The Melbourne Ultimate'un

We've reached the end of our time in Melbourne... We've enjoyed it. It's a nice place, the city centre is helpfully compact, the suburbs are fairly relaxed (nice being somewhere a bit quiet, whereas in Sydney we were right in the centre - I noticed this morning, when I ran to the end of the pier for my morning jog and turned back towards land, that St Kilda marks a transition - left of the pier is the high-rise city centre, right of the pier is distinctly low-rise as the suburbs track the coast to the south-east). We've probably spent too long here (as a proportion of our scheduled time in Australia) but it's a very liveable place which makes it easy to be relaxed about leaving..

On Tuesday we finally hit the Great Ocean Road - originally planned to drive it ourselves but it's a long trek to do in a day (2 days would be a good, leisurely trip) so we went on a small coach tour, which worked fine - we both got to enjoy the sights, of which there are plenty.

It was 31 degrees today - good preparation for heading north!

We had to skip the local surf paradise as they were getting ready for a big competition, so our first stop is a lighthouse which (Lilly tells me as she sings the theme tune) is the setting for kids' TV show Round The Twist. Must be after my time. Nice lighthouse though.

Then we stopped at Kennet Cove (by the Koala Cove Cafe) to see koalas lazing around in trees and bushes - bigger than I expected, they look very cuddly but it's illegal to touch this species - and colourful birds (green parrots and bright red birds) which Lilly soon has eating out of her hand, thanks to some bird food in it.

We follow a path through temperate rainforest, and see the world's second tallest trees.

P:\Photo Archive\Round The World 2009-10\10 Australia\10B Melbourne\P1050626.JPG

Apparently early last century the local government offered a reward to anyone finding trees more than 100m tall. Sadly they neglected to specify that those trees must be standing and, well, it's a lot easier to measure a tree once you've cut it down... but the locals hope that one day these trees will overtake Canada's redwoods again.

 Cape Patton

The coastal road here has been spectacular, and in late afternoon we get to the main sights - or what's left of them! - on the Shipwreck Coast.

London Bridge used to be a promontory of rock with two arches underneath it, worn away by the elements. Tourists used to walk over it. In 1990 the first arch fell down - with two people stranded on the far side! (Just up the road is another arch that fell even more recently. So we pay close attention to the signs warning of falling rocks and crumbling edges.) The name doesn't do it justice - it's a stunning piece of scenery, complete with inaccessible, pristine beach.

Next is Loch Ard Gorge, with an accessible beach sheltered between two tall cliffs.

And finally the main attraction - the 12 Apostles, columns sticking out of the sea, left behind as the land around them has been eroded away. They (plus a small island) used to be known as the sow and piglets, but were renamed to be more attractive to tourists - very contrived, especially since there are 14 of them. Or were. One crumbled into the sea just a few months ago.

You can't see all of them from any one spot, but it's an immensely scenic bit of coast. Really good day out.

For our last day we finally make it to the MCG to see Victoria play Queensland in the Sheffield Shield final. This is the end of the 4-day league and the top two teams play off for the title - as league winners, Victoria get home advantage and only need a draw to take the title. On one of the most batting-friendly grounds around, once they'd won the toss, we expected them to bat and bat until they couldn't lose - as they did last year. So it's a bit of a surprise when they're 6-75 just after lunch. It made for an entertaining morning, a dull afternoon as the keeper (Matthew Wade) and all-rounder dug in to save the innings, and then an entertaining evening as the all-rounder fell, Wade cut loose and a bowler came in to play a shot-a-ball. Similarly the weather swung from hot sun to muggy to a cooler, slightly overcast evening. Wade was finally ninth out for 96 just before the close, agonisingly close to a deserved century - funny how the only ton we've seen has been in the unlikely format of Twenty20 - as Victoria reached 286-9.

 Now imagine it full...

Of course the MCG is a huge bowl of a stadium, with four tiers all around. It's sparsely populated today, as you'd expect for a Wednesday. It ain't beautiful, but it must be an intimidating sight when it's full.
At 5 dollars a ticket this is also the only bargain in Australia! The exchange rate is positively evil at the moment - I'm told it's half what it was 3-4 years ago, and a can of coke, for example, in a convenience store is typically $2-3, or about £1.50. I wish I knew an economist who might be able to explain how exchange rates can swing so much and international trade still work... NZ was not cheap but much more affordable. Ah well, hopefully we'll make up the difference in South America...

We finished the evening - and the city - back where we (almost) started, in the Espy. Couple of half-decent bands tonight.

Up early tomorrow and off to the red centre! We fly to Alice Springs at an ungodly hour and then on towards Uluru (Ayer's Rock). See you there...