South Australia

On the journey we went to the Blue lake at Mt Gambier and we crossed the border into South Australia. The Blue Lake looked like it had been photo-shopped! 

When we arrived in Kingston we parked up next to people called Susan and Bob and their three poodles! As we are away from our dog for so long we like spending time with other ones. We played with the dogs all evening  before getting tired and going to bed.

Next day...

It's Dad's birthday today! 

Bob and Susan suggested that we should park up their house that night. So off we headed! First, we drove to a beach and we went swimming! It was really warm!

We finally made it to Bob and Susan's house and they have their own airplanes and airstrip! Their house is in the middle of nowhere, and at the bottom of their garden, there is a river. It was really quiet!

Next day... 

We were planning to head off to Victor harbour but we ended up leaving in the evening! When we were driving, Bob rang us saying, do you want to stay another night? So we gave in and went back to their house!

Next day...

We left to go to Adelaide. When we arrived there we decided not to go into the city because it was so hot! Instead we headed to the Barossa valley. 

When we arrived there, we stopped at the side of the road. A local came over to us and said do you want to park up in my house? We were surprised for a complete stranger to say that!

Next day...

We left early in the morning to go for a bush walk. We went early before it was too hot. Afterwards we went to two wineries. The first one we went to had a kangaroo petting area! We went in and stroked some! They felt so soft!

The second one we went to, we were shown how the make red wine. The barrels that they ferment the wine in, can cost up to AU$1000! I tried the Shiraz grape! The grapes were so small they looked sour, but they were really sweet!

Next day...

We left Melrose to go to Coffin Bay. On the way we stopped at Port  Lincoln where there was a pier with a netted off swimming area. Later Dad said that was there to keep out great whites!

Next day...

We departed Coffin Bay to go to Ceduna. On the way, we went to a beach to swim. While we were in the sea, Riona shouted sting ray and funnily enough there was a two metre wide sting ray a metre away from us!

We went into a petrol station in Streaky Bay they had an exhibition at the back. It was about a twenty one year old man catching a great white! It took him five hours to reel it in with a fishing rod! It was 1.5 tonnes!

We arrived in Ceduna happy to be off the road! When we went to the toilets there were loads of cockroaches! EEW!

Next day...

Today we woke up early to head out onto the Nullabore. The Nullabore is a 1200km drive of nothingness. Drive...drive...drive. 

Victoria

We arrived at our campsite in Ebden to find out it had a swimming pool and a jumping pillow. A jumping pillow is basically a bouncy castle in the shape of a pillow. They're great fun!

Next day...

We departed Ebden heading towards Melbourne. On the way, we went to Glenrowan where Ned Kelly had his last stand. He was called a 'criminal' and everyone in the local police wanted to kill him. He was given his mischievous personality from his Father who died when Ned was 12. Ned Kelly was sent to Melbourne prison to be hung when the police finally caught him.

We didn't make it as far as Melbourne as it was getting late and dark  so we stopped at a rest area. There were people there who were very friendly including an eighty three year old deaf woman who is driving a motorhome around Australia with her hearing dog called Sooty! 

I wanted to make some cakes to take to my Dad's cousin in Melbourne as it was his wife's birthday. They were rice krispie fridge cakes. One of the ladies melted the butter for me in her caravan as they had electricity. In return I gave her some of my cakes.

Next day... 

Today we left  Avenel rest area to go to Melbourne where Dad's cousin lives. It was his wife's birthday party that evening! She's called Flick. We met one of her friends who is a graphic designer for Harry Potter! We ended up going to bed at 2:30AM and the party was still going!

Next day... 

We had a relaxed morning before going to a science museum! I know, I may sound like a nerd, but it was great fun! There were six different sections: megawatt; house secrets; visual illusions; planetarium; sportsworks and nitty gritty super city. My favourite one was sportsworks because you could do sports activities like running, snowboarding, netball, rugby, cricket, wheelchair racing, football, and learn all kinds of facts about the human body.

In the planetarium we lay down on recliner chairs and were taken around the solar system!

Megawatt was all about electricity and making volts. I now know how to make a tram work! 

Nitty gritty super city is about recycling and building. I controlled a mini-digger!

Afterwards we met Dad's friends called Tim and Caroline. Tim used to run the Hall for Cornwall. Before we went out to dinner with them they took us around the Arts Centre that Tim manages. The theatre was amazing. We were shown into a special room where special guests go and I sat on the same toilet as Princess Diana! The decor of the theatres were cow skin walls, and gold leaf ceilings! The Hall for Cornwall could fit in the Arts Centre at least ten times!

We saw a theatre with 2100 seats! The decor was very grand and there were 13480 balls on the roof! When the first owners did an acoustic test, the balls made a really loud noise, so they hand drilled eight holes into every ball! That's crazy!

Afterwards we went to dinner. Altogether it cost AU$314! Again, WAY over priced!        

Next day...

We stayed at Flicks house nearly all day doing homework but we had an incentive because later we were going out to see 'War Horse' the show!

They used life size horse and bird puppets. For the horses there were three people controlling and it was great teamwork as one person was making all the horse sounds! I forgot the horses were puppets because the movements were so lifelike! It was VERY expensive!!! Mum and Dad said it was my birthday present! I had a great time! It was much better than the movie and the book.

Next day...

We left Melbourne and drove a long way along the Great Ocean road to get to Johanna. On the way, we saw our first wild koala!! They look SO cuddly! 

We were on a little lane way close to Johanna, when we drove past a field with at least one hundred kangaroos in it! There were two adult kangaroos fighting! They were leaning on their tails while kicking and punching each other!

Next day...

We started our journey to Warnambool where we saw the twelve apostles which is more like seven now but is still magnificent! For all you Cornishman out there, it looks quite like Bedruthan steps, but 20 degrees hotter!

After a good long drive we arrived in Warnambool to meet a man that we met in Vientiane. We got to his house and he had six greyhounds! We had pizza and watched TV! Such a novelty!

Next day...

Today we left Warnambool to go to Killarney. It's NOT in Ireland! On the journey we stopped at Tower Hill reserve to go for a walk. We saw koalas, a wallaby, two emus, an echidna, and best of all, a dead snake. Luckily we only saw a dead one because we could have easily come across a live one as we were walking through bushes and undergrowth. We were tricking each other by throwing pine cones at a tree or bush! We were stamping our feet to cause vibrations in the ground to scare snakes away because if we shouted they couldn't hear us as they're deaf.

Next day...

We departed Killarney for Dartmoor. On the way, we stopped at Port Fairy where Mum and Dad went fishing. We saw a manta ray at least two metres wide! I wouldn't like to be in the water with that thing!! It flapped it's wings so slowly but went really fast.

 Before we left we went to Poco's ice-creamery. If you're ever near Port Fairy, drop what you're doing and go! Just go go go! They're all homemade in the building! They're REALLY tasty! 

Next day...

We left Dartmoor to go to Kingston.