So on the morning of the 18th Feb we picked up our hire car from Hertz in Melbourne and were lucky enough to have got a free upgrade on the car, as they had none of the cheap-jack manual drive one's that we had ordered - shame!! We ended up with a brand new car (a bit like a Vectra or something) that only had 100 miles on the clock. I can't believe how lucky we've been with all these upgrades (from David Copperfield seats, plane seats, the accommodation in Christchurch and now the car!) - someone's looking down and smiling with us!!

So we left Melbourne without finding ourselves at any nasty hook turns (where you have to turn right at a large junction from the far left lane and you go when the lights are red?? . . confused? yep so were we!!) and we were on our way! I was really excited about this, as me and the girls drove the Great Ocean Road in 2000 and it was one of the best things we did . . . .

Our first stop was for lunch in Torquay. There's not much there apart from loads of huge surf shops on the main road as you arrive and some funky cafes. After re-fuelling with fresh OJ's and poached eggs on toast we took a walk along Torquay beach to check out the surf - pretty flat really, although a few people trying their luck, lots of people sunbathing and a load of school kids winding up the seagulls - what a life having a school day trip to a fantastic beach like that, with sunshine!!

Torquay is where the Great Ocean Road officially starts, so we drove for another couple of hours and stopped at the famous Bells Beach passed through Anglesea, Point Roadnight, Aireys Inlet and Lorne - all small places with not much to do but some amazing views of the ocean and all accommodation fully booked! Once again it looked like our un-organisation was going to mean we'd be sleeping in the lovely upgraded car (glad we liked it!!). Luckily though we stumbled across a small town called Wye River and there was a holiday park with available cabins, so we were in luck! The only issue was there was nowhere to eat and the only stupidly small shop had not much in the way of convenience so we ended up having a tin of meat bolognaise on top of the good old backpackers saviour - super noodles! Actually, it wasn't too bad and filled a gap!

We were shattered when we reached Wye River, as the four days in Melbourne had been pretty exhausting - we must be getting old?! We had an earlyish night and just read our books, after starting a small world war with the mozzies that had somehow found their way into our cabin, despite the mosquito screen across the door - don't you just hate the bloody things!! - James definitely does!! It was a funny night, as we could hear the weirdest sounds from outside - it sounded like wild boars and monkeys were surrounding us - we couldn't see anything, so still don't have a clue what it was?

The second day on the Ocean Road was short - I drove and we were probably only on the road for about an hour and a half until we reached Apollo Bay. We found a motel here and decided a day of sun and surf was in order. However, by the time we reached the beach there was no surf - flat again! We did have a swim though, although I think James may have been a little worried about sharks as he didn't venture in past his waist? - The water was cool, but refreshing, as it was a really hot day. We sunbathed, then showered and had dinner.

The next morning we were gutted as we woke up to pouring rain!! This was not what we wanted for the most spectacular part of the GOR drive!! We ended up staying in Apollo Bay for another night and didn't get out of bed until about 2ish, when the rain finally stopped! Lazy, but much needed!! We had a walk on the beach and then after dinner had an early night as we wanted to leave early the next morning to make up the time we'd lost with extra night in Apollo.

This next day was amazing - we managed to get up and leave just after 7am and the sky was clear, so it was looking good! We were a little stunned for the first hour or so, as we're not used to getting up early (oh how coming back to work is going to shock us!!). I was so pleased that we got to see the 12 Apostles, The Arch and The London Bridge with a blue sky, as last time it was a bit cloudy. The only downer was the annoying flies everywhere, that don't want to just fly past, they would actually like to book a room on your face, preferably a nice suite in your ear, eye or mouth!! I have to say, considering there's meant to be a massive amount of spiders in Australia (not that we've seen many Emma J!!) they're doing a crap job of killing the flies! Come on Mr Huntsman, do your job!!

There was another small downer to this day, as James got pulled over by the police and they gave him a lovely gift of a $140 speeding fine! He was doing 109km in a 100km limit - whoops!! He was gutted as in the 14 years he's been driving he's never had a fine.

We saw a little Joey today too (actually alive, which is a rare sight out here!!) as well as quite a few dead kangaroo's on the road. It's pretty common for people to hit Kangaroos on these roads, as they just come out from nowhere. There big buggers too, so you'd be in trouble if one did step out in front of you!

We found a budget hotel (and I mean budget! It was a dive!!) in a place called Mount Gambier (Nina and Liz - did we stay here in a hotel?). A weird little town, with lots of pubs and shops, but just not many people? We used the internet here, had a few beers and some food, then turned the lights out in our room and the TV on, so we could try and forget about what a dodgy room it was! Our plan was sleep and another early start, as we had a long drive on the final day to get to Adelaide for our flight to Perth. The plan worked, we slept, woke, showered and got the hell out of there!

It was an average drive the next day - not much to see, as we were off the Ocean road completely. We drove for about 6 hours, with a stop to get some lunch half way. Got to the airport to drop the car at 3.30 and as our flight wasn't until 8.20, we played cards for hours - 8 all in the end I think, so we still need a decider!! Once through to departures, we found a cool bar and shared some wine, for James' pre-flight nerves - well it would be rude for us not to share!! ;-) I love the fact that you can buy the lovely Australian wines out here in bars and restaurants for the same price, if not less than you would pay in a supermarket at home . . .

So that was our drive and it was fun! Next we explore the West Coast - both very excited!!

('Hey guys, just one thing! We've noted how many views we've had of our blogs, which is awesome, but we don't know who's reading it and we really want to look back in years to come and remember what you all had to say, so please please make some comments so we know you're reading it!! - Don't be shy - if my Mum can write on there and she really doesn't make any sense, I agree Karl! and my Dad and Bryan with this stupid Toad and Brad thing, then come on guys you've got nothing to lose!')