats us back in Melbourne tonight from Tasmania. Got a flight from Hobart. We're staying in Melbourne International Backpackers tonight then collecting another hire car tomorrow to do the Great Ocean Road for the next few days.

Here's a brief outline of what we did in Tassie! The scenery there was amazing and really enjoyed it, the weather stayed pretty good.

Sunday

Got hire car. We got an upgrade - we ordered a Hyundai Getz and we got a Toyota Corolla. It was pretty good, roomy, nippy and seemed to be pretty efficient on fuel. By the time we returned it we had done almost 1500km! First of all we went to Cradle Mountain, via a little town called Sheffield which had lots of murals painted on the buildings, but it was quite misty so didn't see much of the mountain. We went around the West Coast instead - past Zeehan, Strahan and Queenstown. Then we went to Lake St Clair, which was pretty nice, and drove back to our Lodge in Launceston along a gravel track. It was quite a bad road but luckily we didn't see any other cars - lots of wildlife so we were going really slow.

Monday

Went to Cataract Gorge just outside Launceston - it was pretty spectacular (see the photo). Then we went out to King Solomans Cave which was full of limestone formations, I really enjoyed it. All the sites were quiet as it is winter here so we almost had the tour guide to ourselves! Then we went along to Liffey Falls, again we had to go on a gravel track to get there, but it was worth the drive as it was very picturesque. Then we drove down to Hobart (The Capital) and checked into another lodge. They were pretty ideal as they cost around the same as a hostel but we got our own little cabin with a double bed and a set of bunks, and kitchen, tv etc. They were a little bit out of town but it is fine with a car.

Tuesday

We went out to Port Arthur, on the Tasman Peninsula. There are lots of old penal buildings here from when the UK sent out the convicts. It was quite different, and a nice drive out there. We went back into Hobart in the afternoon and drove up Mount Wellington (1300m) and saw some great views up there. It was absolutely freezing so we didn't stay up top for long! We went into Hobart and looked around the shops for a little while and relaxed at night!

Wednesday

We went to the Cadbury's Factory. They make most of the chocolate for Australia at the factory, and the tour was pretty good. You got right out on the floor of the factory - some of the machinery they have is amazing. Got a few freebies! We went out to Russell Falls in Mount Field National Park in the afternoon, which was pretty nice again. Then we went into town and looked around the shop and returned our car in the afternoon - thankfully in one piece!

Me at Russell Falls

Cataract Gorge

Most of my photos are up here

Panoramic Test

This is a wee test - hopefully there will be a Panoramic of Canberra below!

Made it back!

Kangaroo I saw at the start of my climb up Mount Ainslie.

Made it back to Melbourne last night. Had a good time in Canberra, on my last day I climbed up Mount Ainslie - a Hill (843m) behind Canberra. Got a really good view from the top of it so have taken loads of photos - they're on flickr here. In the afternoon I went out to a shopping centre beside the Airport called Brand Depot - sort of like McArthur Glen in Livingston. Flew with Virgin Blue - they are one of the main 'cheap' air liners out here. Staying in a hostel in the centre of Melbourne now - Greenhouse backpackers, on Flinders Lane. It is really handy as we don't need to get a tram pass, can just walk around.

Heading off to Tasmania tomorrow night, on the boat. I'm fearing it is going to be quite rough as the Bass Strait is supposed to be quite a rough patch of water. We've hired a car (A Hyundai Getz!) for the whole time we're in Tasmania as it's quite a big place - apparently the size of Ireland! We're planning to stay in Launceston one night, and Hobart two. Flying back to Melbourne on Wednesday evening, then we'll be driving along the Great Ocean Road Thurs, Fri and then getting the overnight bus to Adelaide on the Saturday.

Not much else to say at the minute, keep the comments coming, it's good to hear from folk!

Canberra - Day 2

Australian Parliament Building

I have been pretty busy today. Got up early and went out to the National Museum of Australia first thing. That was really good - quite a new Museum building and lots of interesting stuff. Came back into town and went to the Australian National War Memorial - which is really a War Museum, it was also pretty good, and in a really nice setting. Walked down ANZAC Parade which is where all the War Memorials are, and then went to the National Capital Exhibition, which is all about Canberra - how it was planned; what was here before, etc. Everywhere I went I seemed to just beat the bus loads of School kids which was good!

Went to the Cinema tonight to see 28 Weeks Later - was o.k. but not great, passed some time as everything is closed in the evening.

Been quite a nice day but again it was quite cold. There was a lot of rain last night but seemed to have dried up by this morning.

I've uploaded some of my photos to flickr but I've not had time to title them yet, so I've put some of the best ones in here.

Captain Cook Memorial Fountain & The National Library in the background.


Parrot outside the National Capital Exhibition


Me with view towards ANZAC Parade and across the Lake to the Old and New Parliament Buildings.

Canberra

Made it to Canberra! Flight was good, up at 5.15am and got into Canberra at 9. Hostel is fine, I'm in an 8 bed dorm but not sure how many of them are taken. It is really Central, right beside a Cinema so might see something there. It was pretty cold when I landed - 7 degrees! But it soon seemed to heat up and was quite a nice afternoon.

I went over to Capital Hill to see the Parliament Building. They are in session at the moment so I got to Question Time to see The Prime Minister (John Howard) and all them! Building was pretty impressive, it was built in 1988. Also went to the Old Parliament Building, Parliament Gardens and the National Australian Art Gallery.

Its quite a strange city as it was purpose built so there are lots of circular roads and things which makes it very difficult to navigate! It seems to have been more designed for Cars than pedestrians and at times the pavements would just come to an end. Have taken lots of photos - I got a Canon Ixus 70 at the weekend so will get them uploaded ASAP.

Tomorrow I am planning to go to the National Museum of Australia, The Capital Exhibition and the War Memorial. Might go to the Science Museum if I have time - it's great because most of these Museums are free.

Electronics Troubles!

Thought I'd update this as we're at the weekend again! Was working on Monday, and we moved flat on Tuesday (as Heather is away to Kuala Lumpa, we're in a smaller flat for this week). On Wednesday I went out to Werribee - a Suburb in the South. It was fine but wasn't too much to see there. I tried to take some photos and my Digital Camera died - must have been over used! Now it just takes black photos, so since then I've been looking for a new one. Been looking at the Canon Ixus 70, and a Nikon Coolpix (Possibly L5). Would like a Digital SLR but it wouldn't be very practical so I may just get a 'cheap' camera to do me until I get home. There's alot to think about with warranties and things though. It's annoying as I was very happy with the camera I had - and my camcorder just went bust a few months ago!

Nothing much else to report. Going to Canberra on Tuesday, back on Thursday night and off to Tasmania on Saturday night. Will be strange getting back into living in Hostels. We've been looking into a few tours to do when we're in Darwin. Thinking about going to Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks and do a cruise to see jumping Crocodiles!

Going to see the new Pirates of the Carribean tonight. Anyway must get back to the Camera research. Any suggestions welcome!

Latest News

This week seems to have gone really fast! I got some temp work through the week working for www.realestate.com.au - doing some data entry and checking work mainly. Working on Monday for a Chiropractor doing some data entry for Statistical data so that will be fine as it'll be a bit of extra money!

On Friday I went to watch 1 vs 100 being filmed. It was filmed at the Melbourne City Centre Studios which are the biggest TV studios in the Southern Hemisphere apparently. They are at Docklands in the City. It was really good, had to wait for about an hour and a half before we actually got into the studio but they were quite well prepared for it and had lots of free food and drink! It's one of the main prime time quiz shows on one of commercial the channels out here, and the host is the same person who does Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The woman did quite well and won $74,000 so that was a good.

We're out of our current flat on Tuesday so will be cleaning it this weekend getting ready for that. The landlord is hopefully going to give me and Julie a smaller flat for a week (Heather is away to see family in Kuala Lumpa), but she is waiting to hear back from some people who had already viewed the flat before she can tell us for sure. Otherwise we will be in a hostel.

Been lots of rain here these past few days, and more forecast apparently. The people at work got quite excited when they saw all the rain!

Neighbours Night

Me and Harold Bishop!

Finally made it to the Neighbours Night last night, which was really good. It was a new one which has been set up by one of the stars (Toadie) as a rival to another one which has been running for years, so as not many people knew about it, there was hardly anyone there which was great as we got much longer with the stars! Toadie, Harold, Elle and Janae were there. See my photos here and Heathers photos here.

Not been much else happening lately. At the weekend we were planning to go to an Australian Rules Football game at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) but it was sold out so we're going to try and book tickets for a game shortly I think. Went into town and had a wander around the centre on Sunday.

On Friday I went into Albert Park and had a walk around the F1 circuit. Theres a lake in the middle of it with lots of Birds so it is quite a nice area. The circuit is used as a main road when all the F1 stuff isn't in the way.

Starting to think about packing all my stuff again which is a bit of a thought! Looks like it will be Cold when we go to Tasmania and very warm in Alice Springs and Darwin so going to need clothes for all weathers. Little bit of rain today but seems to be clearing up now.

Flight Plans (Revised!)

I've gotten the flights booked so here's the plans:

Melbourne - Canberra 29/5 08.10 (arr 09.10) <- Virgin Blue Flight
Canberra - Melbourne 31/5 20.00 (arr 21.05) < - " " " " " '' "

Melbourne - Tasmania 2/6 20.00 (arr 07.00) <- Spirit of Tasmania Boat
Tasmania - Melbourne 6/6 18.15 (arr 19.25) <- Virgin Blue Flight

Great Ocean Road 7/6 - 9/6 <- Hire Car

Melbourne - Adelaide 9/6 20.30 (arr 05.20) <- Greyhound Bus Overnight

Adelaide - Alice Springs 13/6 12.20 (arr 14/6 13.45) <- "The Ghan" Train

Alice Springs - Darwin 18/6 11.50 (arr 13.50) <- Quantas Flight

Darwin - Cairns 24/6 06.45 (arr 11.00) <- Quantas Flight

Then we are planning to get an unlimited stop bus pass for the East Coast from Cairns - Sydney, and planning to leave Sydney for Auckland on the 15/6. [EDIT - The 15/7!]

Rodeo

Went to a Rodeo at the weekend, which seems to be quite a big thing out here. It was in an arena with a few thousand seats and almost a sell out! Was a bit of an experience - don't know if I would go to another ever - the horses/bulls seem to get something tied around their behind which makes them buck, don't think it can be too comfortable for them!

Also went to see the Overland train on Saturday, as it was having an open day. It is the train which runs from Melbourne to Adelaide, and is in the same group as the Indian Pacific (From Sydney - Perth) and the Ghan (Adelaide - Darwin) so it was interesting to see what the facilities were like on those. They are quite nice, incredibly big.

There was a photography exhibition on at the weekend too so that was pretty good. They had lots of demonstrations and talks by all the big camera companies and you got to see some of their new products (Blu-Ray/Hard Drive recorder!)

Not much else happening, still trying to finalise the dates for the next few weeks. Weathers staying pretty good, there has been a little more rain lately which everyone is delighted about as the drought has been getting quite serious.

The Lounge on the Overland Train (Melbourne - Adelaide)

Trip Plans

Thought it was about time I got this updated again! The time just seems to fly past. Not had a very exciting week just been living quietly! Job hunting isn't going great, just doesn't seem to be many going up.

Went to the Queen Victoria market on Friday, its great for fresh fruit and meat and stuff, quite cheap - especially towards the end of the week. Went to the Art Gallery at Federation Square on Sunday, it was quite good. Planning to go to the Parliament one day this week see if I can get in for Question Time. It is the Victorian Parliament so will be a bit like a council chambers discussion! Been looking into Canberra and I'm thinking I might take a few days to go up there in a couple of weeks as there seems to be lots there I would be interested in.

At the weekend we tried to work out dates for the rest of Australia and our flights to New Zealand/Fiji/Los Angeles, as these need to be changed shortly. Easier said than done, as there is a lot to think about! Distances here are so huge, it takes 48 hours constant travelling on the train to get from top to bottom! At the moment we're thinking about:

• Sat 2nd June Leave for Tasmania (Overnight boat from Melbourne)
• Thur 7th June Get back to Melbourne and hire a car to see the Great Ocean Road
• Sat 9th June Return hire car and get the (overnight) bus to Adelaide
• Wed 13th June Get the Ghan (Train-24 hours) to Alice Springs - to see Ayers Rock
• Mon 18th June Get the Ghan (another 24 hours!) from Alice Springs to Darwin
• Sun 24th June Fly to Cairns on the East Coast and get a bus pass from Cairns to Sydney so we can take as long down the east coast as we need to.
• Sun 15th July Fly to Auckland, probably hire a car. Looking at a spaceship!
• Sun 12th Aug Fly to Fiji
• Fri 17th Aug Fly to LA

These are very provisional at the mo! Means I'll miss Perth but it is so far away and having looked into it seems quite like Sydney/Melbourne.

Anyway that's almost my time up at the Library so I better go!

Ballarat

Another lovely day here! Just a short update to tell you what I've been doing. Had a lot of rain at the weekend, which most people around here was delighted about! The drought has been really bad and they are saying that the price of fruit and veg is going to sky-rocket shortly.

We went out to Ballarat on Sunday and although it rained all the way from Melbourne to Ballarat by the time we got off the train it had stopped and stayed away all day which was very lucky! Ballarat is a city inland in Victoria. It was build for all the gold diggers who came looking for gold! We went to see Sovereign Hill which is an open air museum set in the middle 1800's. It was really good and there was lots to see there - we went to a Gold Pouring demonstration, Sweet Making demonstration and got to tour two underground gold mines. I had a go at panning for gold but didn't find any unfortunately!

Pouring gold into a mould. $80,000 Australian Dollars worth!

Yesterday I went a walk from St Kilda beach to Brighton Beach, which is one of the big beaches around here. The walking and cycling paths around here are excellent, you are totally detached from the road and they usually even have separate paths, bridges etc for cyclists and walkers!

From Elwood Beach looking towards Melbourne

I'm still on the lookout for a job. There's another public holiday tomorrow (ANZAC Day- a holiday to remember Australia and New Zealand War Veterans) so I think all offices, shops will be closed.

Must dash as this internet cafe is quite expensive!

Puffing Billy

Puffing Billy Steamtrain

Been a lovely weekend out here, very warm. Had a bit of a shock last week when I lost my job on Thursday! They were taking on more (permanent) staff, and they didn't have enough computers, phones, etc for all of them and me! So back to the job hunting this week. At least now I've got some experience in Data Entry should be easier to get another job.

We went out to Dandenong Mountains on Sunday, and went on an old steam train called "Puffing Billy". It was pretty good, very impressive how much work has gone into preserving it all. I'm uploading some photos from it now. We stopped off in a little village called Lakeside and had lunch.

Not been much else happening over the weekend. Still got a few places to go to when we're in Melbourne - Ballarat and Bendigo we're looking into. Probably going to go to Tasmania when our flat lease runs out (towards the end of May).

I've added a counter to the bottom of the blog so I know how popular the page is!

Phillip Island

That's us back from Phillip Island, just enjoying Easter Monday before I go back to work tomorrow. Had a great weekend. We got the bus out to Cowes - the main town on Phillip Island and stayed there on Saturday night. Easter weekend was incredibly busy there and apparently there were 16,000 tourists (the population is about 3,000 I'm told!) We had a look around Cowes on Saturday and in the afternoon we hired a Peddle-boat and went a little bit out from the beach in it. On Saturday night we went to the penguin parade - it was excellent, there was lots of penguins around and we seemed to be in the right place as they walked right past us. We weren't allowed to take photos though.

Us with our bikes!

On Sunday we hired bikes and went to the Koala Reserve and the Phillip Island GP Circuit. It's a great place for bikes as theres cycle tracks all over, and we got really good bikes so that was a lot of fun. We were pretty tired by the end of it though! I've put some photos up on flickr but haven't had time to sort through them yet so some of them might be the wrong way around etc!

Koala at the Koala Reserve - we could get really close to them!

Easter

Hello! All is going well here. Another week at work done - got today (Easter Friday) and Monday off so it seems to have gone pretty fast. I've gotten moved into working on some different projects as the data entry stuff I was doing has all finished. At the moment I'm phoning people (around 6000 customers!) trying to get them to move their domain name to the people I'm working for.

Went out to Pin Oak Court today, which is where they film Neighbours (Ramsay Street!). It was really good. Just got the train out to Glen Waverley and walked. Its much smaller than it seems on TV. As you can see from the photo, its been a really nice day. I've got lots more photos on flickr of it.

Me outside The Bishops House!

Going to Phillip Island tomorrow, which is an island right on the south coast. Planning to stay in a hostel there on Saturday night and come back on Sunday. There's no public transport so I think we're going to be hiring bikes! It's not too big so should be fine. We'll head to the Penguin Parade tomorrow night as lots of Penguins come back to land at sunset from being out fishing all day. There's also a Koala Reserve so we're hoping the weather stays nice and we can get the most out of it.

Easter seems to be a big thing out here and all the big supermarkets, shops etc are closed today and Monday. Anyway I'll leave you with another photo I took today!

First Week Down!

That's the first week in the job finished! Its going good - really easy work, just involves putting companies addresses into Excel. Gets a bit boring but there's four of us doing it and we can listen to our MP3 players so it isn't so bad. I managed to get the most copied this week so I got a $100 bonus, which will come in handy!

Went to see Mr Bean on Thursday, it wasn't very good, and going to the Cinema is pretty expensive out here ($15), but made a change from staying in at nights! The days are getting shorter here now, and its usually dark by 8, but the mornings are bright about 6 so that's good. Still pretty nice weather but it has been a bit showery these last few days.

We went out to the Scienceworks museum this afternoon. It was pretty good, it has a planetarium which was especially good.

Easter is quite a big holiday out here and I think I'm getting Easter Friday and Monday off work so we're thinking about going to Phillip Island next weekend, maybe stay out there on Saturday night to watch the penguin parade!

Still waiting for Harold Bishop to be the star at the Neighbours Trivia Night before we'll go to that! Also planning to go out to the Dandenong Mountains sometime soon, as there is supposed to be a lot to see out there.

Here's a photo from my flickr account I took from St Kilda Pier. It was a bit of an overcast day but it gives a good idea of the skyline! We still haven't managed to any of the Swimming Championships as they're all either really expensive or sold out.

Found a job!

I've just heard I've gotten a job! Starting on Monday, in Data Entry, working for SmartyHost - a web hosting firm (Apparently the 3rd biggest in Australia!) It is on Collins St which is right in the heart of the city so it will be really handy. Its only for 3-4 weeks but its a good starting point.

Nothing much been happening, had an interview for the job this morning so was just preparing for that. Really hot here today - around 31 degrees!

Keep the comments coming - great to hear what everyone is upto!

Still Job hunting!

Everythings going well here, but still had no luck finding a job. Have applied for a lot but they either want experienced folk, Australian citizens or they just don't bother getting back to you! Got a few more going through the processes so we'll see how they go. Applied for one for a computer dismantler which involves taking all the guts out of a computer and sorting it out into plastic, glass and metal - which would be ideal!

Grand Prix was excellent - I've uploaded a lot of photos to flickr. It was a real job to get good photos as the cars are going so fast, and the noise was unreal. There were fly-overs by the Australian equivalent of the Red Arrows, and a Quantas Jet, on route to London, flew by really low. Incredible how many Ferrari supporters there were there.

The world swimming championships are on here at the moment too and the outdoor events are taking place at the beach beside our flat so we went to watch the Womens 10km swim yesterday. It wasn't a very nice day so I was feeling a bit sorry for them! Russia won the gold but the UK got silver.

Weather here is still pretty good - mid twenties most days but it is heading towards Autumn now, and the nights seem to be getting slightly shorter.

Latest News!

Well we've finally gotten settled into our flat - I've uploaded some photos of it on flickr. Our address is:
Flat 12
54 Acland St
St Kilda
Victoria
3182

Now, the job hunting starts in earnest! We went to the Melbourne Motor Show on Friday, which was good, all the major car companies showing off their latest models and concept cars. I've also got some photos from there on flickr.

The Grand Prix is on this Sunday so it should be really good, seems to be a whole day event with live bands, flyover etc.

It was a public holiday yesterday, for "Labour Day" so most of the shops were closed. There was a festival on by the river called the Moomba Festival, so we went along to watch the fireworks to close it, they were really good. I got some photos from there but haven't had a chance to upload them yet!

We've gotten joined up to the Library out at St Kilda (the suburb I'm living in) so it's really handy, just up the road and they rent out DVDs and Videos as well as books so gives us something to do in the evenings! Also free internet use but it's usually really busy.

Not a lot else happening, weather here is still great, high twenties most days. I think it'll be starting to get colder shortly as they move into Autumn but no sign of it yet!