Apollo Bay Doesn't Have Free Wireless...

…Hence the lack of blog posts these past few days. Apollo Bay not only doesn’t have free wireless (a.k.a. Ronald McDonald hasn’t quite made it this far out along the Great Ocean Road yet), but the wireless they DO have is too expensive. Or maybe it’s just that I’m too cheap. Either way, our apologies.

So, yeah…Apollo Bay. Quite the hoppin’ town. Note: Sarcasm very much intended.

Not, but in all reality, although there isn’t really that much to it, Apollo Bay is quite the little paradise. Mainly a tourist destination in between Torquay and Warrnambool, two other Great Ocean Road destinations, the town is fitted with many lovely hotels/hostels, seafood cafés, and, of course, a beautiful white sand beach with complementary turquoise blue waves. The hilly backdrop only makes the entire image more picturesque.

Natalie and I have been here for approximately 5 days now. We’ve been working at an eco-friendly hostel only 800m (yeah, that’s right; I use metrics now) from the beach, dutifully going about our duties as expert gardeners and weeders. Two hours per day in exchange for free accommodation…not a bad deal, huh?

We’re technically staying in a 4-bed all-female room, although over the past 4 nights we’ve only had the pleasure of 2 roomies: Rebecca the Kiwi from Melbourne, and Verena the German. Both were great. Neither killed us in our sleep, which is really all you can hope for after seeing the horror movie “Hostel.”

Gilbert, our boss, is quite the pleasant Australian gentlemen. Fun facts about Gilbert: He and his wife Gay run the place, and they do their jobs well. Gilbert doesn’t really believe in cutting down trees…which is why he has us do it for him. He also believes that laughter is the best therapy. He has a small little dog whose name starts with an “E” (Elise? Elva? Eloise? Unclear), and drives a black Saab (he drives the Saab, not the dog).  He doesn’t understand why Natalie and I lounge around the hostel all day, but nevertheless seems to be pleased to have us around as company. We will always remember dear ol’ Gil. Oh, and he has us rake Zen patterns in the gravel with his deceased mother’s old gardening rake. Fun Fact #1 right there.

The weather’s been a bit dreary. And by dreary, I mean that I can currently hear the torrential rain outside our room’s screen door.  Seems that the poor weather follows us everywhere. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that by the time we reach the Yarra Valley in less than a week, the sun gods will have defeated the rain gods and restored weather happiness.

For now, though, we shall wait with bated breath. Wednesday we’re headed back to Melbourne with a long detour to Warrnambool first so that we can see the famous Twelve Apostles (a series of rock formations in the ocean), among other sights along the Great Ocean Road. Then it’s Melbourne for 3 days where we’ll be staying with our most recent CouchSurfing friend Tim. We’ve heard there are a lot of delicious, cheap eats in this Victoria city, so we’ll keep you posted--literally--with a few menu options that we may or may not decide to sample.

So….Until then, folks. G’day!