Great Ocean Road

Last Saturday I took a bus tour along the Great Ocean Road. After the first seven weeks, I really thought that I would spend every weekend here alone, but in a short time I found many other au pairs in the area (about 1 hour drive). On Friday, I met Maddie (USA) and Johanna (Finland) for dinner at the Thai restaurant. I realized that even the mildest dish was still too spicy. Well, the evening was still very nice. The next morning, I got up at 5am because I took the train to Melbourne shortly after 6. On the train, I met Giulia, another German au pair nearby, as we booked the tour together. In Melbourne, I almost missed the bus, but we managed to catch it at 8:15 and headed towards the coast. I have to say, the bus was quite small, which I will mention later. Arriving at the Great Ocean Road, of course, we took a classic tourist picture at the arch that marks the beginning (besides all the Chinese tourists, it wasn't easy to get a decent picture). Several hours along the picturesque southern coast of Australia. Along the way, we made several stops for photos. I also saw wild koalas for the first time, which was really cool. For lunch, we stopped at Apollo Bay. Our bus driver Chris gave us the tip to try Vegemite ice cream at the ice cream parlor there. I tried it and I can't recommend it to anyone. At least now I can say that I've tried Vegemite ice cream :D Our bus driver was pretty cool. He told us stories and myths about all the landmarks and often made fun of us Germans. He even knew the band AnnenMayKantereit. The bus played a mix of German songs, typical Australian music, and charts. My absolute highlight was Loch Ard Gorge. I have never seen a more beautiful place in my life. Going down a few stairs to a small beach located in a bay that is almost closed off by rock walls. Incredibly beautiful. We then continued to the Twelve Apostles, the symbol of the Great Ocean Road. I'm really looking forward to seeing all these places again in March with my mom and co. On the 3-hour return trip, we had the opportunity to sleep, but it wasn't possible because of the lack of space in the footwell. I actually got bruises on my knees because I kept bumping into the seat in front of me. Well. In the evening, I stayed at Giulia's place, but we both fell asleep immediately because we were so tired.

On Sunday morning, I took the train back to Ballarat where I met up with Simone for brunch. I met Simone by chance in a WhatsApp group. She is here as a language assistant at a college. As luck would have it, she is studying primary education in Germany. I think we will meet up more often in the next few weeks. It's nice to have a German here in town.

Just to make everyone in Germany a little jealous now. We currently have around 27 degrees and it is only spring here. My host dad said it's going to be a pretty warm summer.