Soon

As soon as I can get to wireless that's stable for more than 2 seconds, I'll upload the posts I did in LiveWriter.

Australia has a lovely quaint idea towards internet access. It blows my mind that I could get free wifi at a truckstop 60 kms from the bloody Arctic Circle, and yet have to practically stand on my head in the hotel lobby to get it in Sydney.

Having such a great time, so much so that Keith is getting tired of me saying "I don't want to go home". Off to see La Traviata tonight as a birthday present from Jules, and then off to the airport tomorrow for the long journey home.

Here's a picture until I can post more pictures:

Yes, we rode camels. Not even close to the most touristy thing we did,

Day 7 - Great Ocean Road (aka back the way we came)

We woke up in Warrnambool to a forecast of sunny weather which cemented our decision to head back along the Great Ocean Road. After breakfast of espresso and hot cross buns, we hit the road.

First stop was the Grotto and the Loch Ard Gorge, not far from the 12 Apostles. There's something about the formations along this stretch of limestone cliffs that defies words.

The Grotto

Panoramic shot, looking east from Loch Ard Gorge

Looking east.

After wandering around there for an hour or so, we hit the twisties again. We shot some video from a camera mounted on the front of the bike of parts of the ride through the Otway National Park - will get that uploaded soon. 

The ride through the forest was spectacular. At one point Keith pulled over at a turnoff for a lighthouse and said "Wanna go look?". I just said yep. What followed was a stretch of great road with a really interesting historical park at the end, with said lighthouse, telegraph and radar stations. Even better, on the way we saw koalas in the wild, and a kangaroo jumped across the road in front of the bike.

The beginning of the koala butt jokes.

We walked around the park, taking in the performance of some actors portraying characters from the lighthouse's past. Climbing to the top of the lighthouse seemed like a good idea until I got to the top and looked out (it was a tad too high for my vertigo). 

Cape Otway Lighthouse

Killer view from the top

The next stop was at Apollo Bay where we had lunch, watched some guys fish in the surf, and chatted with a lovely woman who told us much about the area and wanted to sell us her motorcycle with sidecar. She mentioned Tasmania, and we played with the idea of a side trip until we found out it's like going to Newfoundland and involves a long overnight ferry ride.

The rest of the ride was brilliant, and we ended in Anglesea. We will no longer think about how much we paid for out motel room, but the dinner at the Italian place behind it will always remain in our memories.

More pictures from Day 7.

Yum.

ooops

Between the lack of wireless in motels and 4 days of hanging out with Jules and Graham in Melbourne, I've kind of forgotten about posting. I'll catch up tonight when we get back from our Melbourne walking tour. In the mean time, here's a few pictures:

Cape Otway Lighthouse

90 Mile Beach

Omeo

Healesville Sanctuary

Great Ocean Road to Warranbool

The weather was not the greatest today, but even the few showers we rode through could not diminish just how fabulous a drive the Great Ocean Road is. So fabulous that they are afraid you're going to forget which side of the road to drive on:

There were a couple of moments when the anxiety kicked in but it wasn't as bad as it would have been before the cognitive behaviour therapy. I may never be completely comfortable with the combination of heights and open spaces.

The bike we rented is incredibly comfortable and handles quite well. It feels odd to be a passenger; I can't see where we're going but I have the freedom to look around more than if I was on my own bike.

We stopped many times along the way to look at lighthouses, make coffee and see the Twelve Apostles. And while it was a great day, we think we're going to do it again tomorrow in the sunshine.

Sunrise

I woke up early and said the words I thought would never cross my lips:

"let's go watch the sunrise."

Location:Surf Beach Dr,Torquay,Australia

Torquay

I'm sitting on the bed of the deluxe room at the Torquay Hotel listening to it rain. It's so loud at times that it drowns out the laugh track on Get Smart (the original version).

So the rain is not necessarily a bad thing.

We left Juliette & Graham's this morning for the motorcycle portion of our trip. We were late leaving because, you guessed it, it was raining. And while today sounds a bit wet, there were some pretty good bits between the morning rain and tonight's.

Like this:

We're off to cruise the Great Ocean Road tomorrow...can't tell you how much I'm hoping the rain has passed on through by then.

Sydney

More to come.