Melbourne (6 days)

At 3.50 pm local time, we set foot on New Zealand soil for the last time. We spent just under 4 hours in the air before landing in Melbourne at 5.45 pm (due to the time difference). There, we were already expected by Ruth, an acquaintance of Noah. We went to her place first and settled into our room for the next 5 nights. In the evening, we met 2 of her 3 sons and made hamburgers. We played a card game called Elfer raus until around 11 pm, just like in New Zealand, the people here are really warm-hearted. The next morning, we headed towards SkyHigh at around 9 am. It's a mountain from where you can overlook the city. Unfortunately, there was smog over the city, which slightly affected the visibility. Then we went to browse some shops in the adjacent town. We also went to a small forest area where many Aboriginal carvings were on display. After that, we visited Ruth's sister and got to know her. Then Ruth dropped us off at Federal Square, and we explored the city a bit. Most of the time, we were at the Victoria Night Market. We returned to Spotswood after a half-hour train ride around midnight, where we live. The next day, we took the train to the city again. On this day, we just went with the flow and visited many attractions, wandered through many alleys, and watched the onset of darkness from the Eureka Tower (the tallest building in Melbourne). In the evening, we chatted briefly with Ruth and watched Australian jungle camp, while getting to know her third son. After a short night, we set off for Grampians at 8 am the next morning. On the way there, we drove a part of the Great Ocean Road and made a stop in Lorne, as well as at a winery. In the evening, we arrived at our accommodation in Halls Gap and had dinner before going on a 5 km hike in the evening. The next morning, we were woken up by a beautiful sunrise at 7 am and went directly to the MacKenzie Falls, beautiful and hardly any people! Then back to the accommodation, checked out, and went on another beautiful hike in the Grampians. On the way back, we stopped at a winery and in a village to have coffee. When we arrived back in Melbourne, we went straight to Ruth's Lifesaving Club, as there was a small celebration going on. In the evening, we just fell into bed. The next and also last morning, we went to the city again and in the afternoon, we went with Ruth to St. Kilda's Beach, where we had an ice cream during a walk. In the evening, we went to a restaurant for dinner and packed. The next stop in Australia is Canberra, where we will be taken by a Greyhound bus, an 8-hour drive.