Melbourne to Adelaide via The Great Ocean Road

Melbourne at Night, originally uploaded by jokecamp.

Tweleve Apostles, originally uploaded by jokecamp.

From Canberra I took an overnight nine hour Greyhound bus ride. The ride was long and cramped.

Melbourne was a great city. The combination of the Victorian architecture and modern architecture gives the city a great look and feel. The Trams worked smartly and blended in with the scene. In the endless argument, Sydney versus Melbourne I have to side with Melbourne. While I was in Melbourne the Australian Open was in full swing. The crowds were impressive and made the city was buzzing with excitement. At night along the South Bank of the Yarra river the city lights were great.

From Melbourne I joined a small bus tour for a three day trip to Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road. The road winded along the southern coast of Australia. The views were amazing and the surf breaks were rough. Along the trip saw some Kangaroos and we camped below the Koala bears. The male mating call of the Koala is quite startling in the morning. The highlight was camping in a secluded little ranch/pub in the Grampians. The stars were the brightest I've ever seen them and you could hear the kangaroos sneaking around the tents in the early morning.

Then I was in Adelaide to celebrate Australian Day. Some friends from the bus tour and I headed down to the beach for a swim then hit the town with our Aussie flags to celebrate. Tomorrow I start a 8 day journey into the center of the continent.

The Capital City: Canberra

Canberra Parliament, originally uploaded by jokecamp.

I've in Canberra now enjoying the sights of Australia's capital. Its a small city. Built only because Sydney and Melbourne both wanted to become the capital and they could not come to an agreement. Hence a city built an inconvenient distance from both was established. There's not to much to the planned city. The streets are wide and sparse. The security of the Parliament building was practically non existent. You could walk in and view the Senate and House of Representatives meeting places in less than five minutes. Unfortunately the Parliament is in summer session but the architecture of the building is pretty impressive.

One of the more impressive sights to see is the water fountain in the lake that shoots water over 100 meters into the air. Needless to say it is time to move on.

Sydney, Australia

Sydney Opera House and Bridge, originally uploaded by jokecamp.

Bondi Beach, originally uploaded by jokecamp.

The flight to Sydney was only about 2 and a half hours. I flew with Emirates an airline based out of Dubai. Flying on their airlines is a real treat. I got a free beer with my roasted duck dinner. Then the headset had hundreds of movies you could view. You could view two different live cameras operating at the front of the plane and the bottom of the plane. It was quite impressive. I'm not sure how I got such a good deal on the flight. Getting through Australian customs was quick and painless. A quick double decker train ride later I was dropped off into the center of Sydney.

Sydney is huge and beautiful. The harbour is amazing and intertwines with the land. The hustle and bustle of the city reminds me of New York city but not nearly as intimidating as the big apple. The beaches are amazing but very crowded. The surf is powerful and wiped me out a few times. The water is clear and the sand is clean.

I have been staying in the city for the last few days and I will head Southwest to see Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide before heading into the heart of the continent. The outback.

Farewell New Zealand

View from Mount Coronet, originally uploaded by jokecamp.

I'm flying out of New Zealand this evening. New Zealand was simply stunning in the scenery. It has everything. Mountains, lakes, rivers, and beaches. I've spent about two months here and every time you look around you can't help but think to yourself that your current view would make a great photograph. I am sure I will return for another visit someday.

A couple fun things I found out here where that you can go shopping barefoot, you get to drive on the wrong side of the road, there are no frivolous lawsuits, five cents if the lowest currency denomination, you drink spirits instead of liqueur and enjoy crisps instead of fries. There is brekkie, lunch and tea.The beer isn't too bad and I have no idea why they call the letter Z "Zed."

It wasn't all splendid though. The sausages here are terrible and they try to give you assigned seats in the cinema.

Next stop is Sydney, Australia.

The Van Chronicles

Top of Heather Jock Trail, originally uploaded by jokecamp.

Heater Jock Hut, originally uploaded by jokecamp.

The Van, originally uploaded by jokecamp.

Lately I have been traveling via an old beat up Mitsubishi red van. Sascha, my current travel companion from Germany, owns the van and has been traveling New Zealand the last few months. The van works as our wheels and accommodation. We cruise around in the front then usually crash in the back of the van on the side of the road or at some lookout point. The van is a lot of fun despite the fact that it goes a maximum of 80 kilometers per hour but up steep hills and mountains (which New Zealand is full of) it crawls at about 20 kph. Needless to say everybody passes us. The friendly ones honk.

We stopped in Queenstown for New Years Eve and hit the bars hard. It seemed the whole South Island had descended upon the small town for the night. A fun night and a great way to spend my birthday.

Next we headed to Glenorchy to climb the Heater Jock Trail. A two day tramping track. We got to the trail parking lot early and hung around for the night to start the trail in the morning. The lights of the van got left on so when we departed for the day with a dead battery to return too. The trail was entirely uphill to the Heather Jock Hut at the top. The climb wasn't bad but a lot different with all the gear loaded in the backpacks. When we got to the hut we realized why it was a free hut. The door was busted and covered by a blue tarp. The hut had three bunks and a dysfunctional fireplace. We found that out later when we smoked ourselves out at the break of nightfall. In all it was a fun night. We nearly froze to death in the hut with a few hours of sleep. Mostly tossing and turning. I just couldn't get my toes warm. We find out that night why everyone in the log book insisted the hut was haunted. We were eager to get back to the van the next day. After the hike and a quick walk down the road and a jump start from a local group of teenagers that looked like they were up to no good and we are back on the road.