Nov 2005

As I had been on the road for a few days I decided to take it easy today. I got up and headed to the visitor information centre, there is a Hotbus that runs from there taking you to various tourist attractions. I opted for the Craters of the Moon. This is a thermal reserve that is a 45-60 minute loop walk and most inportantly free! The bus was $10 though! The craters of the moon has, yep you guessed craters! There's alot of thermal activity here similar to the Te Puia thermal reserve I went to the other day, just no geysers! It wasn't smelly though! The bad thing was the sandflies! Little nasties! I have welts all over my ankles from getting bitten as I forgot to put repellent on!

I met a lady from London and we walked around together and then we went to a bee place and learned all about how bees make honey - fascinating!

Back in Taupo I caught up on the internet and had a relaxing evening in the hostel. The girls in my dorm did the skydive today so I watched their DVD and then I bumped into Ruth and Emma from my dorm in Auckland. Emma was too ill to come on the Kiwi Experience the day I left. We stayed up chatting for a few hours.

As I had done the cave tour yesterday I had a lie in this morning whilst everyone else did the black water rafting. Black water rafting is basically just sitting on a inner tube and going through the caves, a few jumps off of waterfalls within the caves in the pitch black etc! http://www.blackwaterrafting.co.nz This didn't appeal to me as I like to see whats at the bottom of the water! So we boarded the bus at 1000 and saw some of the groups getting ready for the trip. They had to practice falling backwards with their rubber rings! As they hadn't gotten wet yet they were literally pushed in the freezing cold water! This was outside and it was spitting for rain and still cold - lovely!

After we watched this we all went for a wander through the Ruakiri Scenic Reserve, we came to a cave and everybody went in, I opted not to as I had seen loads of caves last night! I am so glad I didn't go in as there were massive spider things!

It started tipping it down so we ran back to the bus and drove to the Black Water Rafting place where we waited for the groups to come back - boring!

We then headed to Taupo, this was a long drive! We finally got there and stopped at Huka Falls, basically the water goes along this really narrow gully and gushes out at such a speed that it can keep you under for 1.5 days! It's not a high waterfall but the force is one of the strongest you're likely to encounter!

Skydiving was likely so we headed to the skydive centre where we all watched the video and those who weren't doing it left to go to our hostels. I later found out that it got cancelled because of the weather.

My hostel is the Tiki Lodge, it's very nice! There's a massive terrace out front that looks over lake Taupo and Tongariro National Park - it was too cloudy to see anything today!

I met a girl called Onya from Ireland and we went shopping for food and had dinner together then settled down for a night in fron t of the telly! They are a year behind in Eastenders here!

Heading out of Rotorua this morning we went to Te Puia which is a thermal reserve. Basically it has geysers and boiling mud pools and stunk of Rotten Eggs!

The tour started with a look at maori crafts, we saw the workshop where the blokes make the totem poles and such. We then saw hown the Maori women would make the grass skirts and weaved items. This was pretty fascinating as they use flax which is green, they use the hot thermal pools to boil out the green colour leaving it a natural wheat colour!

We then headed to the Kiwi Sanctuary where there are two kiwi birds. Kiwi birds are very rare in NZ as they have been killed by humans in the past for food and at the moment Possums which have been bought over from OZ are threatening their existence. The Department of Conservation are currently culling thousands of Possums a year to ensure the Kiwi's survival - you'll quite oftem see dead Possums on the road side, many NZ drivers try to run them over as much as possible! The kiwi is a wingless nocturnal bird with a massive beak - get out your kiwi shoe polish cans and you'll see one!

After this was the main attraction, the geysers! they basically spout loads of hot water and steam out of the ground! There are boiling mud pools here as well which are pretty icky! We sat down on some rocks which were very toasty because of the thermal activity!

Back on the coach we headed to Waitomo with a stop at the supermarket as we could either have a BBQ or buy Pizza tonight. i decided to buy Pizza and get some wine!

The hostel is the Kiwi Paka YHA and with my YHA membership they gave me a towel! Yeah! Towels are nice because I don't have to get mine wet and in turn put it into my suitcase still wet!

I opted to go and look in the caves on a guided tour - Waitomo is where you come to look at caves! I got picked up from the hostel and we went to Ruakiri Cave. When you arrive there's not much there but when you go inside there's this massive spiral walkway down! it's quite dark - only lit by small lights at the walkway edge! We descended and then went through a very james Bond like tunnel, it's like you about to enter a secret underground Mi5 bunker! We went through and there was the most amazing Stalagmite formations with curtain like rocks formed from the limestone, it was amazing! Better than Cheddar Gorge!

The walk lasted around 2 hours, there were only 4 of us and the guide so we got a really interesting and informed tour. One of the girls that was doing the tour worked for the company that owned Black Water Raftting and Ruakiri Caves and she was on a fam trip. THL - Tourism Holdings Limited owns Kiwi Experience as well! It's a big conspiracy theory!

After our tour we went back to the hostel where I caought up on the net and then went and sat on the terrace and drank some wine with some the bus group. It was freezing cold so we opted to go straight for dinner. The Morepork Cafe which is part of the YHA does Kiwi Experience specials so we got $20 pizzas for $15 (6-8 pounds). Very nice!

After the wine I didn't last long and headed to bed about 11.00pm, the rest of the dorm followed me in!

We headed south today to Rotorua, on the way we stopped at Matamata whih is where Hobbiton was filmed. I know I'm a massive fan of Lord of the Rings but I didn't fork out $50 for the set tour as I had heard that it wasn't that special. When LOTR had stopped filming all the sets were taken down and the land returned to normal. This is private land where Hobbitton was filmed so the farmer has set up a tour and put in some wood to depict the doors etc!

However in Matamata there is a sign which says 'Welcome to Hobbiton' so I did my photos! We headed straight to Rotorua from here and went up the gondola to the top wich views over Lake Rotorua, it was a bit miserable with spots of rain so it wasn't a brilliant view!

The reason to go up the mountain is the Luging! Basically it's a little Go Kart thing which you speed down the mountain! There's a scenic route, intermediate and advanced routes! Our ticket gave us 2 rides, the first has to be the scenic. What fun! I zoomed down the scenic and went to the intermediate, I then bought two more luge tickets and although I stayed on the Intermediate there is a fork so you change where you go! This was such good fun and really good value!

The hostel situation was a bit funny as I opted to stay in Base, which is part of the chain that I have stayed in in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland so I know what I'm getting. Everyone else stayed in a place called Hot Rocks which is the same chain as the one I stayed in in Paihia! No surprise I didn't stay there! When I gotdropped off I was a bit worried as it was just in the main shopping area and Hot Rocks was opposite a thermal park - smelly but nice views! However when I got inside I was given a dorm room to myself - mainly as they were quiet so I was lucky! It was lovely, 2 single beds and a bunk and the bathrooms were immaculate!

That night I went to a traditional Maori Hangi and Concert, a Hangi is the traditional method the Maori use to cook food, they cook it under the ground and steam cook it! The others from the bus trip also went and were all very jealous as their hostel was awful; really dirty and very basic!

Our buses showed up at the Tamaki Pa (Tamaki is the company/family name and Pa is the hill they live on) and we went in and our chiefs (voted for on the bus) were challenged by a Maori Warrior - rolling eyes and tongue sticking out - think of the All Blacks Haka! We then went through and there were traditional huts set up depicting Pre European Maori life. They then opened the Marae (meeting House) and we wnet in took our seats and watched a Maori concert, they sung tradiotional songs and danced. It was really good, they did the Haka which was hilarious - more rolling eyes and tongues!

After the concert we were led through to the Hangi, this wasn't in a traditional setting, more like a cafeteria! The food was really nice, there was beef, chicken, fish, potatoes, kumara (sweet potato), veg and all sorts!

After we had eaten we went out to see the traditional Hangi and looked around the gift shop. The Maori did a closing ceremony which was a bit cheesy - holding hands and singing along!

One of the best parts of the evening was the bus journey to and from the Hangi! Our bus driver was called Mark and on the way he said Kia Ora (good health/ hi in Maori) in 54 languages! But like in English it was like 'Ah it's jolly nice to see you old chap' in a fake english accent! in Scottish 'Och see you jimmy' of course!

On the way back we sung a few national anthems and a classic - the wheels on the bus!

The girls in my dorm were also meant to start this section of the bus tour but one of them has a stomach bug so they've had to to stay in Auckland for another day! I got on the bus and as it was Dad's birthday he called me, unfortunatly the driver started to talk on the speakers so me and Dad couldn't speak for too long!

We went to Parnell to the Kiwi office and for a last toilet stop! We then headed up to Mt Eden again! I just sat and reflected, mainly at the idiocy of a Jap who was climbing his way out of the crater with his mate taking loads of photos!

We then headed to the Coromandel, we stopped in Thames (yes - named after our lovely river Thames!) for supplies as it would be a beach picnic again!

Onwards to Cathedral Cove, the roads were so winding, but the scenery was stunning! I got chatting to a few people on the bus - a really good group on this bus! I asked Kozi our driver if he could sort out a female dorm for me in Whitianga (Fit E Anga - Pronounciation) and he said he would do it! My nickname on this trip is Pinkie. Kozi called me it as I wore a pink shirt on the first day of my trip and Craig up on the Cape Reinga trip called me it because I lent him my pink iPod!

We got to Cathedral Cove and spent a few hours here, the walk down to the cove took around 45 minutes through an amzing countryside! On one side you could see the sea and beautiful cliffs, hear the waves crashing and on the other was rolling lush green countryside with lots of cows!

The beach itself was perfect, It has a cave which goes through to another beach, you have to walk through the water to get to it, I got a bit wet but I had my board shorts on so it wasn't so bad!

I sat down and had lunch watching people in the water so I went for a paddle and thought - hell why not! So I went and changed and dived straight in - it wasn't cold at all! It's crystal clear and the waves are quite big so I had a right laugh jumping them!

Walking back was a bit of a pain as I hadn't brought a towel down to the beach so I was dripping wet walking along in swimming costume, board shorts and a sarong wrapped around me!

We then headed to Whitianga and the hostels, I stayed at the turtle cove backpackers and it was gorgeous! We had reading lamps on each of the beds - even the top bunks! The kitchen was spotless! I cooked my own meal that night - I'm trying to budget! So it was Mr Ben's Microwavable rice! Me and the girls from my dorm all chipped in for some wine and we sat and ate our meals then had a game of darts which I'm rubbish at!

I got chatting to the lady that runs the place, she's from Devon and she's married to a Kiwi dude. They actually live at the hostel, the kitchen is their kitchen they have their own lounge but they were out eating their dinner with us and having a few drinks!

I had to get up early and do some washing today as I head off on the bus tomorrow!

At 10.30 I boarded the Stray Auckland Tour. Both Stray and Kiwi Experience do free City Tours mainly to try and get you to book national tours with them. As I'm already booked with Kiwi I though it would be interesting to do the Stray tour!

We headed up to Ponsonby first which is a nice little suburb of Auckland with a few old houses (old here is Victorian!). We then headed across the harbour for views of the city skyline. Back across the bridge we went to the Americas Cup Village which is part of the harbour, we had a walk around and looked at some of the Americas Cup Boats. There was a massive motor boat in which our guide though was owned by the Sultan of Brunei! Off to another lookout which is a memorial as well to an ex prime minister, this was nice as it was pretty much opposite Rangitoto Island which I walked up a few days ago!

We then went to Mt Eden which is a dormant volcano with the most fantastic views out over the city, on one side you can see the Hauraki Gulf which is part of the Pacific and the other side is the Tasman! The stadium where the All Blacks sometimes play is also seen as well as Rangitoto Island, the city skyline - everything! The amazing part of the Mt is the crater! It is massive! It is sacred to the Maori for which reason I can't remember reight now, but basically it is tapu (taboo) for anyone to go down into it. Of course there are lots of little tracks where people have ignored this and walked down! Our guide was telling us that once some guys came up and rolled some tyres down, set them alight, this was around 5-6am so they called the local radio saying oh my god Mt Eden is erupting, the poice were called, 3000 people were evacuated from the nearby area, the police were too scared to go up and look! The guys then phoned back the radio station - APRIL FOOLS!

We went to an old ale house which is part of the Speights Brewery who sponser Stray! It was a bit pricey for food and drink but very nice!

It was interesting seeing how Stray operate but from the looks of it, it is the same as Kiwi!

Not a very interesting evening I just packed!

I loved the Bay of Islands, it was so beautiful, the only negative was the hostel! I woke up this morning and there were crisps all over the floor, most of the dorm was still asleep so I brushed my teeth packed and checked out! I was able to put my stuff in storage for the day as the bus didn't leave until 4.30pm.

I decided to go across to Russell which is across the water from Paihia, I got the ferry and walked straight up to Flagstaff Hill. The flagstaff is an excellent place to view the Bay from so I sat up there for a while admiring the view and headed back down again. In the town I walked around, it is one of the oldest places in NZ and has some lovely little houses. I found a Department of Conservation visitor centre and had a look around, they had a free video of the history of the bay so I stayed and watched that. I walked on down to the waterfront and found a little cafe and had a latte. I couldn't afford anything else - it's very expensive in Russell! I got chatting to a couple from OZ and then a couple from Yorkshire! They were ordering food so my stomach growled and I got the ferry across to Paihia (Pie Here - Pronounciation), I bumped into one of the lads from my dorm - not one of the juveniles! We went to a waterfront bar and had lunch together, we stayed there for a few hours as the drinks were quite cheap!

We got on the bus back to Auckland - not very exciting, it was pretty much straight down with a stop for dinner - Thai!

I checked into the hostel went and said Hi to my previous dorm mates and went to bed!

Well after last nights shenanigans I had an apology this morning which was nice, I suppose you have to expect it is hostels!

We had an early start again - 7.15am. We got on a big yellow bus and headed north up to Cape Reinga. Our first stop was a Kauri Forest but it was raining so I walked through it quite quicly as I hadn't bought a coat! The trees were fascinating and their history amazing! They can live up to 4000 years old. Unfortunatly there aren't many that old left now as since the maoris and europeans arrived they've been logged for timber. They grow really straight and tall so they are perfect for logging.

It was pretty much straight up to 90 mile beach with a quick stop to get food for lunch and also breakfast! The reason as we were in a rush was because the tide was coming in so we needed to get doing before there was no beach left!

Onto 90 mile beach which is about 60 miles, but they worked out that it was 90 miles because on average a cow can be herded about 30 miles a day so they used to use the beach to herd the cows down to the main towns and it took them around 3 days!

The beack was MASSIVE! It was amazing with crashing waves on one side and sand dunes on the other side! We passed a few 4 wheel drives but normal cars can't come along here and rental car agreements have NO DRIVING ON 90 MILE BEACH ALLOWED written very clearly. The result if you take a car on the beach is that it will probably sink - I'll put a photo on soon!

At the end of 90 mile beach are massive sand dunes, they are like sand mountains! I felt really travel sick at this point as Craig our driver was doing turns on the beach - ugh! So whilst everyone went sandboarding - body boards down the sand, I became the official photographer!

After the duning we headed north upto Cape Reinga which is the northern most tip of NZ and before we stopped there we went to a lovely little beach for lunch. Some of the guys got the boards out and went body boarding, I had a paddle then went and sat with the girls and had lunch.

Once full and a bit more relaxed we went to Cape Reinga and the lighthouse where the Maori believe that when someone dies theire soul travels north and along the headland to the Cape and departs this world! It's a very sacred place and it still belongs to the Maori people but the Department of Conservation look after it. We got there and walked down to the lighthouse, unfortunatly there were some workmen there with diggers and stuff building a new wall so trying to get a picture of the lighthouse was a bit difficult! There is ysually a sign like there is at Lands End/ John O Groats and that was down because of the work! However what was spectacular was the surrounding views. This is where the Tasman and the Pacific Oceans meet, you can kind of work it out at the waves are going towards each other, but it was a really calm day so there were no smashing waves! The views of the surrounding coast are amazing as well!

After we ledt here it was a long drive down to Kauri World, basically a stop to try and get us to buy some ancient Kauri tree stuff like coasters, kitchen utensils and other expensive stuff. The workmanship was amazing but it was all very expensive!

The last stop was at a place called Mongonui which has NZ's best fish and chip shop! So we had fish and chips, they were lovely, all the fish and chips are amazing! Mongonui itself is a gorgeous little harbour town with a few islands in the sound, it's situated in an inlet at the north of the Bay of Islands.

I had a few drinks with the group from the dorm again but I couldn't go out on the town as I had run out of cash and my money wallet was in the reception safe which was closed, so an early night for me! Not such a nice night though! The group came in at 2am making a racket and started pulling the mattress off one of the beds, it went out the patio door this time which I was trying to sleep next too! Very cold! They then bought it back in put it back on the bed - top bunk! They then had a crisp fight! Lovely! These people are older than me! Not the best experience as it was my first time in a mixed dorm!

We had a 7.30 am pick up this morning from Base. I popped in to say good bye to Jess as she was luckier and her bus didn't go until 8.00! Haf halped me with all my stuff! Thanks!

On the bus everyone was still asleep and there were only 17 people on a 50 seater so it was fairly quiet. Kane our driver explained that we would head straight up to Paihia so that we would have the afternoon to do what we wanted.

We stopped halfway for breakfast, Kane also arranged the accommodation. I opted for the Pipi Patch Lodge as that was what was suggested and everyone else stayed there! I also booked the Excitor a jet boat tour of the bay of Islands.

Arriving at 12.00 we checked in and I was second into my dorm which was pretty basic but clean. There were no lockers and the top bunks didn't even have railings on! Ouch if you roll over! There were 3 girls and 4 boys in the dorm and they all seemed ok!

They did a trip to some hot springs whilst I went and did the Excitor. The trip was fantastic, we went 45 knots saw loads of fish - no dolphins though! We went through the hole in the rock which is huge! It was such a laugh! As it was quite calm the driver couldn't do as many wave jumps and such but it meant that we saw loads more wildlife and he took us to see more islands!

Back at the hostel that night we had a barbeque which was tasty! I stayed for a few drinks then called it a night as I was knackered! The rest of the dorm stayed out came back around 1-2 am and started chucking the mattresses off the beds! I had been fast asleep and I tried ignoring them but then a sleeping bag landed on me!

Jess came in and woke me up this morning - I had fallen asleep again after my alarm went off! It was raining and miserable so we decided not to do Waiheke Island which has amazing beaches but to do Rangitoto Island as there is a 2-3 hour walk and then we could stop off in Devonport on the way back for lunch!

We got the 9.15 ferry to Rangitoto which is a dormant volcano just across the harbour from Auckland (Auckland has around 48 volcanoes) the weather was pretty awful and we were worried about the views from the summit!

When we got to Rangitoto Island 20 minutes later it had stopped raining and the clouds were beginning to break. We started heading up the track and it was very stony when we cam along a massive lava flow - not really hot lava obviously! It was from when the volcanoe erupted 600 years ago! It was quite freaky as there we were trundling along and wham! There between all the bush was a big rive of black stones!

It was similar all the way up - lush bush then a big black river of stone! It got quite steep and it was literally an hour to get up to the top! At the top you could see the crater and we walked up to the viewing platforms - during the walk the sun came out so we were sweltering having dressed for rain!

The views were amazing, you could see all of the other islands and Auckland. It is literally like being on top of the world!

We walked back down to the lava caves - we didn't have a torch so we couldn't go in but apparently it is quite cool!

We headed down the volcano to the ferry terminal and got the ferry to Devonport - yes it also has a navy base!!!

I've now seen the australian and new zealand navy and they are so small!

In Devonport which was very cute - lots of little boutique shops we went for Fush and Chups (That's how the Kiwi's pronounce it!). Really nice! They don't do curry sauce here though! But you get to decide whether you want your fish battered or crumbed!

We went back to Auckland and we went to the supermarket as both Jess and I leave tomorrow, me to the Bay of Islands and Jess to Rotorua. We got pizza for dinner!

Back at the hostel we scrubbed a baking tray for 15 minutes and black muck was still coming off of it! Then we discovered both the ovens were broken! So we ended up having Thai in an Asian food court!

Back at the hostel I showered and packed then spent the evening on the roof terrace having a few drinks with Laura and Sarah and welsh girl Haf (It means Summer in welsh!)!

Myself and Sarah decided to have a walk around Auckland so we walked down to the harbour and caught the end of the Auckland Swim. This is an annual event where a few hundred crazy fools swim from Devonport on the other side of the harbour into Aucklands Americas Cup Village! Mad!

We then decided that it was a bit to windy and chilly so we went for a coffee and walked up through the main shops! It's reasonably cheap here as well so I mainly window shopped and bought a few essentials!

We went for lunch in the SkyCity food court, basically it's just a cinema but the food was cheap!

I then left Sarah as she had to get ready for work - she's doing a Working Holiday Visa and working in an Italian Restaurant at the moment.

I was in farmers - kind of like BHS, where I met Jess, we started chatting and it turns out she's also staying at Base Backpackers. So we carried on shopping and had dinner. It was a reasonably early night as we decided to visit one of the Islands tommorrow.

My last entry was written waiting for the shuttle to pick me up at 5am! I got to the airport at 6am and check in didn't open until 6.40!

I went through and boarded my flight - very boring! I watched the film Must Love Dogs - Don't bother watching this ever itis sooo boring!

At Auckland I had to declare my boots at the biosecurity point and have them checked out. They were clean of course!

I got the Airbus to my hostel and it was quite nice as we went past Mt Eden and past the sky city.

At the hostel I checked in and my room is a 9 bed dorm this time but the girls are really nice. The bathrooms are well nasty, really old and dark!

Me and Laura from my dorm went for dinner in the hostel cafe and then I came back up and unpacked and had a shower. Sarah in my dorm is here on a working holiday visa and is working in an Italian restaurant so she went out. Two californian girls came along as well who were really nice, they had just come off of doing the Kiwi Experience so they told me all about it. Lots of sugegstions!

My camera is getting full so I'll be transfering them to disc soon so I'll be putting some on soon!

My last day in Melbourne! I am going to miss it as I've had a wicked time here, but I'm excited about going to New Zealand!

Although it was a long day last night I had to get up reasonable early this morning to get my washing done ready to pack! I also went to the post office to send back my pictures of my Bridge Climb as I don't want them getting damaged on my travels!

I met Ursula (I kept calling her Ulrika, but it's Ursula!) and Anne for brunch at Great Flavours. I had a cooked breakfast - WOW! If anyone ever comes or comes back to Melbourne you have to come to St Kilda and go to Great Flavours on Acland Street is so good and really good value for money!

We all headed into Melbourne on the tram and Anne left us as she's going out with this guy she met to a Dracula Themed dinner! So she had to get tickets!

Me and Ursula headed upto the city circle tram which is a free tram that takes you around the main streets in a loop for free. It turns out that part of the loop is closed so we could only do half of it! So we headed back to Hard Rock Cafe and I bought a really nice pin, and we had these amazing cocktails!

We then headed down to the shops and I had a look in Target again!

Back at the hostel I packed most of my gear and then met Ursula for dinner again! Where else but Great Flavours!

We headed back to the hostel and went straight to the bar and met Sonya and Jess. We weren't waiting long before the Irish guys who were on my tour yesterday joined us. A few others joined us and then they started the Karoke! The first person up got a free drink so of course I volunteered! I did Macy Gray I Try! Becky and Abby came along, Becky is also from Bristol so we did our best farmer accents! Can you believe she actually wants to move back to Bristol! Why! More people started singing, then me and Sonya did Locomotion together! The canadian girls from the bus tour yesterday then showed up as well! We had to start bringing in more chairs! After a few more competitions to win drinks I went up and sang again! This time it was Can't Catch the Moonlight by Leanne Rimes!

More cheesy music was put on and I had a bit of a dance where I bumped in to the horny guys from the Neighbours night - there was lots of hugging at this point as they were slaughtered after being at the races today!

I stayed and danced for a bit longer but I had be a Cinderella and call it a night at midnight because I have to be up at 4 am to get to the airport in the morning!

It was way to early to be decent this morning! I got on the bus with 2 Irish lads from my hostel and we picked up loads of other people in Melbourne.

First stop was Bells Beach - famous surf beach (see the end of Point Blank - actually not the real Bells Beach but you get the idea!). It was ok but quite calm so only 3 surfers!

We then stopped at Lorne which was quite nice, we headed on to Kennet River and walked down a road with wild Koalas in the trees, we fed the wild parrots, they eat out of your hand - so cool!

We then headed to Apollo Bay where we had a gorgeous lunch and went down to the beach. Wow this beach was so nice, I got a bit carried away and got absolutely soaked!

We went for a walk through a temperate rainforest which dried me off. The trees were so huge - we stood inside them!

Onto the 12 Apostles - kind of like the Needles on the Isle of Wight! There are only 8 left now though, one fell down a few months ago! It was really busy and there were tonnes of bloody flies! Ugh! I got some nice photos!

We then went to Loch Ard Gorge which was the most beautiful inlet where a ship from England called the Loch Ard crashed in the 1800s. I got wet again!

London Bridge is falling down! Which it did a few years ago! The arch was quite fascinating but the beach was the most gorgeous sight!

Absolutely knackered by this stage so I fell asleep on the bus and then we stopped for tea in this little town, I had the most amazing noodles! Yum!

I got in about 9.30 pm and stayed chatting with the girls for an hour or so before we went to bed!

Really lazy today! I just went down to the beach with a group from the hostel. As it is Melbourne Cup Day all of Melbourne shuts down so everyone was at the beach!

I went for a meal with Ulrika, we went to this great restaurant called Great Flavours. It's a low fat restaurant, they don't use butter eyc when cooking food. All the food it fresh and locally produced! I had a beef burger and wild rice salad, the burger was nearly 2 inches thick! Only $12.00!

We went to the bar after and got our free bubbly, they did it between 6-8 tonight because of the Melbourne Cup. We had a few drinks and I went to bed about 11 as I have to get up early for the
Great Ocean Road Tour!