Game. Set. Match.

Eric and I arrived in Melbourne on Friday, January 15th. My friend Andrew (that I knew from Auburn) lives over here so him and his fiance, Elizabeth, picked us up from the airport. We would be staying with them in the city the next six nights. Their apartment was amazing. It over looked the water and is located right in the Docklands (an area of downtown Melbourne). The night we arrived we chatted for a bit and then went to bed to rest up for our Saturday tour of Melbourne.

Everyone who comes to Australia must try Vegemite.

We tried it... and will never eat it again.

Saturday morning we lounged around and then decided that the best way to tour Melbourne would be a pub crawl. Andrew and Elizabeth showed us around the city while we sampled great drinks from their favorite bars. Our pub crawl ended in the late afternoon, just in time to have an aussie bbq at their apartment.

Eric and I enjoying the sun at a bar in the city.

Sunday we walked around the Docklands visiting the market and a few other stores in the area. Afterwards Eric and I introduced our aussie friends to Cosco. We immediately felt at home because this is one of our favorite Sunday afternoon activities back in the states. After stocking up on food and of course having a slice of pizza we made our way back to relax for a bit and enjoy some couch time (something Eric and I haven't done in months). That night we ate at a popular Japanese restaurant in the city and also checked out the massive Crown Casino (luckily we didn't play any games because we don't have much money left to lose).

Who doesn't love Cosco?

Enjoying our Japanese dinner.

Monday morning Eric and I rented a cute little Nissan and made our way to the Great Ocean Road. It takes about an hour and half to get to the coastal road and the drive itself is about four hours. The drive consists of lots of steep inclines, quaint towns, surfers, koala parks, and lots and lots of beautiful turquoise water. The end of the drive is the most magnificent with the twelve apostles breaking through the sea.

What a view!

Visiting the Twelve Apostles (although there are no longer twelve because the waves cause the rock formations to crumble).

The rest of our time in Melbourne was focused on the Australian Open. The four of us bought ground passes for Tuesday night. We found that these passes were great because you can get right next to the outside courts. Watching the players that close is a really unique and exciting experience.

Enjoying a match on the outside courts.

These girls behind me were intense.

Wednesday Eric, Elizabeth, and I bought tickets to go watch the Roddick vs Bellucci match at the Hisense Arena. These tickets also included two other women's matches and the Blake vs Del Potro match. Eric and I were in the arena for nearly 12 hours because the Blake vs Del Potro match went into the fifth set. It was a great game, even though Blake was defeated.

Roddick showing off his amazing serve. He got quite feisty at the end of his match which was very entertaining.

Enjoying a few cold ones while cheering for Blake. We really lucked out on our seats. We had a perfect view of the game and the seats were shaded most of the day.

Our stay in Melbourne was fantastic. Andrew and Elizabeth made us feel at home and were great tour guides. Melbourne's great mix of arts, music, and sports makes it really appealing to young professionals. It's definitely a city that I hope to come back and visit someday in the near future.

I guess it's time for us to act like backpackers again... we are setting off for a two week trip to the southern island of New Zealand before returning to Australia one last time to visit Sydney. Our around the world tour is quickly coming to an end but the next two weeks should be a great mix of adrenaline pumping sports and beautiful sites.

1700 Kilometers in 7 Days

First of all, happy new year!

Eric and I arrived in Brisbane Australia on December 31st. We both had extremely high hopes for our new year's eve. Our hostel, The Bunk, had a connecting bar and all sorts of festivities planned. As it turns out was the lamest new year's celebration I have taken part in in 26 years. Around ten I began to run a fever and promptly went to bed. Eric stayed out about another hour before also giving up and returning to our room. We were woken up to a happy new year by our roomate peeing on the floor. Yay. Luckily the rest of the aussie experience got better.

New year's day I woke up feeling pretty crappy but was determined to see Brisbane. Eric and I climbed aboard a bus to the Lone Pine Nature Reserve where we were able to see all sorts of Australian wild life. We got to pet kangaroos, view bats, wallabies, tasmanian devils, and the highlight, hold a koala (sorry kangaroos you've been replaced).

Eric's new friend.

These were the laziest kangaroos I've ever seen. People feed them all day long and they just lounge around waiting for the next meal.

My new best friend. Koala's are actually pretty stinky animals. The eucalyptus leaves that they eat causes them to smell similar to molding mulch.

The rest of our days in Brisbane were spent exploring the quiet little city and celebrating our new year (just a few days late). Our hostel was located right in the night life district which made going out a little too convenient.

Now for the real adventure... our Wicked Camper. Eric and I rented a camper van and took off up the east coast of Australia. We spent seven nights driving, eating and living out of our stylish camper van.

Meet Wiki.

Of course no one informed us that the east coast's summer is very wet and full of cyclones. The journey was filled with lots of rain but it did not stop us from seeing the coast and the beautiful country. We made our way up the coast stopping each night in a new town. We camped in Hervey Bay, Rockhampton, Arlie Beach (for three days), Mission Beach, Port Douglas, and finally arrived in Cairns on the 11th of January.

The journey was sprinkled with day trips to the Great Barrier Reef, visits to gorges and caves, wildlife sightings, coffee fields, lots of rain, lots of pasta, and lots of great people. We both highly recommend the camper - it was great for making detours to small towns and snapping pictures of the beautiful scenery. It definitely wasn't the best sleep I've had in my life but it was worth every second.

Every night in Hervey Bay the bats come out to hunt. Almost the entire sky was filled with these creepy creatures.

Our visit to the Capricorn Caves, right outside of Rockhampton.

There is a huge chapel located inside the cave.

Just another night spent with Wiki. We became very good at cooking pasta in the dark.

We took a day trip from Arlie Beach out to the Great Barrier Reef. We spent the day on a pontoon boat snorkeling, viewing the sea from the glass bottom boat, and taking full advantage of the water slide.

We had to wear wet suits every time we entered the water because the marine stingers that are located in Queensland cause a few deaths a year. Luckily we escaped unharmed.

Best snorkeling ever!

Our second day in Arlie beach we took a sailboat out to the islands. Unfortunately it poured the entire day and was freezing. This family failed to notice the lack of sun for the day.

The rain paused long enough to allow Eric to take his first shot at Cricket.

Trying to make the best out of the rain while on a sailboat.

Enjoying my cappuccino at Jaques Coffee plantation outside of Mareeba.

Jaques had a map with push-pins of where everyone was from who visited the fields. I of course was not the first to place a pin from Atlanta.

Eric enjoying the sunshine. It probably rained about ten minutes later.

Apparently we were pretty lucky to see the endangered cassowary. I'm really glad we didn't hit him as he crossed the street.

Lesson learned. Don't take a hike without a raincoat.

Cairns was proven to be just like everyone said, nothing special but a good place to stop. Our hostel, Gilligan's, was more of a resort than a hostel and was a great way to catch up on some much needed sleep and sun. Eric got to enjoy some more of the Great Barrier Reef while I spent my day shopping and getting to know the city.

Eric learning to play the didgeridoo.

Diving the Great Barrier Reef off of Port Douglas.

From Cairns we had to take a six hour bus ride back down the coast to catch our flight from Townsville to Melbourne. Instead of staying in Townsville we took a ferry over to Magnetic Island for the night. Our hostel, Base, was located right on the coast with a fantastic view. Each room was a small hut that had eight beds. It had a great view and a great deck bar. We took part in some fun trivia and retired to our room fairly early for the night. The next morning we went on a two hour hike through a forest that had old war forts and koalas hiding in the trees. Of course, this was the highlight of Magnetic Island for me.

This baby koala was the cutest thing I have ever seen. He was making squacking noises and trying to climb out on the branches of the tree.

A quick stop while hiking to enjoy the view.

Another koala siting. This one had no problem posing for pictures.

The view from Base hostel. Not bad.

Later that afternoon we took the ferry back over to Townsville and set off for our next destination, Melbourne.