Aboard the Groovy Grape to Melbourne

20-22 November Before leaving for Melbourne I had a few days left in Adelaide, during which time I:

a) cycled along the River Torrens to Henley Beach & back. En route my bicycle chain fell off (maybe I shouldn't have ignored the sign which said CYCLISTS DISMOUNT at the top of the steep hill), however it didn't take me long to find some 'practical' men to put the chain back on for me. I would like to point out that the reason I couldn't put the chain back on myself is not because I'm a useless girlie, but more that in order to fix the chain on YHA bicycles you actually have to remove the entire wheel first - so requiring spanners etc. which do not come as standard on Swiss Army knives!

b) spent the day in Adelaide Hills with Asa (Swedish buddy). We went to the summit of Mt Lofty, which has great views over Adelaide, before heading to Cleland Wildlife Park. The park contains loads of native Australian animals, some of which you are allowed to get "up close and personal" with. As such, we befriended Lucky the koala, as well as numerous red & grey kangaroos (some of which were as tall as me - VERY scary!)

23 November This morning I set off on a Groovy Grape bus tour, headed for Melbourne, aboard Dizzy. Apparently all of the Groovy Grape buses are named after Aussie cricketers, the trailers after English cricketers. How very droll!

We set off for the Grampians, with lunch atop Mt Arapiles being our first stop of the day. Whilst in the Grampians we also took a hike to the bottom of the McKenzie Falls & then up to see The Balconies (some rocks otherwise known as The Jaws of Death - nice!)

24 November We started off the second day with a hike up to The Pinnacles - a 2-hour hike which we'd completed before 9:00 a.m. (though why this continues to surprise me is anyone's guess!), after which we set off along the Great Ocean Road towards Melbourne. Unfortunately, the weather was completely foul, so we didn't get to see much of the greatness nor much of the ocean - though I'm led to believe we did remain on the road for most of the journey. En route we saw/visited a variety of rock formations including London Bridge & the 12 Apostles (renamed from The Sow & Piglets so as to attract more tourists!). We also took a rainforest walk through the Otway National Park & went to Bells Beach (of Point Break fame).

25 November We arrived in Melbourne around 7pm & within the hour were unpacked, showered & dressed, ready for our big night out at the "Meet The Neighbours Stars" night!! As I haven't seen the show for years I was a bit concerned that I wouldn't know who any of the stars were. Fortunately for me, however, one of the stars was the wonderfully lovely Dr Carl Kennedy himself, so I was completely made up! I was even more excited when, because it was my birthday the following day, I got to stand up on the stage with them whilst they all sang me Happy Birthday! If it hadn't been for those few drinks I'd already had I think I'd have been suitably (& appropriately so) mortified.