Australia: Melbourne to Adelaide

Traveling to Melbourne from Sydney by train wasn't quite the original plan, but due to my rubbish organisational skills in sorting out a hire car, was the only remaining option. Going in the sleeper cabins was probably the best decision of my life though, having seen the cruel reality of economy class.

Reaching Melbourne I checked into a hostel near the Southern Cross Station, and headed into town, looking forward to the cultural and culinary delights. The centre of Melbourne itself offers much in the way of shopping, but I was a little disappointed in the lack of cultural areas and bars. We did find a trendy bar down by the river, though, which had an outdoor BBQ. I headed down to the Moonlight Cinema one evening. an outdoor cinema down in the Botanic Gardens, where I watched 2001 A Space Odyssey. First time I'd seen the movie all the way through. I totally didn't get the ending, but I think that's mainly because I was too cold to think. The weather is totally erratic here. One evening can stay in the upper twenties all night, the next can drop about 15 degrees.

We took a trip over to Phillip Island to see the Little Penguins coming back from gathering fish after sunset. Just after 9pm, there were hundreds of penguins coming out from the sea and trawling up the beach and into their nesting areas up the beach.

The Great Ocean Road, which starts just after Geelong and runs along to Torquay, provides one of the best coastal roads in the country. We hired a car and over three days drove from Melbourne to Adelaide. The 12 Apostles was probably the most impressive, with a series of stacks just off the coast. I have to mention the YHA hostel we stayed at in Robe. This was the finest hostel so far. After this it was the long drive to Adelaide.

I stayed in Adelaide for a couple of days before visiting Kangaroo Island, just off the coast. With a island of that name, you would expect to see a raft of kangaroos, but I only got to see one. And it was dead. We did see the Remarkable Rocks though, naturally formed stone structures, which were very impressive.

The centre of Adelaide offered the same carbon-copy shops but little else, and it certainly isn't somewhere I could spend a long period of time. The next step is to prepare for the long train journey to Perth.