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Date: 09 Feb 2011 11:29:00
Title: Melbourne to Perth
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Melbourne is a lovely place for a city, we were again lucky with the weather. We enjoyed the market, wandering around the city and visiting a few museums. From there we drove along the Great Ocean Road. First stop was Apollo Bay, it was here that we saw the first Koala's in the wild and plenty of them. The Otway Light house made for an interesting visit. On the way to Port Fairy we stopped at the Twelve Apostles; this stunning coastline is great for stunning photographs. All stretches of coast in Australia have their own name; this one is called Wreck Coast. During the time of the settlers arriving in Australia many ships wrecked on this coastline on their way to Melbourne. Warnambool has an interesting museum about this time in history. On the way to Halls Gap in the Grampians we stopped at Towerhill; a very old volcano crater where we saw emu's in the wild. In Halls Gap we saw the evidence of the floods there; two of the main roads into the Grampians were closed due to heavy rain washing parts of the road and tracks away. It will take many months to repair them. We did however managed to go up Mount Hollow  in the northern part and enjoyed amazing views. The day we left the sandbags were coming out again as more heavy rain was expected. The drive to Adelaide was long, but straight forward. After we were settled in our cabin we received a phone call to say that the train to Perth was delayed by 24 hours due to flooding on the track. So we had time to wander around town for a bit. The rain journey was a wonderful experience, even though we travelled steerage (the cheapest seats). It was all well organised and the food was fine. It gave us a very good impression of how big and empty Australia really is and we haven't even been in the middle bit yet. There was still plenty of water in areas that were normally very dry. Still due to the after effects of Cyclone Yasi.
Sea Topaz is well she managed to cope with all the extreme weather in Queensland sofa.
We were welcomed at the station in Perth this morning by Tim Anderson (son of Neil). We picked up our Hippie Camper, which will be our mode of transport and home for the rest of this month. We will travel south first, starting tomorrow.
 
                       
 
            Life inside a cabin                                                                        Restaurant in Melbourne
 
                           
 
            One of the few light houses visited                                Koala on the move
 
                                       
 
                    The Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road                            Emu's in the wild
 
                       
 
                The climb up Mount Hollow                                              The view from the top looking out towards the Grampians
 
                   
 
                Our cabin in Halls Gap                                                        Camels in the desert seen from the train
 
                   
 
                Fuel stop in Cook; The Indian Pacific train                            Our accommodation for two days/nights
 
 
                   
 
                Flooding in the desert                                                            Our new mobile home
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