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Cheers Mate, How is it going... very unusual and it can really get on your nerves when you are addressed like this 100 times a day! But by now it's okay :-) But let's start from the beginning!

On December 30th, I set off from Kuala Lumpur towards Melbourne with the night plane at 11:00 pm, because I thought a little sleep on the plane wouldn't hurt to not be too tired on New Year's Eve. Unfortunately, wishes don't always come true, because behind me were 2 little children who alternated between crying and throwing up all night long, keeping me awake the whole night.

After a 7.5-hour flight, I finally arrived Down Under and immediately headed towards the city center. Fortunately, I am in the comfortable situation of being accommodated with a buddy, for which I am very grateful!

On New Year's Eve, we first watched the fireworks at the Yarra River and then moved on to a club to end the evening in a cozy pub with lots of drunk Aussies.

On January 1st, 2011 we explored the city and went down to St. Kilda Beach, even though it was quite cool despite the sun; it's the wind...

The last few days, I have spent some time shopping, you have to adapt to the Aussie lifestyle after all, sightseeing and chilling by the Yarra River. Today, I visited the Queen Victoria Market; every Wednesday there is a night market with lots of food stalls and small shops set up here! Here I finally found some sunglasses... a really hot piece. (pictures to follow)

My conclusion for the last few days, 'Melbourne is a really great place to stay' :-)

Goodbye Melbourne, in exactly 1.5 hours it's time to hit the Great Ocean Road towards Adelaide. Estimated Time of Arrival Jan. 15, 2011. After finding a carpool, the road trip can begin. I stayed in this magnificent city for about 10 days and it shouldn't be my last stay here...

Armed with a sleeping bag and tent, Simon (German), Valerie (Swiss), and I will travel 1000 km to Adelaide with a 4WD. We want to take 5 days to explore the things along the GOR independently.

But before we leave, here are a few final impressions from Melbourne. On Friday, Thomas and I went on Puffing Billy. A ride on a historic train, which quickly turned out to be a tourist rip-off. There's not much to see and at the final stop, there's an expensive restaurant where most people stock up on food for a picnic... Maybe interesting for families, but we found it rather boring...

Yesterday we went to a football match, Melbourne Victory against Adelaide United, maybe 3rd division level, but we got our money's worth. 5 goals, 4 of them for Adelaide, a red card, a massive brawl on the field, and plenty of wrong decisions by the referee... what more could you ask for