AUSTRALIA, Melbourne (see entry below for Sydney and the Blue Mountains)

If, like Charley, you are searching for some confirmation that you are in Australia and haven't, after 2 months in Asia, done a full circle and come back to England, Melbourne might not be the place to come. Especially in winter.
When I was suffering from similar concerns in Sydney, I was able to round a corner and come face to face with the Harbour or Opera House, which was reassuring. In Melbourne it is harder. There are no 'postcard' landmarks to remind you where you are. As you pull your coat round you, glance up at the grey sky and dive into a welcoming looking pub, complete with roaring fire, it can be tricky to convince yourself that you are anywhere other than England.
I do not mean this as a criticism by any means, merely an observation. I think Melbourne is a great city. It is not as picturesque as Sydney and does not have any 'show-stoppers' like the Opera House but it is a pleasing city to explore. It offers plenty of little bohemian nooks, crammed full of funky cafes, bars, vintage clothes shops and galleries, all pleasantly casual and some nicely scruffy. I can sit on a slightly fraying sofa in a cosy cafe, walls adorned with flyers for music gigs, fringe theater and alternative therapies, drinking good coffee and eating delicious food without parting with very much money. I can sit for hours over the same cup of tea without anyone batting an eyelid.
Generally the whole place feels much more laid back, just not so different from London. It even has its Arts Centre spread along South Bank...

In order to pinch myself, and reassert the ozziness of my location, I booked myself onto a 'Melbourne must' a trip along the Great Ocean Road.
At 7.30am I was scooped into a minibus by a very cheerful guide called Chris who enthusiastically welcomed us all abored and chatted merrily as he bore us West out of Melbourne.
We had a fantastic day, which seemed as long as 3 by the time I was deposited back at my hostel at 9.00 that night. Our first stop was morning coffee at Bells Beach, a world famous surfing mecca, supposedly featured in the film 'Point Break'(although actually filmed elsewhere). With the wind ripping around us we hugged our tea and marvelled at the surfers, tiny black specs amongst the swells being flipped about like bath toys, and wondered at their sanity.
A quick stop at the lighthouse where children's TV show 'Round the Twist' was filmed (some of you may remember it) and off onto the Great Ocean Road. It is a spectacular drive which winds its hair-pin way along the coast, up along cliffs and aside beautiful unspoiled bays, lined with steep green hillsides. Stunning.
We stopped for lunch at a little caravan park cafe where Chris said he'd eat his glasses if we didn't see any wild koalas. He was right. Up in the trees all around the site where little grey lumps of fur, mostly fast asleep. I was rather disappointed to have my rumour that they are constantly drunk on eucalyptus and sleepin it off (occasionally falling gout of a tree and killing someone as a result of their stupor) quashed. The boring fact is that the leaves they eat are so indigestible that they are forced to sleep for 20 hours a day in order for their bodies to break down the fibres of their diet. So to catch one awake is pretty lucky, to catch up away with a baby even luckier. We were lucky on both counts. Awwww
After lunch we drove inland and up into the rain forest where Chris took us for a walk through a lattice-work of prehistoric tree ferns, criss-crossing above our heads as we scuttled along the forest floor quietly fearful we may disturb a nearby snoozing TRex, or at least I was.
We all dozed for an hour on the bus while the tireless Chris drove, awakening us by giving us a history of The 12 Apostles.
The 12 Apostles are large rock stacks in the ocean. There were 12 but since then 3 have collapsed. They had originally been named 'The Sow and her Piglets' but the tourist board did not deem this name suitable for a popular tourist attraction and so they remaned it The 12 Apostles. The name has no religious reasons as such and, considering the unstable nature of the rocks, to call them The 12 Apostles leaves them potentially liable to claims of false advertising. I think the 1st name was better, if rather unromantic.
Anyway, none of it matter really because they were just a dramatically beautiful as all the guide books promised. The early evening light was just behind them, the turbulent water thundered beneath them and the effect was satisfactory to say the least.
We had one last stop to a shipwreck cove, the coastline around that stretch is extremely perilous and not one to sail around on a dark night... and then it was the 2 hour drive back to Melbourne. Few. Chris put a film on for us and chirpily dropped us off at our various hostels where we all came to rest exhausted.
The rest of my time in Melbourne past all too quickly hangin' out with Charley and before I knew it I was back on the 12 hour bus to Sydney where I received yet another lovely warm welcome from Roger and Co. My room waiting for me again. It will be hard to leave but I am looking forward to it too.
Next stop: South America!