Adelaide to Melbourne

The Great Ocean Road

The last leg of our journey involved a trip along the southern coast of Australia known locally as the Great Ocean Road. After 21 days in the outback, we spent a week in Adelaide recuperating and celebrating the New Year at a LeMans race and an INXS concert.

A unique stop along the way was at the Marananga schoolhouse which has been converted into a youth hostel. We played a game of cricket in the schoolyard after being forced to wear school uniforms as a condition of staying at the hostel.

Kangaroo Island was a quick day trip from Adelaide that is known for its wildlife. Koalas, sea lions and seals could all be seen in their natural environment. We could even walk along the beach where the seals lazed around without them paying any notice at all!

Another night stop on the trip was at an old jail at Mount Gambier. This jail had only recently been converted into a youth hostel and we spent the night in a jail cell where prisoner's graffiti was still plastered all over the walls.

The scenery along the slow and winding Great Ocean Road was spectacular. Centuries of punishment by the sea carved spectacular formations into the colorful coastal cliffs. The most famous of these formations is known as the Twelve Apostles - a littering of twelve monolithic rock structures rising from the sea.

When we arrived Melbourne, we had been in Australia for almost 7 months. By this time, we were getting a bit tired of eating spaghetti and macaroni and cheese, but as our funds were almost exhausted, we grinned and bared it. Besides, we still had one last adventure to go...a last minute change of plans that set us off for a week and a half of insanity and adrenaline - New Zealand.