Great Ocean Road, AUS - The Australian PCH

Its been a while since my last update - thanks for all the emails! I am still alive, just having a lot of fun. After I left Newcastle I jumped on a three-day bus tour from Sydney to Melbourne, passing from New South Wales into Victoria. We made a quick stop in the capital city of Canberra where I learned that the kangaroo and the emu are Australia's mascots because they are two animals that can only move forward, never backward. I witnessed the House of Representatives in action at the Parliament House. I couldn't decide if all the yelling, cheering and booing was comical or really frightening. Did some hiking in Kosciuszko National Park and visited a beautiful beach in Wilson's Promontory NP, or The Prom as they call it here. The water was cold but crystal clear and irrestible.
Melbourne was a bit crazy due to the Grand Prix that was in town (LOTS of drunk English, I mean car enthusiasts). I was only there two days but I enjoyed the cafes and tree-lined streets. I did not enjoy the drunk guy in my dorm room who peed on the floor and all over another girl's stuff... The tour of the famed Melbourne Cricket Ground was interesting. Basically the tour guide would say something and all the English people around me would laugh at whatever fantastic cricket pun he made. Oh, cricket.
From Melbourne I hit the road again for a three-day trek east to Adelaide. We took the famed Great Ocean Road, a coastal route that reminds me a lot of the best parts of PCH back home. Millions of years of erosion have created fantastic rock formations such as the famous Twelve Apostles (although only seven or eight still stand). Our tour group stayed in the lovely coastal villages of Apollo Bay, Port Fairy, and Robe. This southern coast of Victoria and South Australia is dotted with small towns, lighthouses, and hundreds of shipwrecks. Basically, everything a girl with a good imagination needs! I would have loved to stay in this picturesque area much longer. (How many places have I said that about?) In the Tower Hill Reserve I saw wild koalas and emus roaming around. I fell a little bit in love with the koalas - very chill, cool animals. Near our hostel the second night I saw several wallabees bouncing around near the beach. The wildlife here is so distinct and fascinating.
For most of our trip the weather was around 40 C (104 F). It felt like hard work just standing and staring at the beautiful coastline. Adelaide was experiencing its longest heat wave in history. Luckily it cooled off by the time I got there.

In Adelaide I met up with some local girls who I had met in Fiji back in January. It was wonderful to see familiar faces and catch up. The best part of traveling has been making great friends with people from all over the world. I seem to get along really well with Australians in particular. In general they have very practical, straightforward attitudes. Also, anytime they can take the piss out of you they will! My english is becoming a strange mix of American, British, and Australian english. Phrases that I used to laugh at I now use on a regular basis: "Mate" and "How you going?" and "That was full-on" and "She's a spot-on old bird." Actually no, I still laugh at that last one. People laugh at me for saying "totally" a lot.

Well, mates, so far this trip has been totally full-on.