12/09/2005
After two nights in comfort it's time to get back into the car again. We have decided to skip a few places/things that we originally planned to see (Victor Harbour for example) - we are a bit "travelled out" - so instead we decide to take a shorter route towards Melbourne. In the late afternoon we 
stop at the Narracorte Caves and go for a tour of one of the caves and of the fossil centre. The cave is pretty impressive and the fossil centre is a bit funny with made-up life-size animals moving around in a created bush-environment. Unfortunately it's late as we drive past Coonawarra (a region with great red wines) and to be honest we have done so much wine tasting so it doesn't matter so much. We get to Mount Gambier in the evening and stay at a caravan park by the Blue Lake.
13/09/2005
Waking up to a rainy morning. After a quick look at the blue crater lake - which is really grey when we see it - we head towards the Great Ocean Road. We see all the cliffs and sculptures along the road that you are supposed to see. The London Bridge. The Twelve Apostles - which are now Eleven. The gorge, which we have forgotten the name of, and lots of other things. The scenery is spectacular but after stopping about ten times looking at similar cliffs we are more than satisfied. We didn't only see cliffs by the way - we also saw a few whales at the Eleven Apostles but they weren't close enough to turn out well in any of the photos (but we did see them, we promise). As it's getting later we stop at Cumberland River Caravan Park, just outside of Lorne. At nighttime we are alerted to a sea lion on the beach. Amazing creature! Haven't seen anything like it up so close before...but if we get too close the lion starts to roar.
14/09/2005
Coffee in Lorne. A look at the famous Bells Beach (that we have seen in Point Break). Lunch in Geelong. We go in to say hello to Ian at the pub the Barking Dog in Geelong. We met Ian and his family in Cairns and thought it would be fun to drop by and say hi. It's nice to see a familiar face. We have a coffee and a 
chat about our travels. We then continue towards more familiar faces in Melbourne. We are catching up with the crazy bunch that we travelled together with up Cape York. We get a warm welcome at Bill and Robyn's place and they have organised a great dinner party (yummy roast) and invited Linda and Con. It's great to see them again and we have a great night, chatting and drinking away. We have a great sleep as well. Inside. In a real bed. Aren't we being spoiled?!?
15/09/2005
Robyn and Bill take us on a tour of a local shopping centre and of the Dandenongs. Another great day of socialising...We go over to Linda and Con's for dinner and have a great pasta dish and beautiful wine.
16/09/2005
We go into the city to have a look around. We were in Melbourne a couple of years ago and feel a little bit familiar. We love the city and its old buildings and shopping arcades. This time around we head up the Rialto Towers and get a magnificent view of the city and its surrounds. We spend the evening at Bill and Robyn's. Another night of eating and drinking.
17/09/2005
Relaxing. Socialising. In the evening we go over to Linda and Con's place. More food and wine. Dangerous for the wasteline to be in civilisation again but it's fun!!!
18/09/2005
Mmmmm. We get Con's famous 
pankcakes for breakfast. Almost as the brekkie has settled it's time for lunch. The whole bunch are over at Linda and Con's and we have some great cheeses and wine. After a long lunch it's time to head over to Daniel's former workmate Jacky (before getting on the ferry to Tassie) and have some pig. It's the Chinese Moonfestival and Jacky and his wife June have invited the whole family. We are lucky to be part of the festivities and it's fun to see Jacky and June's son - a little cutie. Unfortunately we are a little bit rushed as we have to get on the ferry to Tasmania, which leaves at 9pm.
