Back in Melbourne

Marilyn picked us up at the airport and we went back to our B&B&L&D at their house in Berwick, a suburb of Melbourne. It was so nice to be able to sit and relax in one place for a while. Of course, there were plans to go south to a national park and see penguins and other things. Unfortunately, the fires were now down in that area and it was closed to all traffic. So, we decided to do some touring around Melbourne and go down the Great Ocean Road.

Greg and Marilyn's home. Note how dry everything is. The
drought conditions sure helped bring about the wildfires.

One of the greatest things about touring around the area was that we
did it in Greg's Mustang convertible. No wind problems in the
front seats, but the people in the back got a bit wind-blown.
We drew a lot of looks as we cruised around and many pictures were
taken by a lot of others. Greg's car has appeared in commercials throughout
Australia.

We traveled down to the harbour entrance to look at
the fortifications built for protection during the wars.

Home for rent. Great views! Quiet tenants downstairs.

This is the entrance to the Great Ocean Road. it was built
by the soldiers who returned from the First World War.

Many tourists drive on this road. This was the very first
time we ever saw reminders as to which side of the road to drive.

We stopped at a Caravan Park to see the parrots and Koalas.

This was probably the closest we ever got to one.

This is some of the Western Coast of Australia. The Great Ocean
Road follows along for many miles and the views are breathtaking.
My pictures do not do the views justice.

We climbed up a small mountain/hill near Appollo Bay for these views.
Heath went here the next weekend for a bike touring race.

Here are a couple of views of the Twelve Apostles, some rock formations off
the coast.

Then, we were off to an area called the Grampions. There had been fires in this area about 6 years ago. Before our climb, we stopped at a small coffee shop which also sold Port and souvenirs.

Would you drink this stuff? Read the label closely.

A couple of views from Boroka Lookout and the Grampion Mountains.

Back in Melbourne, we did a day tour of the Market and the downtown area.
It's a good thing that Greg was driving.

Old and New. The original train station, still in use today and
the skyscrapers behind. This is the view from Federation Square.

Some of the buildings we saw during our drive and of course, the Ute.
(Australia's answer to Alberta's pickups)

On our last Sunday in Melbourne, Greg and Marilyn set up a tour for us to go to the wine area and to see the devestation caused by the fires. We traveled with four other couples. People in the wineries were very happy to start seeing tourists as the fires had stopped many visitors from showing up and buying their products. Some of the pictures below show a bit of the damage caused by the fires. Of course, some of the vinters had not picked their grapes yet and were a bit worried as to whether or not, the wine would have a smoky smell/taste. They wouldn't know until the next year.

Jannose saw this in one of the winery shops.
She made me take a picture of it.

Because Greg had already driven us down the Ocean Road, we decided that we could fly to Adelaide rather than drive. We would then rent a car for a few days and then catch up with our tour to the Outback. On our way to the airport, Marilyn brought us to a new Botanical Garden devoted totally to Indigenous plants of Australia. Below are a couple of the pictures that I took.










Then, on to a plane and off to Adelaide and then the Outback.