Victoria (part 2)

Tuesday August 5th - We have to be back in Sale by evening for a dinner with Ada, Don and friends of theirs from Switzerland, but also want to see the parts of the Great Ocean Road we missed in April. This requires an early start in the cold but the day turns beautiful as we approach the Bay of Islands, a bay full of small islands and rock pillars which give a flavor of the natural features that make this coast famous. A description doesn't really do justice to the coast so check out pictures here.

From here we visit several of the famous features on this coast. Loch Ard Gorge is the most interesting with both spectacular limestone formations, caves, and a shipwreck history from whence the name comes. The clipper Loch Ard ran aground in 1878 having nearly reached it's destination in Melbourne from the UK. Only one crew member and one passenger survived of the 51 aboard, others are buried on top of the cliff.

The misnamed Twelve Apostles are our final destination. Once known as the "Sow and Piglets" the 12 sea stacks were renamed for the tourists in the 1950s despite numbering 9. One collapsed in 2005 so the proper name is probably the "8 Apostles and one rubble pile". Very impressive collection of stacks though.

Now we have to haul our way back to Sale in time for dinner and this we manage in reasonable time and without hitting too much traffic around Melbourne. The crew were only on starters and after being introduced to John, Rashana and their 3 kids (visiting from Switzerland though the parent hail from Canada and the US) we enjoy an excellent meal.

Wednesday August 6th - Having made it "home" we now have a few days to sort out our possessions and work out how to get them all back to the US. However first we spend a day sightseeing with Don, Ada and the ? family at up in the hills where large gold reserves were mined in the 19th century and where gold mining is still carried out on a small but commercial scale.

The ride to the historic mining town of Walhalla takes us through fog in the Latrobe Valley (no doubt worsened by the pollution from the brown coal burning power stations) and up into wooded hills once stripped bare of trees to feed the insatiable power needs of the mines. In Walhalla we take a tour of the oldest mine, a fascinating glimpse of how ore was brought to the surface by brute force, dynamite and steam power. Then we look around the remaining village and have a quick picnic (the weather is none too warm) before riding back down to Sale, this time with good views of the power stations.

Thursday August 7th - Today it is time for us to complete the emptying and cleaning of the camper, a process that leaves large piles of "stuff" to be sorted. Luckily the weather is dry as we haul it all around Ada's yard. Don and Tim take the camper off to clean the holding tanks and we then situate it back where it began under a shelter beside Ada's garage. We also complete the business details of handing the rig back to Don.

Friday August 8th - The piles begin to diminish as we decide what we'll donate to Ada, what will go to the charity shop and what is ready for the bin. It is amazing how much we have and it's a challenge getting it anywhere near ready to transport to Melbourne.

Saturday August 9th - More packing, sorting and organizing in the day before we spend an excellent evening with Ada's friends Dennett and Peter fueled by outstanding homemade pizza courtesy of their son Tim and a pizza oven they built in the garden.

We'll be staying at Peter and Dennett's apartment in Melbourne and Peter kindly offers to drive us there as he's heading that way for work. That will save us a lot of hauling stuff on the train!

Sunday August 10th - The winter weather actually threatens snow near our route to Melbourne but fortunately only at altitude while the road follows the valley and we only experience driving rain and high winds. We spend the day making final packing arrangements and hoping that the stuff will all fit in Peter's average size saloon/ sedan car. And it does... just. With a borrowed bike carrier and very little room for Tracy in the back!

Monday August 11th - The apartment in the city is very pleasant and nicely situated... just a pity about the continuing bad weather. We spend the early part of the day working out how to ship some of our possessions to the UK to avoid carrying quite so much on the many flights we have ahead, in the end posting it works out best and we duly fill a couple of boxes with the maximum 20kg (44lbs).

In the evening we join the Melbourne Hash House Harriers for their run, taking along Dennett's 18 year old nephew Matt. We all have fun despite the average age of the hashers being about 60!

Tuesday August 12th - Better weather today but we begin indoors by packing our bike boxes with the maximum allowed by the airline and then trying to fit everything else in within our weight limit... a tough job! We meet Matt for lunch and aim to have dinner with Don and Ada who are passing through the city en route to the airport. Somehow Tracy and I manage to lose one another on the 5 minute walk from the apartment to the restaurant, which is a problem as she doesn't know where she's going. However while Tim searches the riverside area she manages to find them herself and we finally get to say our goodbyes.

Wednesday August 13th - Tim is up early to get some pictures around the city as the weather is finally clear and crisp, then it's time to get our belongings into Peter's car, even more of a challenge than before with the bikes boxed. Tracy has even less room this time but we successfully make the airport where a helpful traffic minder allows us plenty of time to unload and helps us find baggage carts.

The flight to Sydney is incident free, but it is quite a challenge getting the bags and boxes through the airport, down to the railway, onto the train, off the train at the other end and finally from the station to the hotel. Though we selected a hotel beside the station it is beside the other end and Tim gets exercise carrying everything while Tracy stays with the diminishing pile.

At least the weather is mild and beautiful, and the hotel is both as good as advertised and has a large room with plenty of room for all the stuff. We relax for the rest of the day, luckily there is plenty of food options nearby for picking up lunch and dinner nearby.