Why are koalas not as excited to see me as I am to see them???‏

Well we made it back safe and sound from our Australian safari in lower Victoria! Anyone who listens to me ramble knows that one of my goals is to make it to 100 of the "1000 places to see before you die". Check off number 75 (I think - around there anyway).

Early Monday morning Traci and Shelly dumped my fever ridden body into the back of Shelly's Subaru and we set off for adventure down the "Great Ocean Road". This stretch of highway is referred to as one of the most picturesque in the world, and rightly so. It is a stretch of road approx 200km that weaves along the coast of the Southern Ocean and through the temperate rain forest of lower Australia. We started in the world famous surf town of Torquay (home of Rip Curl and QuikSilver) and infamous Bell's Beach - home of the Rip Curl Surf tournament. I wanted to grab a board and hit the waves but Traci and Shelly pointed out that there was still much to see so, reluctantly, we pushed on.

After some random stops at anything marked "historical marker" or "lookout", plus a 45 min beachcomber/tidal pool exploration stop we finally reached a small town of Lorne. It was here that we met a cute little Australian woman who altered our whole minibreak. You know what it's like when you plan a trip - somehow you are going to make it to all the highlights, cover 1000 km a day, stop everywhere and yet still have a relaxing day - we all tackle too much. This woman took one look at our plan, scoffed at our ambitions, muttered some cute little Ozzie phrase and then set about telling us what to see. It servers as a reminder to all of us - locals know more about what to see then guidebooks.

It was because of this awesome women that I was able to see one of the coolest things ever - koalas in the wild. She gave us directions to an area behind a caravan park (read: trailer park - they have them here too) that locals say are renowned for these fuzzy little marsupials. At first disappointment was felt throughout the car until Shelly, eagle eye that she is, spotted a little fuzzy ball about 50 feet at the top of a gum tree. We parked the car and set off on foot traipsing through the Australian bush (nothing too dangerous in Australia eh?). Soon we were surrounded by adorableness. Everywhere we looked Koalas were eating, climbing but mainly sleeping. There were so many that had then been a dangerous animal I would have seriously been worried. A few hundred photos later (we had to abandon the safari as twilight set in) we headed off to try and find lodging and food (read: beer).

We were able to secure a room in the somewhat abandoned town this time of year, but I imagine quite the hopping place in summer, of Apollo Bay. After short stroll down the boardwalk and we decided to dine on the only restaurant in town. A few beers later and I came face to face with a dilemma...I wanted to eat something different and local - 'Roo, but I also wanted to ensure that I would spot some in the wild. After struggling with this dinner decision, and mainly fearing bad karma - I opted for the chicken schnitzel.

Early the next morning, to ensure an maximum amount of daylight for adventure, we set off down the highway. Planning to work off upcoming breakfast, we had a quick little trek through the water soaked rainforest in search of, and I am serious here, carnivorous snails. Not sad to say that we did not come upon any of these little buggers. More wildlife treated us on our drive back to the coast, a few koalas, kookaburras, Scarlett rosellas (bright red budgies) and...kangaroos. Well kind of...Shelly spotted 4 large grey kangaroos, pulled the car over, we scrambled out of the car and made eye contact with these massive animals. Then something spooked them...it could have been our scent, the noise of the camera turning on...or Traci yelling "Oh my God, they're hopping, THERY'RE HOPPING, THEY'RE HOPPING!!! Hmmm not sure what it was...so the pictures...well you will have to use your imagination, but it was awesome to see them hopping, Traci was justified in her excitement.

We next stopped at Cape Otway - "Australia's Most Significant Lighthouse". Ummmm I am not sure why it is the MOST significant. it's pretty. it has fantastic and i mean fantastic, scones. and i met a guy there - the man who sits at the top of the lighthouse and tells you stories, he begged me to find him a job. Apparently Canada is reinstating it's lighthouse keepers - he wants me to e-mail him when I see the jobs posted. (Attn: any Canadian friends who may be reading this and have any pull with the coast guard - he has tremendous amounts of experience and I think he may off himself if he is forced to entertain tourists much longer. His name is Pat).

The most photographed portion of this historical road is an area referred to as the 12 Apostles. The Southern Ocean carved away the shoreline leaving 12 towers of layering limestone (only 8 remain). They are quite spectacular but look as though they may topple over at any point in time. I took a few photos that I will pass on soon enough.

Our last stop for adventure was the canopy tree top walk through the Beech and Blackwood forest. We climbed up and walked along a series of walkways at a height of 47 metres/150 feet above the forest floor. It was awesome but the slightest breeze made you say a little prayer. As sunset came again we climbed home and headed for Melbourne, a brief stop at McDonald's rounded out our adventure - I had the sweet chili chicken wrap and Traci dined on the Tandori Chicken wrap (for those who follow my other adventures I like to try McDonald's in all these places because they all have different foods - interesting too me).

Off to tackle the city on our own today, as usual sorry for the rambling, thanks for reading and special thanks to those who wrote back!!