Melbourne to Adelaide via Great Ocean Road

Due to my sore back I booked a tour bus from Melbourne to Adelaide because I was just too sore to ride my bike and I did not want to just sit around in Melbourne waiting to heal. I enjoyed the trip. We left Melbourne at 7am and drove to a popular surfing beach first which is where the Great Ocean Road starts. We stopped at various beaches along the way and then at the 12 Apostles which is a series of large rock chunks that line a beach cliff. It was very nice but taking pics in the light we had while there was tough. We saw koalas and lots of birds in a park we stopped at before turning up into the Grampians which are a rugged mountain range and a National Park. We did some hikes there in the rainforest and saw lots of wallabies and kangaroos, a few wild emus and again tons of birds among the beautiful scenery of the mountains.

We spent the night at a hostel there and the next morning we again started at 7am as we watched the sunrise from the top of the Grampians and then started the long drive to Adelaide with a few stops for wildlife along the way. I enjoyed the tour but it killed me physically because I just can not do all the walking required. I had extremely high pain at night and got no sleep at all from all the walking. I survived and was surprised at just how much walking I was able to do without having a seizure or any major loss of motor movement. I attribute that improvement in walking ablility to all my bike riding that is just making me stronger and tougher all around. If I could just get rid of the night pain now I would be a very happy camper.

Here are a few pics...I will be out of touch now for several days while I cross the Nullabar plains to get to Perth.

Hobart back to Melbourne

I spent a day exploring Hobart which I enjoyed and then today I flew back to Melbourne. I enjoyed Hobart and Tasmania. I will need to return there to finish all the things I wanted to do but did not have the time or money to do them all right now. It reminded me of New Zealand where I also want to return.

Once back in the hostel here in Melbourne I had to make a decision about my plans. I am still very sore and pretty mobility impaired right now from my sore back that I hurt 10 days ago now. Basically I am in no condition to take off on a 1500 mile long difficult bike ride along the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne to Adelaide. So I decided to take a YHA bus from here that goes along the Great Ocean Road and also stops at the sightseeing spots long the way. It is a long two day tour. I think I will like it. Then when I get to Adelaide I will have a few days to rest up before I jump on the Great Southern Railways train called the Indian Pacific Train which will take me to Perth in Western Australia over 4 days. My plan is that I will be able to ride by the time I arrive in Perth. If I am still not able to ride I will be screwed because I can't afford to just sit around in a big city staying in hostels or cheap hotels. I think I would need to just end my trip and go back to California if I am unable to ride soon enough. We shall see. I also may not be able to post again while I am on my tour until I get to Adelaide. More later...A few pics from Hobart and the museum there as well as some pics of the people in the pub with me watching the Warriors win the NBA Championship game.