Melbourne was absolutely beautiful. Perfect sun everyday and a comfortable temperature of about 75 degrees. We arrived late Thursday night (around midnight) to stay in our hostel we had booked...it was....interesting. (The rest of our stay we all split a hotel.) We were all split up in separate rooms and me and 3 others were in a room with some guys from Ireland. We could barely understand them. Their accents were so heavy, but they were nice. We then got up early the next day to begin the Great Ocean Drive. We rented two big vans for 24 hours. The drive is about 10 hours there and back as you make your way up the coast and drive through rainforests and countless rolling hillsides. It was stunning. We drove through Bells Beach, Point Addis, Appollo Bay, Aireys Inlet, Johanna Beach, Loch Ard and Gorge, Port Campbell, Peterborough, and Moonlight Head. We visited the red and white lighthouse in Aireys Inlet, massive cliffs in Moonlight head, bushwalks in Bells Beach, and drove in and out of Otway National Park throughout the drive. Our excursion ended at the Twelve Apostles just outside of Port Campbell. These are famous rock formations in the middle of the coast all lined up. Various legends exist trying to explain their existence. ALSO I drove in Australia! If you didn't know they drive on the left side of the road and the opposite side of the car...so it was a big deal! IN ADDITION we saw an echidna! I will post a picture just in case you don't' know what one is--kind of a cross between a kiwi and a porcupine. The next day we went to a Tim Burton exhibition that was in town. I forgot how many movies he did...James and the Giant Peach, Edward Scissor Hands, The Nightmare before Christmas, The Corpses Brides, Sleepy Hollow ect. It was really interesting and showed all of his sketches and, props, and figures for the movie. The rest of the day we explored the city and went to a live music festival. We went to bed early that night so we could get up and support Kaydee and Sarah in the Melboune Half Marathon. They did so great! Under 2 hours! It was a beautiful race as it winded its way through the city and ended in the coliseum. I was sad I couldn't run it as well but it was still a great experience. We painted shirts and made posters for support. After the race we had lunch outside and watched different festivities in the plaza. My favorite was a chinese dance that had people under dragon skeletons dancing around. They were very talented. After lunch I went to the Melbourne Markets. They reminded me so much of the Mexico markets. Stands lined up one after another, hand made aboriginal artwork, and everything else you could want. It was a really fun experience. I then went to Saint Kilda beach with a few of the people in our group. It was a nice beach with the usual clear blue water. However, it had a dock we walked out on which connected to a little island. AND there were penguins on it! It is breeding season and they were there visiting from Phillip Island. I've never seen penguins, except in the zoo of course. They were precious but grumpy. They barked at us if we came to close... We stayed there till around sunset and then headed back on the trolley (they are nocternal). The next day we explored the city to its full extent. We walked for hours up and down almost every block and visited the Southbank area which had shops and restaurants all along the Yarra River. The city has great public transportation. Instead of buses they mostly use trams and trolleys which I've never really seen. The thing I loved most about Melbourne is it had a space for anyone and everyone. It was chill and yet classy, high class and yet sporty. It had a great feel and was welcoming.Since we have been back I have turned in 3 papers in a 24 hour span and we have had a Tim Burton movie fest! We are currently planning our accomodations and activities for the Whitsunday Islands in a few weeks! I'm looking into when I can go to Fraser Island and New Zealand with my friend Sally! We were thinking of going "Zorbing" today in Surfer's Paradise on the Gold Coast but it is supposed to rain so we decided not to. Zorbing is basically where you get in a giant "hampster ball" and roll down a hill with water in it? Sounds like a fun, new experience to me. We'll probably try and do it another weekend...we'll see.
