Cricket, tennis, horse riding and the Great Ocean Road in Melbourne

I'd booked tickets to Melbourne back in November because I wanted to see the Great Ocean Road, and so timed it when the Aus Open tennis was on to kill 2 birds with one stone. It just so happened the cricketers followed me there the next day, so I got to spend a bit more partying time with them, plus watch the game at the Telstra dome. They closed the roof for the whole game which made it muggy and just-not-cricket-ish, but it was a good thing because if any of you know Crowded House, you'll know "Four Seasons in One Day" is written about Melbourne, which on that day went from mid-30's to a raging thunderstorm, to a mild night! Unfortunately the cricket wasn't as successful as in Brisbane, but it was still great to be there!





A group of us spent the weekend on the Great Ocean Road (about 3 hours drive from Melbourne) which I'm sorry to say is very average compared to Cape Town's coastal route past Pringle Bay etc. OK I didn't get to go all the way along to the 12 Apostles (only 8 remaining) so I did kinda miss out on a big part of the GOR package... We spent the Saturday on the beach and the evening at the pub overlooking the pub, and slept in a tiny cabin in the campsite. Sunday was a repeat of New Years day - 45 degrees with a burning wind! The sea helped but in the end the best option was in the airconditioned car on the way home at lunchtime!





Danny lent me his black Alfa Romeo and I drove Sarah, Sara (2 CT girls) and myself about an hour north of Melbourne to a horse ranch for a 2 hour ride in the middle of nowhere! They both are in love with the car...


I met my cousin Janet for the first time! She lives just outside Melbourne near the Dandenongs (mountain range) so she kindly took me out for a lovely lunch.