Saturday we started our trip towards Melbs. We ended up hitchhiking with a dutch guy, Remco, who was heading the same way and wanted some company. We met him in our hostel and so began the journey. First day we stopped in the small coastal town of Robe, the one road in is the same one that takes you back out. Spent the afternoon at the Scottish pub in town and then headed to the hostel to make some dinner and put a few more beers back. This was hands down one of the best hostels I've stayed in throughout all my travels. It was this gorgeous historic manor run by the sweetest couple. Deb and Scott took us in like family and after cooking our dinner together invited us to their section of the manor. The three of us, Deb and Scott and their son and his friend stayed up until the late hours drinking and playing Wii. Scott clearly played this thing religiously as he was impossible to beat! Sunday we drove to Port Fairy and this southern front that began in Adelaide continued to follow us bringing rainy weather. We stopped at a cafe to get some warm drinks and get out of the rain. Dropped Bobert off at a hostel in town and then Remco and I went and camped on the beach; for both good value and to save some money. Had a few beers left over from Robe in the eskie so took care of them while enjoying the night surf.
Monday we continued along the coast line towards Lorne. Again, pretty shit weather so stopping off along the way to view the London Bridge, the Grotto, Arch, 12 Apostles, etc. was more a quick dash from the car to the viewing areas before getting soaked by the rain. This was my third time along the GOR so I wasn't too upset not seeing the views at their greatest but was disappointed for the guys who hadn't been here before. Our hostel in Lorne was really nice too. It was a group of cabins nestled into the very green hillside and white cockatoos everywhere! I was going to camp out with Remco again, but decided to just pay for a warm bed since Bobert had hooked up a few days accommodation with a friend in Melbs. We had some strange encounters with other travelers staying in our cabin. One guy was convinced I was in a movie that a travel agency had done in Alaska and I kept telling him he has me confused with someone else. He was pretty insistent that I watch the short video as he was sure it was me so I humored him to find out that he thought I was was a 13 yr girl who had won an essay writing contest in her school and won a trip to AK! Later in the evening he wanted to show me all 'his' pictures he has taken but were clearly downloaded from the web as copy rights were plastered all over them. To top if off, he tried getting into a discussion about how the world is coming to end b/c the Aluminati (made up of past presidents and all the celebrities of the world) is taking over and our only salvation is Jesus. These are just a few examples of how strange this guy was! The other man in our room stumbled in late tripping out on drugs. He stripped off his clothes and crawled into the fetal position in his bed rocking back and fourth. Very bizarre. Other than that it was a lovely place to stay! Only hostel I've been to that has free internet and laundry.
Tuesday we made our way to Melbs, was only a 3 hr drive or so. Remco dropped us off in St Kilda south of the city center where we said our goodbyes. Bobert has a friend, Kellie, who he knew while living in Maui and she has since moved back home to Melb. Such a great host, very accommodating and made us feel like home. Next day we spent the entire afternoon at the pub along with Kellie's boyfriend, great way to spend the day! Night before I flew back home to Newy we had an incredible home made lamb roast at Kellie's parents house...YUM! Full on three course meal, it was amazing.
Back home now as of last Friday. Thought about hitching back up from Melbs but the group had a Kokoda training hike on Saturday I didn't want to miss out on so just bought a ticket home. We hiked a section of the Great North Walk that is a trail starting at The Rocks in Sydney and ends in Newy. Pretty good hike, part we did was 29k that took us 10 hrs due to the steep up/down nature of it. Woke up Sunday having that great sore feeling and some new blisters.
Went to a clinic yesterday and got my Dr's note all sorted for Kokoda as well as some shots so its all coming together. Can't believe a month from today we'll be a few days into the jungle.
Until then I'll just work as much as I can!
Cheers
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