one more little stone: September 2012

Day 229 The Drop-off 21 September 2012

Hard work today: we first had to drive to Melbourne in time to avoid another toll fee (we bought a 24hour pass), check in our hotel, unload our campervan in the middle of a buzzing city, fill up the gas tank and clean the campervan inside and outside before the drop-off.

Since a fellow Dutchmen told us that the carwash was 25 dollars and advised us to do it in the self service booth- Martijn gave it a try (Ana cleaned the inside)!

After we dropped off the campervan (with 5,942.7km/ 3692.6mi) we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon in a very comfortable hotel. We ventured out for dinner and found a very nice Thai place!

Day 228 Penguin Parade 20 September 2012

We left Geelong to drive to Philip Island home of the Penguin Parade.

Since we arrived early at our holiday camp we enjoyed the facilities and went for a swim in the heated indoor pool. Then we drove to the Nobbles, where a colony of 40,000 little penguins is located.

We saw a significant number of those waggling past us returning from the sea to their burrows around sunset. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed, but they sure looked cute (especially in their sweaters)!

We were warned to look out for penguins under our campervan, unfortunately/fortunately none were hiding out.

Day 227 Great Ocean Road 19 September 2012

Today we drove along one of Australia’s highlights, the Great Ocean Road.

After enjoying the ocean and natural surroundings for a few hours we arrived at Gibsons steps , where we walked the steps down to get our feet wet on the beach. The sea however was a little more unpredictable than we anticipated: Ana was trying to make Martijn’s picture when a huge wave arrived behind his back.Instead of making a great action shot, Ana ran for her life and managed to produce a pciture of the sand!

After all the excitement our next stop was the famous 12 Apostles (not all of them are present anymore- due to erosion).

We continued along the road to find more impressive sights, the Lock and Gorge,

the Arch,

The London Bridge,

and The Grotto.

Day 226 Driving Day 18 September 2012

Today we covered the longest distance during our trip in Australia, about 700km/430miles. We left early in the morning and arrived in a new state, Victoria. We went beyond Melbourne to Geelong.

Day 225 Canberra 17 September 2012

Today we spent the entire day in the car, driving a very scenic and winding road to Canberra. We saw thousands of sheep and completely black cows grazing away the kilometers.

We arrived just in time to meet friends of Martijn’s mom, Renata and Frank, for a Korean barbecue dinner.

Day 224 Blue Mountains 16 September 2012

Today we headed to the nearby (2 hours) Blue Mountains where after finding our spot at the local caravan park we set out for the Great Round, a 3 hours walk around the famous Three Sister peaks that included a Furber Steps 1000 steps down and the Great Staircase with 900 super steep steps up! We slept like babies afterwards!

The sign says "Giant Stairway : Very Steep- Strong Walkers Only!" And we are!!

Day 223 Taronga Zoo 15 September 2012

After exploring Newport with Mosca’s mother and having a leisurely breakfast at a little German place

we headed out for our destination of the day, the Taronga Zoo, supposedly a better zoo than the one in San Diego. It was surely a very nice zoo, with a great view of Sydney, but to our opinion is that it did not surpass the San Diego Zoo (sorry but no offense)!

We especially enjoyed the seal show, which showed off the incredible skill of the mammals, from mimicking sharks, waving at the audience to jumping to incredible heights.