The Great Ocean Road, and finally some bits about Rawson

In the company of Will and Helen and Keir and Jack, I have experienced the following:

RAWSON:
* Wallhalla, a tiny mining town, now mostly uninhabited except for a few happy campers and a smattering of holiday homes. Keir and I almost got lost on a walk that is apparently impossible to get wrong. Near fail.
* Feeding wild parrots by hand every morning, and befriending large flocks of cockatoos and galahs. Cockies are great, they are real clowns. Specially when they put their silly hats on.
* River swimming, rock diving and rope-swing spazzing into the water. Also a bit of snorkelling but I got the heebie jeebies doing it in murky river water (I was convinced there be monsters)
* Swatting shitloads of march flies.
* Spotting a tiger snake (they're nasty)
* 4WD riding through a river and down the bumpiest, steepest dirt track ever.

GREAT OCEAN ROAD:
* Kayaking in the surf. Almost being killed by kayak in the hands of Keir (he didnt mean to). Suffering several bumps and bruises as result of kayaking, including a smack to the head after falling out on a big wave.
* Bodyboarding with success. Resulting injuries included bruised ribs and friction burns, and a very nasty raw blister on my foot (damn surf shoes)
* Rockpool pokery. I found seastars in many colours and sizes, sea anenomes which I duly poked, and a luminous orange sea sponge, among other things.
* 'Fossicking' for shells. Beachcombing, in other words.
* Koala spotting in eucalypt forests. We saw loads. They are very cute, and slow and sleepy. They are my new favourite animal and I am determined to have snuggled one by the time I fly home.
* We saw an echidna crossing the road. Insert joke here.
* Walking through rainforest.
* A proper reet good barby with some of Will and Helens mates. There was steak, and king prawns, and baked bananas with chocolate and ice cream and beer and, and, and......
* Visiting the Twelve Aplostles. Well, the ones that are left anyway. It's a pretty sight, that bit of coast.
* (EVENTUALLY) learned how to play the card game 500, after much grumping and holding back of flappy girly emotion.
We are now back in Cheltenham, and off to Summers later today for a couple of nights. My cousin Adrian works at a bar near there so we are going to see him for a few bevvies, and the beach there is home to a pod of dolphins which, in the early morning or late evening and if we are very lucky, we might be able to swim with. There is a pier a bit further along the coast where we can go snorkelling for seahorses. Woop!
xx