April in Australia!

Flying out of KL on Air Asia on Thursday night, March 31st, we arrived in Melbourne in the morning of April Fool’s Day to beautiful fall weather in the “Land Down Under.” We rented a car at the airport and drove to our downtown hotel and checked-in before exploring the Botanical Garden and nearby points of interest. While I opted for a rest at the hotel, Nancy walked to the Victoria State Library and was highly impressed with the whole layout and the original illustrations from Australian children’s books—especially those done by Greame Base (pictured). Dinner that evening was at a pub on the Yarra River, and an early walk the next morning took us to the famous Victoria Market prior to checking out of the hotel, redeeming our car from the parking garage, and heading out toward the famous Great Ocean Road.
The Great Ocean Road met all of our expectations—especially when the sun came out in all of its splendor, shining on “The London Bridge,” which was actually connected to the land mass until a huge section of it (the gap) collapsed into the ocean in the late 1990’s, leaving two people stranded out on the point (later rescued by helicopter), but with no loss of life. Along the Great Ocean Road there were a host of viewpoints that offered spectacular vistas of the rugged coastline. “The Twelve Apostles”—giant rock formations rising from the ocean near Port Campbell—draw thousands of tourists every year.
On the night of April 2nd we stayed at a quaint B&B in Port Campbell and then drove the next day on secondary roads through beautiful countryside back towards Melbourne in order to reach our motel in the town of Melton, a location chosen for its proximity to the airport. - rw