P .Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney.

I can't believe that I am sitting here only a few days away from the half way mark of our trip! The past (nearly) eight weeks have absolutely flown by and I have no doubt that the next eight will go even faster. Again, I apologise for the delay. Wifi is like gold in Australia compared to New Zealand and usually on the rare occasions we have it, I get quickly distracted by Facebook or my Daily Mail Showbiz App (yes I am that lame).

So you lovely bunch, what have we been up to in the past few weeks?! Well, we have driven all the way from Melbourne to Sydney, that is what we have been up to! En route to Cairns, chipping away at the world's most mammoth road trip and having quite the adventure!

We set off for Sydney straight from our final stop along the Great Ocean Road, Port Campbell. From there we drove inland via a place called Colac and headed in the direction of Melbourne. Driving in Australia could not be more different from England! Get ready for roads that go on and on with no other cars in sight. Definitely do not speed, especially in Victoria - there were police everywhere and on Bank Holidays, which we happened to be travelling on, if you are caught speeding, you get double points and double the fine - ouch!

We broke up the drive to Sydney over a few days and found some interesting places to stop along the way. First up we stopped on Phillips Island. We took a ferry across in order to miss having to drive back through Melbourne (a wise move) and I am proud to say that I successfully drove onto the ferry with minimal damage to the car/myself/my passengers and the ferry.
The main attraction on Phillips Island is the penguins. We bought tickets to the 'Penguin Parade' which is a short drive from the city centre and costs around $24 for an adult. It was a great evening, although extremely cold, even for us brits! You are able to watch as slowly from the sea these tiny penguins start to waddle up the sand on their way to their nesting boxes on the dry land. Although it is a waiting game to start with, eventually there a huge groups of these little guys dotted all over the beach and there are boardwalks which you can walk around to follow them onto land and get an amazing close up view. Unfortunately due to their protection, you can't take pictures so I can't share any with you, but it was a really awesome evening and my love for penguins grew considerably.

We left Phillips Island and drove to a small town called Foster. We drove there via a huge National Park called Wilsons Promontory which we had been strongly recommended by a few people when planning our driving route. Wilsons Promontory is a peninsula that forms the most southern point of mainland Australia (nerd snort) and it was a really stunning place to visit. There are loads of beautiful walks ranging in length and many tiny beaches that were completely desolate. At one point we had a whole beach to ourselves and it did feel like something from shipwrecked. In true mature adult style it wasn't long before we were running around it and writing things in the sand etc ... hands down one of my trip highlights though! 

We spent that night in Foster and this, guys and girls, is where I learnt never ever to have expectations of a place, especially a hostel. It was the tiniest little house, with only three bedrooms in total and we arrived to two ladies in the kitchen who literally said nothing to us when we walked through the door. Unfortunately we were never destined to be friends as one lady took a particular dislike to me and I swear she was cursing me in her native tongue. Anyway, I won't say much more about Foster because quite frankly our next stop tops it hands down and fully deserves the 'worst hostel in Australia (so far) award' ... our next stop, Lakes Entrance and its gem of a hostel 'Lake Riviera Backpackers'. Now, don't get me wrong, I have become used to a bit of dirt and the odd smell in the air, hell I even embrace the mystery of the ominous stains on my bed sheets! But Lake Riviera Backpackers took the biscuit. It was like something from an American horror film, a dodgey motel type set up with an eery silence.We soon learnt that the eery silence was just the absence of guests because this place is an absolute dump. The kitchen smelt of dead death and yes, there were mouse droppings everywhere. When I had gathered myself together and stopped retching from the smell of whatever was living (or dying) in the fridge I went to explore our room. It wasn't a great deal better than the kitchen. It was so horrible and so dissapointing as I really thought I had bonded with the owner, especially as we laughed at how I had reversed (accidentally) onto her front lawn and driven around her drive about fifty times trying to find the hostel. Alas, I know now why she let my reversing antics go and that is because she knew what lay in store for me in my $35 a night-flipping accomodation. It is safe to say we were so fast out of that place the next day, slightly hungover from the sheer volume of cheap boxed wine we had to down the night before in order to block out our surroundings... (although we did visit the 99 mile beach and had a nice breakfast away from the hostel so Lakes Entrance scored a few points).

After a pretty rough night our next stop took us to Narooma. It is safe to say that poor old Narooma had a lot of pressure after two of the scariest and most miserable nights. Thankfully it delivered. Although not a huge place, it had character and we enjoyed taking a drive around to some of the lookouts and went down to a fish station where the fisherman gut their catches from that day and throw them to the rays in the water. The water was so clear we got a great view of the rays and fish coming up for food. 

From Narooma we drove to Katoomba which for us was the start of Sydney. Katoomba is situated near to the Blue Mountains which are home to the 'Three Sisters'. The Blue Mountains have definitely been a highlight of my whole trip so far; they are absolutely breathtaking. You can see for miles across the valley's and these stretches of forest that carpet the ground below and just go on and on. We had the most amazing weather to enjoy the views and took a long walk around some of the tracks to see waterfalls and many stunning lookout points along the way.

After the Blue Mountains we drove into Sydney and could finally stay put for a few days, parking up our little car and settling down in our hostel. Being the classic tourists that we are, we went straight to see the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. It was a great moment to be able to stand there and see them; they are so iconic but never fail to look different close up. We walked around the city and explored 'The Rocks' and many of the quirky streets. I absolutely loved Sydney. It has a good atsmosphere and everyone is a little more laid back than you'd expect from such a busy city. The Harbour is stunning and we enjoyed a surprisingly reasonably priced drink with the Opera House in the background. 

We visited Taronga Zoo which was a short ferry ride from the Harbour. We got an amazing deal from our hostel, $40 for zoo entry and the ferry, so that was a winner. The zoo was so good. I am such a sucker for a zoo at all times and this has got to be one of the best I have been to. It had every animal imaginable as well as loads of great talks and shows. The best thing was having Sydney as the backdrop; all these exotic animals with a view of skyscrapers and the Opera House as a back drop was quite surreal.

We didn't visit Bondi Beach (controversial I know). We were warned off it by so many people saying it was too touristy and commercialised, so we instead opted for Manly Beach, which was a pleasant $14 ferry ride from the Harbour. It was a beautiful beach and we had great weather; I also saw my first proper lifesaving situation on the beach! Aussie lifeguards are the coolest.

When our time was up in Sydney we took a short drive South to Cronulla and were lucky enough to stay with a beautiful friend of mine and her lovely Gran. We were completely spoiled again and had the most delicious fish and chips on the seafront (although not as good as fish and chips back home - sorry!). It was the perfect end to Sydney and I always love seeing a friendly face whilst I am away.

So there you are guys! I am sort of up to date (not up to date at all actually but I am already working on my next post I promise!) The next part of our adventure will see us driving from Sydney up to Cairns which is a mammoth trip, especially if you are me behind the wheel... but I can't wait to tell you all about it! 

Stay tuned guys! X

The Great Ocean Road.

After much deliberation and research we worked out that hiring a car is the cheapest and best way for us to see as much of Australia as we can. We used a comparison website to find out the best deal and picked our car up from Melbourne airport. If you are under 25 like us and looking into hiring cars, be ready to pay some kind of daily surcharge for being a young driver, as well as insurance on top of that - if you have time to shop around though, it is possible to do this in a cost effective way. Please also note that most cars in Australia are automatic. After time, automatics are a dream to drive as you literally don't have to do anything except steer and brake (and of course be 100% alert and aware at ALL times - don't worry Mum). However, if you have never driven an automatic before it may take a little while to get used to; there were definitely a few brake slams and dodgy moments... 

Our first drive on the Great Ocean Road was from Melbourne to Anglesea. It was only a short drive so we used the day to travel onto Lorne and explore there as well. Along the way there are so many beautiful lookouts which makes the drive interesting. It also makes sure that you don't miss out on any of the stunning views and photo opportunities! We stopped off at some lovely beaches and caught our first glimpse of some proper surfers which was cool and just made me want to be a surfer (they are seriously cool dudes). A particular beach highlight was Bells Beach (made famous in the film Point Break). It was a very small little beach but having seen the film I wanted to see it and take a few pictures. 

We stayed overnight in Anglesea at a small backpackers and left early in the morning to continue onto Apollo Bay. We did take a stop again at Lorne to trek to Erskine Falls. It was a pretty long trek, taking us about 6 hours, including our stop and in total the distance is about 20km. It was a lovely walk, although a fair amount was on the sides of roads. We eventually reached a woodland path that guides you to the falls. You can then take a series of steps down to the very bottom of the falls, which we did and sat to have lunch there. 

Driving on from Lorne we stopped at Kennett River where we were lucky enough to see koala bears sleeping up in the trees and the ultimate highlight - the parrots!

We had been told that you can find them here so we didn't stumble upon them by chance, however, we were not prepared, having only burger flavored crisps (don't ask) and cheese niknaks to offer them. Needless to say the parrots were not impressed and if it wasn't for the amazing little boy who we named 'the parrot whisperer', sharing his bird seeds with us, we may not have been lucky enough to have them fly down and land on us. 

We spent our second night at the Apollo Bay YHA and after a brief explore (and a cheeky stop for Sangria) we settled in for the night. We left early in the morning to cram a lot into our third day. 

Our first stop was the Gibson Steps which ran down the side of the cliffs onto a beautiful little beach, just before the 12 Apostles. We were blessed with a sunny day and were able to get some good pictures from the lookouts. The 12 Apostles were just stunning. There is great parking and easy access to the pathways, so it was all very easy to find. The viewpoints and lookouts are so carefully thought out, providing you with the best views and picture opportunities. I had been told by a few people how breath taking the Great Ocean Road is and when you see it you immediately understand why people think that. Made of limestone, each one has a unique shape and the sea around them is forever changing them. There is plenty of information available as to how the apostles formed and it really was beautiful. 

Our final stop was the Loch Ard Gorge shipwreck. It was a tiny little cove whereby the wreck of the Loch Ard ship was washed up in 1878. There were only two survivors and both are talked about in informative signs by the lookouts. 

The final stop on the road for us was Port Campbell. You can drive along as far as Adelaide if you want to but this is where we decided to end our drive. 

Port Campbell was a quiet and small town but we were lucky to stay in a great hostel. We managed to get a 6 bed dorm all to ourselves and it was pretty quiet. The only drama was a fire alarm that literally would not stop; I did wonder if I had accidentally set fire to something but thankfully it sorted itself out.

 

We had two days in Port Campbell and spent the most part of our time here on the beach (we do sometimes need to rest, and tan). The beach was very small but it was nice. I actually did brave the sea and was proud of my efforts, although as soon as my legs were tangled in seaweed and I was splashing around in the water trying to remember how to swim, I soon realised that I was far from Baywatch and more like Please-don't-watch and should probably not swim again. 

We spent our final evening on the Great Ocean Road driving first to London Bridge to watch the sunset which was so lovely (we also felt like we were obliged to visit it, being English!). We then drove onto the Melba Gully State Park, about an hour from Port Campbell to see the glow worms. 

We had to wait until it was dark and trekking through the forest at this time was actually quite scary. Thankfully we befriended some lovely travelers from Singapore who walked with us and we eventually stumbled across an array of tiny little lights in the trees. We were unable to take any photos which was a shame because it was an interesting thing to be able to see but it is something we can now remember!

Already two weeks down in Australia and so much more to come! Sydney is our next stop and actually where I am blogging from now. All I can say is the next part of our journey definitely gets more interesting so I will try and get that post done as soon as I can!

In a bit guys! x

G'day mate!...Melbourne.

So we finished our adventure in New Zealand and flew from Christchurch into Melbourne, Australia.
We flew over with New Zealand Airways at 6.20am ... yes, THAT early. Early mornings are not really enjoyable and although we have become professionals at 'embracing the day', waking up at 2am and fumbling around a 6 bed dorm is not a strong start. It was a pretty grim journey too but it was made up for by the a-mazing New Zealand Airways safety video which was all done in the theme of Lord of the Rings! (Worth flying with them just for that I would say!)

We landed in Melbourne at 8.20am in the morning and jumped straight on a Skybus from the airport to the city center. It was really straight forward (even for me!) and only cost $18 which is not too bad. Luckily, I have lovely family friends in Melbourne who we were able to stay with and this was such a welcome treat after a few weeks of hostels.
They live in Brighton which is a 20 minute train journey out of the city center and oh my goodness, did I surprise even myself by how incredibly lost and confused I got at the train station.
Firstly, in Melbourne, they use travel cards called 'Myki' cards (NOT pronounced 'Micky' as I learnt the hard way). These are actually not to dissimilar to Oyster cards, but not being up to scratch with London or tubes, as you all know, this was not a familiar way of traveling for me.
So our first mission was to purchase one of these cards and top them up, took us a while but we got there. Mission number two was then to find our platform which of course was not straight forward either; being platform 13 and tucked away behind other platforms. After about 15 minutes of going up and down the same escalator a million times, we eventually sat, pretty exhausted, on a bench and just hoping that the right train would pull in any second.

It was an incredibly amazing sight to see my family friends waiting for us by the platform at a cafe with tea and coffee at the ready! We smelt bad, looked worse and were not feeling anything close to alive, so getting home to a nice, clean house was like heaven.

Melbourne is a beautiful city and I absolutely fell in love. It is vibrant and busy but so varied in what it has to offer. We spent our first day on the beach in Brighton (when in Aus right!?). It was not a far walk from where we were staying and was so perfect for a day of relaxing in the sun. It had a stretch of beach huts that were so quirky, painted in different colours and patterns. If you want one it will only set you back about $180,000 apparently...!

We were true to our English routes and did not enter the sea, deciding that it was just not nearly hot enough, but we did a great job at sunbathing.
The afternoon was spent wondering along the seafront to neighboring towns; from Hamilton all the way to Sandringham and despite nearly being killed by cyclists on about 6 occasions, it was a very pleasant walk in the sun.

Being lucky enough to stay with family, we were truly spoilt with amazing dinners - barbecues of course! It is amazing how a few weeks in hostel life makes you appreciate the tiniest things, like washing and smelling clean... no wonder we were offered to put a wash on as soon as we got through the door!

It was only right to spend a few of our days exploring the city. Melbourne has a lot going on and we started by walking across from the station to Federation Square. It was so busy there, buzzing with activity and so much going on. We spent a lot of time wandering around the main streets which were heaving and full of shops; really testing our strength to not buy anything.

Just next to the city there was a big National Park with Botanical Gardens (our new favorite past time) where we stopped for lunch. A short walk from the gardens was a massive war memorial building, which took us a while to find but was really worth a visit. It is beautiful inside and with work going on around it I am sure it will be even more awesome to visit in the future.

One of the coolest things about Melbourne is the tram system. They run a free tram (number 35) which does a complete circuit of the city and you can hop on and off whenever you want to. It takes you right out to the harbour and around to the Victoria Market. We visited the market and it was absolutely huge! It had everything and anything you could imagine; from food to drink to clothes and souvenirs. We also visited the market at Prahan which was a market full of amazing food... do not go on an empty stomach though as you will probably blow most of your travel budget on amazing cheeses and breads that smell too good!

After a few days in the city we discovered our active sides and took a bike ride along the seafront from Brighton Beach all the way to St Kilda harbour. We had been recommended so many coffee shops around the area and after cycling along the coast, we headed inwards towards the city and found a cute little coffee shop to stop for a well earned rest. St Kilda was not just a day thing for us - in the evening we drove down to the pier and just as the sunsets you can stand on the pier and watch the tiny little penguins coming in from the sea! It was one of the more strange things I have ever done, standing in the dark, staring into the sea eagerly awaiting the arrival of the tiniest penguin you could ever see (very, very cute though!). We didn't see many but we did see a few and just being able to get a view of the city at night was worth it too.

One of my absolute favorite days spent in Melbourne (saving the best until last) was the day we spent at the Moonlit Wildife Sanctuary in Pearcedale. They had some really awesome animals there, namely koalas which I was so excited to see and these insane barking owls which looked like normal owls but made barking dog noises (blew my mind!). The absolute highlight, however, was being able to feed the Kangaroos and Wallaby's. I had never seen a Kangaroo up close before and when these huge guys came bouncing out the trees I just couldn't contain my happiness. They were so big and gentle and just casually hopped up and away when they had had enough food. It was a slightly sad moment though, as the night before we had tasted our first Kangaroo burger, so it is safe to say my morals were all over the place.

Melbourne was an amazing week, mostly thanks to having wonderful family friends that took great care of us. We were very well looked after and definitely left smelling better, looking better and feeling MUCH better. It was the best start to Australia and another jam-packed week.
I will end on telling you all that we are hiring a car to drive the Great Ocean Road, so yes, I will be driving in another country - please do with this information what you will.

Stay tuned! x