PART 7 (Adelaide to Melbourne, 3 days)
Actually set off on the tour looking forward to filling out the detestable Survey/Feedback Form. A long complaint about the poor management regarding the pick-up service that stranded me in Adelaide for 2 days is in order.
It's a mixed bag of 10 passengers this time around, consisting mostly of Europeans.
1. An adventurous fat and squat lady from Slovenia who climbed out of a taxi in an orange skirt ensemble. She wears short slingbacks with crocheted socks! Long-sighted spectacles not-withstanding, she wades into the sea in a bikini. I was fearful there'd be some sort of wardrobe malfunction and so averted my eyes from her bosom.
2. A thin and short lady from Argentina. An English teacher, I heard, which I don't doubt since she speaks crisply and looks like a disciplinarian. Does not hike, which makes little sense for her to be on the tour.
3. A loud Hong Konger who speaks suspect English. Nothing wrong with that, except he's looking for a university teaching job in Australia after apparently completing his PhD and research work in Sydney. Goes by the mantra 'If it's wrong, you can't accept it - You've got to fight for it!' Thinks the Chinese in Malaysia should fight for their rights. Yes, well. The guy caught a cold back in the furnace that is Alice Springs by not wearing a shirt to sleep in an air conditioned room.
4. A quiet bookish-looking Swiss girl. Gets some sort of eye infection but insists on not getting medical attention. Apparently, women's tennis is too boring, but men's tennis sometimes gets so exciting one's heart might explode. Going to Melbourne to cheer on Roger Federer. Poor Andy Murray.
5-8. A big balding Frenchman. Seems to be trying to endear himself to the Dutch woman, a geologist (PhD). His friend and rival seems to be a hulking Dutchman, who may only be just friendly towards his fellow countryman and not actually vying for her affections. Another possible contender is an Englishman who appears to be in the know of party places in Melbourne, where he's been living with relations for a while. He's invited the Dutch lady to a house party on the beach.
9. A very pale person from Perth with short red hair. On the tour, she's officially a girl, but the Frenchman and the Dutchman apparently spend their spare moments speculating otherwise.
For this leg, we go up the fabulous Grampians and then down to the spectacular Great Ocean Road. I've got myself a seat right at the back. Comparatively, I have to admit the seat right at the front boasts the best views but is a lot less conductive to falling asleep. The backseat is excellent for catching a nap and examining the back of the heads of the other passengers.
One afternoon, there we were, standing on the beach at the Loch Ard Gorge on the shipwreck coast. The bay is partially blocked by a rock pillar, which until June last year had been part of an archway. On the right is a cave, but the only way there is to pick your way through the slippery rocks hugging the cliff face. So a few of us do it, simply because we've got a mad tour leader. Much to his delight, a few random tourists started to follow us and get their clothes wet in the rising tide as his derisive laughter echoes across the bay.
No sunset (again) at the Twelve Apostles but everyone was all agog watching fairy penguins coming in to shore. Even though they looked more like specks of dirt all the way from the top of the cliff. You know tourists (lah).
