Great Ocean Road & Grampians National Park, Australia

After two months living in Melbourne I felt a break from the busy city was needed and so myself and a friend from home undertook a 3 day trip with Adventure Tours Australia to the Grampians National Park and the world famous Great Ocean Road. It has to be noted that this was not my first trip to rural Australia. Two years ago I spent 10 days discovering the harsh Outback of South Australia and Northern Territory travelling from Adelaide through the Red Centre to Alice Springs, encountering the most spectacular scenery along the way, with Uluru, Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon and Wilpena Pound being particular highlights. This trip through the best of what Victoria has to offer had a lot to live up to as a result, but it sure did not disappoint.

First up was the Grampians National Park, a series of impressive sandstone mountain ranges. Unfortunately all of the original planned itinerary had to be scraped due to the recent widespread flooding throughout the region. This meant no Pinnacle, no Jaws of Death, no MacKenzie Falls or any of the other spectacular sites that tourists visit in their thousands every year. This was incredibly disappointing but you cant control mother nature! Thankfully Adventure Tours thought outside the box and brought us to Hollow Mountain, something which is not usually one of the more visited parts of the National Park. However after climbing to the top and admiring the stunning views of the surrounding areas you would wonder why it is not included in the original itinerary. This was no ordinary hike however and towards the end we were required to scramble over some reasonably steep rocks to reach the summit, providing a very decent work out.

With the exception of Hollow Mountain the Grampians were a bit of a let down. There really wasn't very many places that avoided the flooding and so the tour guide was at a bit of a loss as to where else to bring us. Its not the company's fault of course, it's just one of those unfortunate things that we have no control over. On the plus side we did get to witness numerous grey kangaroos in the wild.

After the Grampians we set off to Warrnambool to begin our journey along the Great Ocean Road, a 243 kilometre drive along the coast eastwards to Torquay. Throughout this stretch one can witness some of the most beautiful features of sea erosion the world has to offer. There is the Bay of Islands, home of some stunning sea stacks and the Bay of Martyrs which provides spectacular scenery and a nice view of the Bay of Islands in the distance. Then there is London Arch, a natural sea arch separated from the coastline. Up until 1990 it was a double span natural bridge attached to the coast, known as London Bridge (and is still referred to as such by most people) due to its similarity to its namesake. However on 15th January of that year the arch closest to the shoreline collapsed into the sea leaving four tourists stuck on the remaining arch for hours waiting for a rescue helicopter. Our tour guide informed us that the media, in a disgusting attempt to try cash in on the situation, made up a story that two of these unfortunate souls were having an affair. The reality was that none of the people had ever met before and it was the cause of great embarrassment for all concerned. Its clear that the media over here are no better than their counterparts back home! For years people actually were ludicrously allowed to drive their cars over London Bridge, so it is really no surprise that it collapsed to its knees!

Next up was the Twelve Apostles, a collection of limestone sea stacks, all in close proximity to each other. Despite its name there are actually only eight stacks that still stand, with the most recent victim of sea erosion being a 50 metre stack which collapsed in 2005. However, some of the locals would have you believe that over twice that amount currently stand proudly. They must think that we cant count! It really is a stunning site and is a prime example of the wonderful features created by the sea. The Apostles are known to be extra special at sunset, however an unfortunate appearance of thick cloud cover just as the sun was coming down spoilt this particular viewing pleasure. Indeed the weather throughout the entire trip was a little on the disappointing side. It was forever changing with the sunshine rarely making an appearance for longer than 30 minutes at a time. However the views were incredible nonetheless and the walk down Gibson Steps to the beach provided an alternate angle to view some of the 12 Apostles, offering a different perspective of the area with the high cliffs towering above.

Another big highlight was the Loch Ard Gorge, home of numerous sea stacks, caves, blowholes and others features of coastal erosion along with hugely powerful waves crashing against the coastline cliffs. The site got its name due to the infamous sinking of the Loch Ard ship, an event which occurred along these very shores on 1st June 1878. Just two of the 50 passengers and crew members on board survived, both of whom were Irish: Tom Pearce, and Eva Carmichael. Tom after surviving this disaster famously risked his life and swam back out to the wreckage to save Eva, a woman he had never met. Over time they developed a bit of a romance but eventually Eva decided to return home to Ireland. Not giving up so easily Tom proposed to her through the snail mail to which he received a devastating rejection. The reason? Despite the fact that she loved him, she didn't feel he was wealthy enough to provide her with the lifestyle she was accustomed to. So after this man completely disregarding his own safety to rescue this woman she basically turned him down because he didn't have enough money, something which led to our tour guide declaring Eva to be a B**TH! Its very hard to disagree with such sentiments to be honest.

Towards the conclusion of the journey along the Victorian coast we stopped briefly to view some Koalas in the wild. These creatures bring a whole new meaning to the word "lazy" and they do certainly enjoy their sleep. In total they are awake for just 5 hours a day on average. Thankfully we actually got to see them during their waking hours, not that they do a whole lot then either. They tend to just sit their content high up in the trees feeding off eucalyptus leaves. They don't have a very stressful life that's for sure!

In total there were 23 people in our group for the three day trip. The group contained for the most part very nice people. However an element of banter was seriously lacking among the group and very few people seemed interested in having a few beers in the evening which was slightly disappointing, given how fun my group was two years ago, the last time I travelled with Adventure Tours, from Adelaide to Alice Springs.

However our tour guide Jen was certainly not lacking in any enthusiasm and one evening when driving back to our hostel from the sunset at the 12 Apostles she proceeded to stop the bus and start dancing in front of everybody. When my friend demanded another song she revved up the engine, turned on Elton John's hit Crocodile Rock and ventured towards a roundabout, driving around it on about 6 or 7 occasions, much to the confusion of the onlooking pedestrians. She finished things off with a ridiculous dancing demonstration to the tune of The Chicken Dance. Her crazy antics were certainly appreciated.

This short three day journey has whetted my appetite for some further trips later in the year and I fully intend to embark on an adventure up the West Coast from Perth to Darwin! I better start saving those dollars!

Bye for now

Melbourne, Australia - A Sporting Heaven

It has been quite some time since I have updated this blog. I have been in Melbourne for almost two months and it is every bit as impressive as I anticipated. I am not going to use this blog as an update of everything that has happened since I have arrived in Victoria's capital. Writing a diary about buying groceries, job hunting and accommodation seeking is not terribly interesting to the reader and so I will spare everybody of such mundane material. I am here for a much longer time than everywhere else that I visited previously and so it is a lot more chilled out and less action-packed than it was in South America and New Zealand where I tended to have three days to see everything before moving onwards. So the best way to approach my Melbourne blogging is to divide them up into various themes. So to get the ball rolling this first entry will be about one of Melbourne's great passions - sport.


It is no secret that the reason I chose to settle in Melbourne over other Australian cities is because of its reputation of being a sports mad city. This is not in any way over exaggerated and it doesn't matter if it is AFL, cricket, rugby, tennis or tiddly-winks the people will come out in large numbers to support. Sport is very much something that is in the blood of Melbournians and this aspect of the city has helped me to feel at home very easily. I fully intend to attend as many sporting events held in this city over the coming months.


First up for me was cricket, a game I have learned to appreciate and enjoy much more in recent years. Among the uneducated it is seen as a monotonous sport played by snobby upper class men. However once the basics are understood it becomes much more enjoyable. On the 27th December I attended the second day of the 4th Ashes test between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the iconic stadium that played host to the 1956 Olympic Games. The ground was filled to two thirds of the total capacity with an impressive 67,000 people in attendance. However the large local contingent had very little to cheer about as the English proceeded to absolutely humiliate Ricky Ponting's troops. Although the Melbourne natives were virtually mute all day this did not spoil the atmosphere one bit thanks to a fantastic group of English supporters nicknamed the Barmy Army. This vocal group of people are very similar to English football fans in how they support their team. They spent the entire 8 hours of cricket shouting and roaring, chanting at the opposition players, and just being all round lunatics, drunk on an excessive amount of overpriced watered down beer. However there is one difference and that is the lack of the scum and violence element that has given football supporters from England such a terrible name around the world. By contrast the antics of the Barmy Army was merely good natured banter and nothing more.


If the cricket was good then the tennis was even better.For two weeks every January Melbourne Park plays host to the Australian Open, the first grand slam championship of the year. I dedicated an entire weekend to witnessing some of the best players on earth. On the Saturday I purchased a ground pass for a very reasonable price of 29 dollars which gave me access to all but the two main show courts: Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena. The grounds of Melbourne Park were packed and a 90 minute queue was needed to gain access to Margaret Court Arena where Marc Wilford Tsonga was playing his 3rd round encounter with Alexandr Dolgopolov. Such was the Frenchman's popularity that it was not until midway through the third set that I was able to take my place among the 6000 enthusiasts in this intimate arena named after the great Australian who holds the record for the most grand slam wins for a woman with 24 titles to her name. Unfortunately Tsonga picked up an injury when leading by two sets to one and swiftly faded away and was defeated in a one sided final set.


However the main course of the day was still to come as American John Isner and Croatian Marin Cilic played out a four and a half hour epic. Isner, one of the heroes of last year's Wimbledon Championships when winning the longest tennis match in history (11 hours and 5 minutes, 70-68 in the final set against Nicolas Mahut), was the subject of numerous hilarious football style chants by a group of louty yet banterful Irish people. My personal favorite was certainly "IF...YOU...LOVE JOHNNY ISNER CLAP YOUR HANDS! IF YOU LOVE JOHNNY ISNER CLAP YOUR HANDS, IF YOU LOVE JOHNNY ISNER AND YOU REALLY WANNA SHOW IT IF YOU LOVE JOHNNY ISNER CLAP YOUR HANDS!". There was plenty of other ridiculous tunes and the local crowd were absolutely loving it. So much so that when the security guards forced the Irish lads to vacate Margaret Court Arena the entire 6000 capacity crowd started booing at the tops of their lungs followed by a standing ovation for these banterheads as they made their exit. One of the guys somehow managed to survive the boot and remained for the conclusion of a thrilling game of tennis. What made the antics of these guys so funny was that they gave the impression that they actually cared that John Isner won when in reality they were just taking the mick. The lines "This would put years on ya" and "Come on John, keep the head, forget about that last point" when Isner was struggling deep in the 5th set are among the finest quotes I've heard in a while. You'd wonder what Isner must have been thinking at such random support. Alas it was not to be for the American as Marin Cilic took the spoils winning a tense final set by 9 games to 7 much to the delight of the small but vocal Croatian contingent. The atmosphere was certainly up there with the best I have witnessed at a live sporting event.

The next day had a lot to live up to but it certainly did not disappoint. Firstly I managed to catch Roger Federer warming up on the practice courts. It was a pleasant and unexpected surprise to catch a glimpse of the finest tennis player in history. I wasn't the only one there however and it certainly was mayhem trying to get towards the front to secure the best view possible. Afterwards I witnessed Andy Murray going through a similar routine in the burning midday Melbourne sunshine. I didn't stay long to watch the grumpy Scotsman however as it was time to take my seat in Hisense Arena to see the eventual championship winner Novak Djokavic absolutely annihilate his opponent Nicolas Almagro. He certainly put on an impressive demonstration but the atmosphere was very muted as a result of the one sided match.


Next up was the women's 4th round match between Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova and Italian Francesca Schiavone, two former grand slam winners. The contest began slowly and the crowd didn't seem too bothered getting involved. There was even one chap in the corporate section in front of me who was reading the paper much to my own disgust. He ended up leaving early and missed out on what was to unfold. The final set took three hours and the entire match lasted for 4 hours 44 minutes, the longest women's singles grand slam match in history with numerous twists and turns throughout. The Italian eventually claimed the victory by 16 games to 14 in the marathon final set but only after saving about a dozen match points. The game was every bit as exciting as the events the day before and once again the atmosphere reached deafening tones.


I certainly got my money's worth and I now have a burning desire to go to the other three grand slams: Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open at Flushing Meadows. Live tennis is certainly up there with the best that sport has to offer, for atmosphere and drama.


There is plenty more sport to come over the coming months. The Formula One Grand Prix takes place in Albert Park in a few weeks time and the Melbourne Track Classic in Olympic Park in early March will see David Rudisha, world record holder for 800m among others compete. The AFL season is not far away with 9 of the 16 teams being from Melbourne and there is also the Melbourne Cup later in the year. This is only some of the great sporting action that the people of Melbourne have the privilege of witnessing and I intend to see as many of these events as possible over the coming months. But for now I have to go pack for a weekend travelling through the Grampians National Park and the Great Ocean Road.


Bye for now.