Captain Poprocks' Australian Adventures

Hi there!

It is hard to believe, that we have been home in Germany for over four weeks now. Our time in Australia feels like yesterday and so long ago at the same time! So about time I show you some pictures and tell you a bit about our travels, don't you think?

I finally got to meet Captain Poprocks in person (eh.. in hippo). As he has traveled Australia quite a bit already, we were lucky that he offered to be our tour guide and show us around!

We spent the first week in Sydney with Michelle and her family. For the first weekend they took us to the holiday house at Lake Macquarie and my, we had a wonderful time there. The house turned out stunning (I had only seen pictures before!). It was so wonderful so start our time in Australia with the whole family and great summer weather. There were even kangaroos in the garden to greet us. After returning to Sydney, the husband and I wandered around the CBD and several suburbs. A lot has changed since I was there last (2011) and I am quite fond of the new district between the Rocks and Darling Harbour. I wasn't so fond of the huge, huge cruise ships at Circular Quay - there were always cruise ships around when I was in Sydney before but these new ones are soo big and take quite a bit of the view. Some of my former favourite places to sit aren't even accessible anymore.

Just a week after we arrived, we flew down to Melbourne. We spent the first three nights in St. Kilda which was really lovely. The weather was great and thus we could easily wander around Melbourne, look for the best coffee shops, eat good food and meet some penguins!

When we went to pick up our car rental, we were in for a shock: There was no booking in the system and thus no car! I had booked the car via one of the biggest German car rental homepages (Billiger Mietwagen) and had already paid for it. I wasn't happy and I have to confess lots of tears were involved. In the end, we had to hire another car and pay for it again. Took us half a day and so far (over four weeks later!), we haven't been refunded. As you might guess, I won't ever book a car through that agency again. I will wait for another two weeks and if nothing has happened by then, I guess we will have to involve a lawyer.

Once we had a car we drove to Rye at the Mornington Peninsula. As with all our accommodations in Victoria we had booked via AirBnB and this place was amazing! We just loved it there to pieces! We went on a tour to swim with dolphins and while none showed up the first time we went, a whole bunch came the second time! They didn't stay for long but it was magical nevertheless!

After our time in Rye, we caught the ferry and started to travel the Great Ocean Road! We stayed in Apollo Bay for a couple of days - I already wrote about our visit to Tarndie farm. 

We celebrated my husbands birthday while we were there. The dinner we had at Chris' Beacon was probably one of the best I ever had! Mmmm, so yummy! 

The last couple of days down in Victoria we spent in Warrnambool. To get there we drove the most touristy part of the Great Ocean Road. When we visited the Twelve Apostles Captain Poprocks and I were shoved out of the way by rude Chinese ladies who wanted the spot to take photos. This happened several times with the same group! Sometimes I don't get people... 

Other spots along the road were less crowded and thus we enjoyed looking at the sights more. Mother Nature is the true artist on this world, don't you think??

We spent our last week in Sydney doing all kind of fun things! The husband (and the Captain) quite enjoyed sailing in the Sydney Harbour for example! I loved the crochet/yarn/chatting times with Michelle best... We took plenty of pictures and I will write a short blog post about our time at Crochet Between Worlds HQ soon! :)

Oh man, the more I write about Australia, the more I want to go back... Cross your fingers it won't be another 5 years before Michelle and I get to see each other in person again!

Take care

Anne