Great Ocean Road

19/01

Very nice present from Beth and Henry, who take me down the Great Ocean Road for the weekend. Breathtaking sceneries during hours and hours...

20/01

During the morning, we enjoy Aireys Inlet, and visit the market, the art gallery, and walk until the lighthouse and down to the beach, then head back towards Melbourne at the beginning of the afternoon.

In the evening, time to switch to another way of transportation, and board the Spirit of Tasmania in order to cross the Bass Strait during the night.
Another good surprise : I had booked a berth in a shared cabin for 4, and I am the only one. What a luxury!

Wellington (2)

16/01

It rained cats and dogs during the whole night, but the mighty wind managed to blow the clouds away, and this morning the sky is blue. The temperature is still a bit low (all of us really appreaciated the blankets and duvets during the night), but the sun is shining.
The first stop of the day will be at Weta Cave, in order to visit the studios that gave birth the The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, but also Avatar, King Kong, Narnia, Tintin and a lot more movies.
The museum is tiny but very rich, the video is interesting, you can make as many pictures as you want in the shop.
The visit of the workshop will definitely be one of the highlights of the trip, with many weapons / costumes / ... from the different movies, plus a few funny stories.
During the afternoon, a guided tour takes me to several filming locations of the Middle Earth (the Hobbiton forest, Rivendell, Isengard, the river Aruin...)

17/01

Just enough sun to go to the zoo and get a picture of the damned kaka for Yannick, and then it starts raining on and on and on. Even after a few hours spent at the museum, it is going to be a very long day...

 

18/01

At last, the sun is back! The morning will be busy getting to the botanic gardens with the famous cable car, then climbing up Mount Victoria for a lookout on Oriental Bay.

 

A few more pictures from The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, then it is time to fly to Melbourne.

 

 

Beth and Henry are waiting for me at the airport, it feels so good to see them again, after more than 3 years.

Wellington

Last hours on the road before Wellington, with a stop in Woodville, with a cupcake and a coffee at Yummy Mummy's.

During the whole day it be rain then sun then rain then sun then rain again.
Fortunately, when I reach Martinborough and its wine trail (honestly, after 2000 km on the road in NZ, it seems that everything is a wine trail), there are a few minutes of sun, and I can enjoy a walk in the village and in the vines, guided by a surprising labrador who didn't leave me during 30 minutes.

The last 100 kms to Wellington are a pure nightmare, with an incredible rain on the mountain road where you cannot see anything, then on the motorway where I can hardly see the front of my car.
I had read that driving in this city was not a piece of cake, and today I understood to which extent that was true: used the wrong motorway exit, then spent about 30 minutes driving almost randomly in the one way streets, before being able to spot the Avis office.
No clue where to get some gas, they will do it themselves.
At least, the rain has stopped, and I can walk to the backpacker.
On the corner of the street, one of the numerous cinemas in the area, with a giant Randalf welcoming the visitors :)

First pictures of Wellington: