Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road

Great Ocean Road

This sign is here to remind you what side of the road to drive on. Just in case you flew to Australia. Got in a rental car. Drove on the wrong side of the road for 3 hours and made it, alive, all the way to this sign.

2/12 Apostles

The Twelve Apostles are a rock group in Australia. They broke up a few years back and now there are only 8 left. No chance for a reunion tour.

6.1/12 Apostles

Same photo spot, just turned around to face the other 6. Look at the pile of rubble on the ground, that fell last year!! There are actually only 8 of the original 9 that once existed. Yes that is 9.. not 12. They named it 12 to be sound more biblical or something. Can you imagine being there to watch one of these monsters crash to the ground! These guys have been here for 1000s of years!

Three Monoliths

I'm going to be in the dog house for calling Tara a monolith.

Ray & Tara

The obligatory Tara and Ray photo.

Danger!

This sign says it all. They should just replace it with "Don't do anything stupid."

Real Live Koala

Driving to the southern most tip in Victoria there are Koala bears! This came as a shock because I was certain that Koalas were just an aussie gimmick and that they didn't really exist in the wild (only in zoos). I was looking around to see if I'd find zoo keepers nearby to put them back in their cages after the tourists left.

Headline: "Laurel found in Australia"

We all thought Laurel (from Laurel and Hardy) passed away years ago. But he is alive and well in Warrnambool. Now we just need to find Hardy for a reunion show.

Red Door

Warrnambool is full of these kinds of images. My theory is that they stopped advancing in the 1980s. Guess they figured it was enough. On the way into town we listened to 50s doo-wop and there were classic cars everwhere. Manicured lawns as far as the eye could see.

Truck Train

Finally saw the rediculous trucks that ply the roads well away from cities. Double length trucks are pretty common, but this is our first triple length truck. There are 36 wheels on that thing!

Striated Pardalote

You didn't think you'd get away without seeing more birds?! This little gal had a nest nearby and was busy feeding her hungry chicks.

Superb Fairy Wren

Welcome Swallow

Grey Fantail

Aussie Antenna Range

I really did have work to do on this trip. This is our outdoor antenna range that we use to test antenna patterns. The day after this photo was taken a horse riding competition was on. Look closely at the back of the field for the obstacles.