Old Friends, New Continent! Arrival in Australia!

Sydney, Melbourne and the Great Ocean Drive
February 17-22

Shaun in front of the Sydney Opera House just hours after we landed in Australia

We arrived in Sydney, Australia on the morning of February 17th for a quick visit. We were going to fly back out of here again on March 6th as part of our Circle Pacific ticket, but in the meantime we were using the cheap and convenient Virgin Australia for all of our inter-Australia flights. Our first big stop was going to be Melbourne, but we were staying overnight in Sydney before catching that flight. To keep it as easy as possible we booked a hotel right by the airport and dropped off our bags. Then it was only a quick five dollar train ride into the city. We got off at the Circular Quay stop and walked off the train and right out into the middle of bustling Sydney harbor!

We only walked a few dozen steps before we turned the corner and we were standing right in front of the Sydney Opera House. Even after all this travel, it still amazes me to have the chance to see these iconic sights. I would venture to guess that this building is the most recognized piece of architecture in Australia. Even most kids today can spot the Sydney Opera House thanks to the movie "Finding Nemo". (P Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney!!!) We wandered around Sydney Harbor, taking pictures of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House, and then walked over to the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Shaun and I in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

I just have to put this one in here. I thought this was some rare exotic bird when we saw him in the botanical gardens. Now that I've seen about 500 of them I realize my mistake.

The Royal Botanic Gardens have been around since 1816 and they are a lovely place to go for a stroll on a warm Friday night. As we walked along, checking out the flowers and the many birds that inhabit the park, we decided to head over to the Japanese garden. It looked so peaceful and lovely. It only took about ten seconds of strolling down the interior paths though, until I realized there were spiders EVERYWHERE. And not little baby spiders or skinny daddy long legs spiders. These were BIG, ugly, thick spiders with giant webs. I hate spiders, as you may recall from the Trailer Incident at Hot Water beach, so I quickly backed my way out of the Japanese garden paths. Shaun, on the other hand, finds big spiders fascinating, so he continued gaping at them while I waited on the lawn, where I was safe. Or so I thought.

The next thing I knew I saw something fly overhead that had a very big wingspan and looked suspiciously like a bat. Because it was a bat! Apparently it is common knowledge that the Sydney Botanical gardens are home to a whole colony of Grey Headed Flying Foxes, or at least that is their official name. My unofficial name for them is "huge freakin bats" as in "Oh my god, there are huge freakin BATS everywhere!!!" It was an inauspicious start to the trip. I certainly expected some bugs and some wildlife, but to find a park teeming with giant spiders and giant bats within about an hour of our arrival had me a bit spooked.

EEEEEKKKKKK!! BATS!!!

Luckily, that was it for the craziness. After we left the botanical gardens we walked over to a really cute section of Sydney called "The Rocks". We found cute little pub and got ourselves some dinner and a beer. Then we strolled some more around the area before heading back out to our airport hotel. It was a quick visit, but enough of a taste of Sydney to tell us we wanted more.

The next day we arrived in Melbourne for our visit with our new friends Mark and Caroline. You may remember Mark and Caroline from the Dublin post entitled "How we learned that Pub Crawls and Travel Days don't mix". After an evening like that, we were bound to be friends. So when Mark and Caroline found out we were coming to Australia, they invited us to come and stay with them. We could not have been more pleased.

Our visit was great. The first night we were there, we went into the city for some rugby. Mark normally plays on one of the teams that was playing that night in a "Sevens" tournament. (Sevens is basically a shortened version of a rugby match that pits seven against seven players in a very fast, very high paced game). Mark took this year off from Rugby for both his earlier travels and to get ready for his upcoming wedding, but he was a very vocal supporter for his team! After the Sevens tournament, it was on to the professional match. Tonight it was the Melbourne Rebels vs the Canterbury Crusaders from New Zealand. Mark and Caroline may be living in Melbourne these days, but they are Kiwi's through and through so they were rooting for NZ.

Hanging with Mark and Caroline at the rugby match. Yes,I know I look ridiculous!

We were up close to the action

And the stadium was gorgeous

After the match, Caroline very smartly headed home. (She is a nurse and had an early shift in the morning). Shaun and I headed out with Mark and all of his rugby mates to a pub just down the way from the stadium. It was a very fun night, but it was a long one as well! By the time we took a taxi home I was ready to fall asleep standing up!

The next day we got up a bit late and headed down to a little cafe in town for some lunch and then off to a beach just outside Melbourne called St Kilda's. At the beach, Shaun and Mark went paddle boarding while I enjoyed a little beach relaxation. It was especially nice because there was a band playing on the boardwalk behind me. It was like having my own private concert! A few hours in the sun is about all you can take over here, so we headed back to the condo where we cooked up some chicken and veggies and a fabulous salad for dinner.

Dinner was a group effort. Mark made the beautiful salad. It was delicious!

On Monday, both Mark and Caroline were working, so Shaun and I headed out to the Yarra Valley to explore a little and check out the Australian wines. We started out at a place called Yering Station. If I wasn't traveling with a backpack I would have had a field day there. Not only do they have great wines, but they also sell all kinds of gourmet treats like oils and dressings, sauces and jams, crackers and cheeses. I guess I'll just have to come back some day!

Shaun and I tasting wine at Yering Station

After Yering Station we headed over the Healesville Animal Sanctuary. I like these kinds of places better than zoos because they basically take in animals who otherwise would not survive. I could tell you about all the stuff we saw, but how about a pictorial instead!

EMU!!

The Kangaroo, the iconic symbol of Australia

How cute are these Wallabees, just resting in the grass!

The Dingo ate your baby!!

This pelican bit me in the ass when I got too close. I kid you not!!

Our last stop for the day was a place called Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander. We stopped there for the wine, but they also have a restaurant. So after tasting a few wines, we were quite hungry. The guy who was helping us with the tasting put in a pizza order for us and OMG, are we glad we decided to have the pizza. According to Shaun, it was one of the top 5 pizzas he's had in his life. And this is a man who has eaten a LOT of pizza!

That evening was our final night with Mark and Caroline. We would have been happy just to get the chance to see them again, so we were really grateful for the chance to stay with them. It was wonderful to check out Melbourne this way. We told them that if we ever get a house again they are welcome to come and stay with us as well! We have to throw that caveat in, because we are, well, homeless right now! (No offense Maura and Tom!)

The next morning we got up early, packed up all of our things and headed out to conquer the Great Ocean Road. Because we had so little time, we ended up driving out to Warnambool and attempting to conquer the whole drive in two days. It was definitely possible, but I wouldn't suggest it if you ever come this way. The Great Ocean Road should be savored. It should be done with a sense of adventure and at a leisurely pace so you can explore all you want. That said, if you only have two days, go for it!! I would not have missed this drive for anything. Once again, there's no need for narrative, let's look at pictures!

This is called London Bridge. That made more sense before 1990 when the main arch connecing the island the mainland collapsed!

The Loch Ard Gorge- site of many a shipwreck

Two more pics from the area around the gorge

This one area is called the twelve apostles, but once again it was named too soon. Erosion has washed away all but 8 of the original twlve stone formations

Best part of the drive? The Otway lighthouse road where we saw Koalas in the wild, close up!

Shaun taking some pics of Koalas in a tree

Our last night we stayed Melbourne at a hostel called the Space Hotel. Our room was big, clean and bright and the hostel was right downtown. We walked over to Chinatown for dinner and then walked down to the waterfront and wandered along the riverfront. It was a nice, low key night and a great ending to our stay in Melbourne. Next stop was Cairns/Port Douglas where we would finally get to see the Great Barrier Reef! Yay!

Two shots of Melbourne at night, all lit up!