Road Trip to Portland 11/24/12 - 11/26/12

After flying out of Sydney and landing in Melbourne, we quickly picked up our rental car to head west in order to meet our friends, Aaron and Tracy, in Portland.  We originally met them in Colombia, and arranged to meet up with them as they were back home in Oz.

This was a day of firsts.  Our first rental car of the trip, our first time driving on the left side of the road, and our first official hotel of the trip.  Matt adjusted pretty quickly to driving on the left side of the road; however, it took longer for Kristin to get used to riding on the other side of the car.  

The journey out west was just as great as the destination, as we passed green pastures, fresh cut hay fields, plenty of livestock, a beautiful sunset, and even a wind farm.  We felt like we were back home in Texas.  

Once we made it to Portland the next morning, it was fantastic!  We were staying with Aaron and Tracy at Tracy's parents' house  and the hospitality was AMAZING.  Australians give Texans a run for their money on who provides the best "southern hospitality".  Thank you again to their whole family for taking such good care of us those few days!

    

We spent the first day catching up with one another, taking in the sights of Portland, and checking out the Nelson light house.

Our first night they made us feel right at home and put on a traditional Australian roast dinner for us, which we deemed our Thanksgiving meal.  There was chicken, potatoes, veggies, and even stuffing.  On top of that, her Mom made us pavlova which was a delicious Australian treat!

The next day we went out for some traditional Ozzie Fish & Chips, and then took a drive out to Bridgewater Bay for a walk along the cliffs to see fur seals.  

We did manage to see a few seals down on the rocks, but we were more fascinated with the 40-ish kangaroos we saw on our way to the point.  They were right off the main pathway, and let us watch them from a fairly close distance.  It was pretty cool to see them up close and then be able to watch them jump away.

There's a young joey in this one's pouch.

That evening the family put on another great meal for us: an Australian bbq.  It was such a joy to feel right at home on our short stay, and words can't express how grateful we were.  It was great making new Ozzie friends as well:  Tracy's mom and dad, Shirley and Brent, and her brother, Sean.

We had such a wonderful time in Portland and were sad to leave the next day, but we had to keep moving in order to see the Great Ocean Road next.