Written and Compiled by Robert D. Stephens          Page 8
 

  
 
 
 

December 7:  Another travel day.  We had a one hour flight from Adelaide to Melbourne.  We had some trouble checking in.  On the plane, the Captain came on the intercom and stated that the flight was delayed because of the extra luggage being loaded on.  Our half the plane broke out in laughter. 

Upon arriving in Melbourne, we had a tour of the city with our driver seemingly circling our hotel for a couple of hours.  We had the afternoon free.  Some of us went down to the local photo lab to get our film processed, and then went exploring the shops and the Victoria Market.  The Victoria Market is a giant swap meet where we bought a few presents.  That night we rode around the city on the trolley cars taking in the sights.

  
     
 
 
 
     
 

 
December 8: This was our last day with scheduled activities.  Our destination was the Great Ocean Road, a coastal road between Melbourne and Adelaide.  The segment we traveled was about 3-1/2 hours from Melbourne. 

We stopped along the seashore for a look at the tide pools and photographs of the waves.  Later we stopped for lunch at a restaurant on a bluff overlooking the ocean.  After a couple more hours, we came to our eventual destination – the Twelve Apostles.  There are no longer 12 of the rocks standing on the coastline.  Literature says that there are 10 left, although I did not see all of them.

  
 
     
  Our next stop was a mile down the road at the Lock Ard Gorge, where the three-masted clipper ship Lock Ard met its end in 1878.  Lock Ard is a remarkable gorge which the pounding waves have carved out.  We spent some time there, even walking down the stairs to the beach before the rain drove us back to the buses.  After a stop for a snack, we started our 3-1/2 hour trip home.  
     
 
 
 
     
 

December 9:  This was our last full day in Australia.  Those of us who dropped film off earlier picked it up that morning.  Several of us then found our way to the Melbourne Museum where we saw the IMAX film ‘International Space Station’ and a weak exhibit on a mission to Mars.  That evening we had our farewell dinner. 

December 10:  It was off to the airport for our flight home.  Security was extra tight.  They insisted on X-raying film, fortunately no damage occurred.  They also subjected everyone to a hand search of their carryon luggage, and wand, pat down and shoe searches.  Everybody got through okay and we had an uneventful flight home.

  
     
 
   
 
     
 

Much thanks to Alson Wong for proofreading this journal. 
He is the only person I know who knows the proper spelling of ‘Loo.’

 		  
     
 
 
  Back to Top    Back to Intro Page  
     
     Page 1   Page 2   Page 3   Page 4   Page 5   Page 6   Page 7   Page 8  
 
 
  Copyright  2002 TravelQuest International and Robert D. Stephens.  All rights reserved.
Revised: October 25, 2005.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or trademark holders.