Great Ocean Road

So ideally we would have liked to have driven from Adelaide to Melbourne through the Great Ocean Road route, however after working through the costs it just wasn't feasible on our budget. So we had to do it the awkward way, getting a 12 hour day bus to Melbourne and then doing a full day tour to the Great Ocean Road. But we saved money so we're winning!

We got picked up from the hostel at 7 in the morning and had an amazing tour guide who knew absolutely everything and was a real wealth of knowledge. So anyway I'll just post pictures of the day without any more words, but just to let you know the birds in the pictures are all wild and very scary. 

Xoxo

Adelaide to Melbourne

After an amazing week in Bali, we flew back early Friday morning to Perth. We met with Judi and Arthur who then took us to Terminal 2, where we had a coffee with them and Arthur's relative Alan who had just arrived from Melbourne. 

We then checked in and waited to board our 5.30pm flight to Adelaide. For dinner that evening before boarding we ate our first Red Rooster (a fast food joint). 

We arrived in Adelaide late evening and caught a cab to our first Aussie hostel, Backerpacker Oz where a flew blown karaoke caught be heard a few streets back. We were in a 4 bed dorm with a guy and his mum. 

Seeing as the following morning we were catching a bus to Melbourne we needed to make a packed lunch, we went late night exploring in search of a shop. We found a Coles, which opened a midnight (very odd opening hours). So we explored the town a bit more, the only people we saw were club-goers and tramps. A delightful view of the city. However I think there is something quite peaceful about walking around a city at night. Finally Coles opened and we bought some bits of food, and made our way back to bed at the hostel, ready for a very early wake up call. 

We woke up just before 6 and before the sun had risen yet and walked with all our luggage to the bus station and waited to board our bus to Melbourne. The journey was long and tiring and not too scenic as we didn't take the Great Ocean Road route.  

We arrived in Melbourne around 7pm and checked into Urban Hotel, a huge backpackers pretty much in the centre of the city. We dumped our things in another 4 bed dorm and made our way in search of a cheap restaurant. We found a inexpensive Italian in South Melbourne where we ordered a pizza between us and I had a milkshake and Nath a beer. However the waiter messed up which meant we ended up getting 2 pizzas for the price of 1, winning!!

The following morning Nathan set his alarm for 4.30am to watch the Champions League Final but unluckily for him overslept and missed it. But we still got up early and decided to do our own DIY walking the city tour.

We consulted our trusty Lonely Planet for tips on where to visit and one of the tips was the Eureka Tower which gives you incredible 360 degrees of Melbourne and because the sky was so clear the views were amazing. 

There was also the highest post box in Australia there. 

Melbourne is such a great city and I reckon I could easily live there. They have their own tram network which is free to use in the city and autumny trees aligning the streets and they also have St Kilda which is apparently very pretty and is the water part of Melbourne, however we didn't have time to visit it.

For lunch we headed over to South Melbourne Market and it was awesome. I mean the food selection was insane, I tasted some delicious fresh gnocchi and everything just smelt amazing. And Nathan and I treated ourself to a large piece of Millionaire's Shortbread and it was wow. There was also a great Jewellary selection and I made my own necklace for $4!! I wish I lived in Melbourne and had my own house and some money because I would have bought everything. 

That afternoon there was an AFL game on and we bought the cheapest tickets and headed over to the MCG, where it felt very autumny. We watched the Adelaide Crows play Carlton and the atmosphere was great and I actually understood what was going on. If you are ever going to visit Australia to have to watch a game. 

On the way back I'm pretty sure we walked through Richmond Park and had dinner at a Lonely Planet recommendation, Red Pepper which is an authentic vegetarian Indian restaurant and it was so satisfying and super delicious. 

And after walking back to the hostel through the city this was the view! 

I really hope I can come back to this city!

Xoxo

Ningaloo Whale Shark Dive

We got picked up at 7.50am by Ningaloo Whale Shark and Dive (highly recommended)! And headed South down the coast to the pier to get on the boat. The weather was perfect, we couldn't have asked for it to be better.

We had to take a dingy out to get on the main boat! There is a choice of 8 different tours you can go on, but I'd say ours definitely had the best boat. 

After arriving on the boat, we were fitted out with flippers, snorkels and masks before being given a briefing on the whale sharks and the days activities. 

Basically a spotter plane heads out and looks for the whale sharks before sending down radio messages to the boats on their whereabouts so the crews can then spot them and they can take us out. 

Firstly we headed to a sight to test out of gear in preparation for the whale shark swimming. The water was a lot warmer than I expected (thank goodness) and it was the most turquoise colour I have seen. 

It was so nice and clear in the water so you could see relatively far away and there was lots of coral and little fish. We did this for around 45minutes before getting on the boat to head to our whale shark spot. 

I was becoming increasingly nervous in all honesty. I mean, I have a right to be when Whale Sharks are the biggest fish in the Ocean. We were the first group to go in and when we looked under water it was pretty clear again but we couldn't see the bottom or anything it was just deep dark sea. I always find it scarier when you can't see the bottom, like a shark might come up and surprise me. Thankfully they said it would be highly unlikely for us to see one, but still there is always that chance that plays on your mind. 

The guide got us all to 'stand' in a line and then once we had put our heads under water he would point in the direction we needed to look. However even when the whale shark arrived you didn't expect it and it was huge, around 8 metres we were told. It swam right past us and about a metre away and there were loads of smaller fish swimming underneath it in order to protect them from predators. It was beautiful but very surreal and when we go out of the water 10 minutes later it was like we had dreamed it. 

We did this again around 4 more times and each time was slightly different, sometimes it was closer and sometimes it was slower so we could swim a lot with it but each time was awesome. 

Unfortunately after the second time Nathan started to feel very sea sick which wasn't helped when it swallowed a load of sea water. But luckily he still saw the whale shark before this happened. 

We had a photographer taking pictures of the whale shark the whole time which we got given on a CD.

We spent the rest of the day in shallower water snorkelling and on the hunt for turtles but unfortunately we didn't manage to see any.

It was an incredible day and definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity. Apologies for no underwater pictures I will have to post them separately some other time when we can get free wifi on the laptop.

Xoxo

Bali - our holiday within our holiday

Bali Bali Bali...

I'm sure you've all heard about Bali, tropical beaches, pretty scenery, friendly locals, world class surfing, full of Aussies and cheap as chips. And it certainly lives up to its name. 

We decided to go to Bali as there were cheap flights from Perth and it is cheap when you get there and it is only a 3 hour flight. According to Aussie TV it's like a Australian Magaluf, full of young, drunk Aussies drinking themselves into an obvilion, throwing up on the streets and crashing mopeds. 

However we were lucky to miss this view of it as we stayed far away enough from the party strip (Kuta) in a village called Petitenget close to upmarket Seminyak. It is about a 20 minute crazy taxi ride from Denpasar Airport. 

We stayed in Villa Bunga, which had amazing Trip Advisor reviews and was small and boutique like. We a lovely little swimming pool and traditional trees, and statues in the small garden. Our room was basic and we didn't have a view but it didn't matter as it didn't plan on spending much time in there.

We arrived early evening so after dumping our things in the room after having a welcome drink, we headed into the village for some pre dinner drinks and food. We stopped at Luna rooftop bar for our drink and it was posher than we thought, luckily we got there during there happy hour and we had two cocktails and a bowl of nuts. I had a Strawberry Daiquiri and Nath had Frozen Mango Margarita and they were the perfect start to our holiday. 

We then went for dinner at Bonita in our village, which was set in a picturesque garden with lanterns and served traditional Indonesian food. 

 We both stuck to traditional Indonesian food, Nathan with Nasi Goreng which was fried rice with shrimp, chicken satay, local vegetables and chilli and me with a prawn, squid and tuna spicy stew/curry with rice. Both interesting and tasty! 

For our second day in Bali we headed to Potato Head Beach Club. This was recommended to us by a friend who visited it a week or so before us and just seeing her Facebook photos had us convinced. 

It's set on the beach front, but not many people visit this particular beach as it has black sand and to be honest there are many more that are nicer. Potato Head has a infinity pool and a jacuzzi with a pool bar and beds with umbrellas surrounding the pool, with your own waiter to get you drinks, food etc. You'd think it would be posh and i guess it was but actually it was quite inexpensive. For a pool bed, it was a minimum spend of 500,000 Rupiah. Sure sounds a lot but it actually translates to £25, which is definitely worth it if you spend all day there. Nathan feasted all day on whole coconuts and I had cocktails, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic and for lunch we shared a mixed Mediterranean focaccia sandwich with chips which was delicious. 

After a long day at Potato Head suntanning we headed back to Villa Bunga to get out of the sun, shower and relax before dinner. 

That evening we had booked to go to Rayjin, as Japanese Teppenyaki restaurant very close to our villa. There were only a few places to sit which was why we had to book. I'm not sure the particular meaning for the word Teppenyaki but I'm assuming it means watching your food being cooked. As all the places you cook sit surrounded the kitchen. It was a great atmosphere with all the chefs greeting you in Japanese and chanting throughout the evening. 

We had Snapper Carpaccio and Tuna and Avocado for starters.

It was so delicious and Nathan really wasn't sure about whether he would like it, as he's not the biggest fan of fish or raw food but he absolutely loved it. Then for mains we both had chicken dishes which were slightly different but we shared.

This was also massively tasty. Then for desert we shared a Matcha Creme Brûlée, which is basically Green Tea flavoured. It was good but didn't taste as indulgent as a normal dessert would. Now how much would you expect to pay for all this including a garlic rice and 2 large beers? Well we paid the equivalent of £15, I for one was shocked it was so cheap but ridiculously good. I would have been happy to pay so much more. 

The following day we decided to go to the beach in Seminyak. We walked there to save money which took us a good hour in the morning heat. The beach still had dark sand but the waves were huge and there was lots of surfing so it was OK because it seemed popular. We paid for a sunbed as no one was lying on the sun which I think is because it is too hot and relaxed. Later on in the day we hired a surfboard between us and Nathan went out first with swimming close by to film on the GoPro.

Because the waves were quite big (Bali is renowned for good surfing) it was difficult but Nath did a cracking job, with a bit of body surfing and knee boarding but also managing to stand up a few times. When I was filming in the water I found that every wave I was getting taken off my feet so no surprise I was nervous to attempt to surf. My first go I just body boarded and on my second go I was about to attempt to surf when someone else's board hit me a some speed at the back of my head. I got straight out the water and had a cry as it was quite painful and decided to give surfing a miss for the rest of the day.

We stayed at the beach for a little while longer before heading into Seminyak for a small (very late) lunch of pitas. 

That evening we went to Buki for dinner, which was another traditional Indonesian restaurant which was also very busy (a good sign). Nathan had an amazing meal of another Nasi Goreng and I had a Dhal as I fancied a curry. However never again as it was quite possibly the most untasteful meal ever. It didn't even look nice so as you can't probably guess I was pretty disappointed. So on the way back to the Villa I had a magnum (for 70p) as a pick me up. 

The next day we spent at our own pool as we thought we might as well make use of it.

That afternoon after a shower we headed to the 'party' capital for the night markets

however not actually buying anything and then went for a drink at a roof top bar overlooking the beach for sunset. We both drank Lychee Beers.

We then walked to Legion Beachfront in search of a Lonely Planet recommendation, Mozarella. We were hoping that this was the same place as the one we went to in Singapore as the food was so good. It took us ages to find and it was quickly getting later and later and when we finally found it we discovered it definitely wasn't a chain and there was literally no Mozarella on the menu and it was a bit pricey. Anyway we ordered still and I had a delicious salmon and spinach pasta and Nath had ribs. 

The following two days we spent at Potato Head Beach Club with Nathan drinking copious amounts of coconut water and me drinking water and the occasional cocktail. 

We ate Italian the one night sharing another delicious pasta and a pizza and on our final night we are in Seminyak at The Junction and I had incredible tuna. 

On our last day we also both had an hour

long traditional massage which included our feet, toes, collar bones, backs, faces basically all over and it was amazing if not a little painful at times. 

Our last day was an early start with a quick breakfast before saying goodbye to Bali and heading to the airport.

Xoxo