Ewa did something super cool yesterday - she provided us with two bikes. One she bought herself at a recycled bike shop, and the other she obtained permission to use from our landlord. Woohoo. We gave the bicycles a spin over at the nearby Yarra Bend park today, stopped for some ice chocolate (aus: choccie) and then hit downtown for a swing concert and drinks over at the Manchester Lane.

Today was ANZAC day, and having a free day off work we finally got a chance to see some of Melbourne’s downtown. We visited Fitzroy Park, the downtown core, tried some Max Brenner’s Hot Chocolate, and then made it back along the Yarra river to the parked car. Overall impressions: the modern architecture fits really nicely with the older buildings, and of course we really love the greenery.

We drove towards the southern Grampians, stopped at a number of crazy lookouts, and made our way to a small town called Halls Gap, where we did one more walk – the Pinnacles.

We woke up with more nearby kangaroos trying to join us for breakfast (aus: brekkie), and made the attempt to do a 12km loop around and including Mt. Stapylton in the northern Grampians. Actually, before setting off, we had to wait an hour in the car reading books, waiting for the rainy weather to clear up. The hike itself was relatively easy in the beginning, as it wasn’t too high or too steep. Nevertheless in the end the mountain broke me and I had to give way. Near the very top, as the rocky and eroded surfaces began transforming into irregular formations, the steepness of the mountain began showing. After literally climbing through one shallow and vertical passage, fear took over me and I couldn’t hike the remaining 50 meters or so. Fearing my foot would slip (as it has slipped on a recent river crossing in Kosciuszko Park), my mind took over and prohibited me from moving further up. Courageous Ewa on the other hand, hopped on to the very top to enjoy a 360 view of the surroundings. :)

Not having to start work until next week, we prepared some food last night and took off today in the morning for a weekend getaway to the Grampians National Park. The park is a very rocky mountainous area 280km North West from Melbourne. We camped out at a designated park camping area, and guess what – more kangaroos roaming freely around the camping grounds. The kangaroos were way more outgoing than the ones we encountered over at Kosciuszko Retreat. These ones fearlessly kept on coming super close to our picnic table asking for food. We kept the tuna sandwiches to ourselves, and learned that a good scare tactic against them is coming in from the sides (yellin, shouting, charging from the front did not work).

Kew - our new neighbourhood. A nice area, one streetcar to downtown, clean, nearby bakeries, nearby grocery stores, and a nearby post office.

We finally found the sought after wombats at the Wilsons Promontory National Park this weekend. The park is at the southernmost point of continental Australia, and was a 2 hour drive from Melbourne. Wombats - they are a bit like small wild pigs and come out at night to eat grass. One actually sniffed our tent in the middle of the night. As far as I know, they are harmless little creatures. We also saw other wildlife at the park: kangaroos, birds, emus and huge ants that actually walked backwards to us in a defensive stance. We did a short hike to the top of Mt Oberon (sounds like transformer robots in disguise?) from which we enjoyed a semi cloudy view, and then spent the remaining day at a near empty beach. Woohoo.

We arrived in Melbourne in the late afternoon and drove right through to the Kensington suburb where we would spend the next 2 days looking for more stable housing and getting used to the city. Courtesy of some very hospitable people over at GlobalFreeLoaders.com, we did not have to pay a cent for the temporary accommodation, internet access, and use of their house or their utilities. It was very useful to have connectivity to be able to search for further accommodation and having the knowhow of the locals. Thanks Cass!!! On Friday April 13th, we moved into a new place in the Kew suburb. The place is in a very nice neighborhood not too far away from the downtown core, with good transport options, lots of small cafes and restaurants, internet connectivity, our own bathroom, and above all a clean area. We’re sharing the place with one more person - so far so good.

Our first impressions of Melbourne? It feels that it has more greenery than Sydney, and is also a bit more spacious. Apparently both cities argue they have the better coffee. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

Tip: for free accommodation all over the world check out globalfreeloaders.com

Croajingolong National Park was our first stop in the State of Victoria. This park offers long stretches of coastline. We started walking to a tip along the coast that we saw in the distance. At this tip we wondered between the rocks and looked at different creatures of the sea that have been washed up onto the sand. As we turned the corner of the tip, we found another lovely beach. At this beach we spent some time enjoying the sun and I took a quick dip in the cold Pacific. At this park, one can also do a 5-6 day trek called the Croajingolong Coast Walk.

Later along the Route A1, there was “Fire Burning in Process”. Parts of the forests are burnt down as a measure to stop naturally occurring fires from spreading to the road or houses (that is when a section of the forest has been burnt, there will be no fuel for another fire to burn there).

Plus free wireless ‘hotspot’ on the street at a picnic table in Orbost.

Free Camping: View Map

Drove some more today through towns and New South Wales. Found a freebie at Scrubby Creek Rest Area, just before the Victoria State border.

Free Camping: View Map