Almost Home

On Friday we left Kyneton in the bushland and traveled the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne for the next three nights. And I was right in my last post that the Ocean Road was a lot like PCH in California. For those who don't live there it's a road that follows the ocean along the coastline. The only difference was that California has more dramatic cliffs than this one did. But the views were beautiful. Looking out at the ocean you remember that the next closest land is Antartica - a loonng way away. Going along on the road we went through some great little towns that were very "beach" oriented. Lots of cafes, shops, tourist things - it was wonderful.

We reached Melbourne around 6 at night which was NOT a smart thing to do! We were right in the middle of rush hour, on a motorway, with lots of cars, dark night, funky GPS - not a fun time. We missed our exit because the GPS was not acting right and since the exit road ran right along with the motorway, it thought we were still on track. So we exited sooner than we should have and then really had a "fun" time trying to get back on track. Finally after about 20 mintues we got to the hotel - a little worse for wear, but not killing each other either.

On Saturday we took their free tram which circled the city and showed some of the highlights. You could get on and off whenever you wanted. The problem was that since it was free all the locals also used it. So when the recording pointed out something the only thing I saw was someone's back. And it was very, very crowded. We got to the main area of Melbourne called Federation Square and went to the visitor's center to find out what we could see while we were there. After getting our bearings we journeyed back to the hotel to map out what we wanted to see on Sunday, but this time we were going to use the free tourist shuttle bus. Much, much better! Again it was an on and off shuttle, but so much better with less people.

Sunday we started off going back to the Queen Victoria's Market which we had visited the previous day. It is a huge food and merchandise open market where you can get almost anything you could ever want. For those in the Sacramento area think Denio's and for those in the Phoenix area think Mesa Marketplace. After our shopping excersion we boarded the shuttle and took off to our planned destinations. Unfortunately it started to rain - a lot - so we really couldn't see what we wanted to see. Plus one area was closed due to a Mother's Day Cancer Run/Walk and the other was closed due to a football game. But we did manage to get to the Old Melbourne Gaol. What an experience! We started out by being "arrested" and booked into the gaol. Our "sergeant" really played the part well. Then we were allowed to go through the gaol and read what took place there. The gaol began in 1841 and was used up until 1972. As a gaol it was used until 1924 then during WWII it was used as a military prison. This was also the last place the famous Ned Kelly lived until he was hanged in the late 1800's. It was a very interesting time.

I am ready to come home and sit for a while, but I am glad I came. I enjoyed the countryside more than the city because we were able to be with the locals more. The cities of Sydney, Auckland and Melbourne were fast, noisy, and crowded with tourists. Living in the bush with a family was so much more of an experience than I could ever have imaginged. We will need to come back again because we have just scratched the tip of the iceberg of this country.

My next post will show the road signs we encountered along the way.