Melbourne.....

So on the 26th of November....headed to our last stop in Austalia..Melbourne...fortunately the gorgeous weather followed and most days between 75-85 degrees and nice and cool at night.

And as you can see from photos...bright blue sky most days.

My friend Michelle (Gebrian) Lawton....a childhood friend lives there with husband Rohan and son Jack...so lots of excitement with our first time to see Jack. They insisted we stay with them even while under house renovations....so they had a busy week. We had a fabulous time, they arranged a trip 2 hours south to Wilsons Promotory National Park, Australias most southern tip and you can see for yourself the picturesque spot that it is. We had such a great night.....and it was a good excuse for Michelle and Rohan to get away from the craziness of the last few months. And thanks to Sue..Michelles friend from Boston who babysat.....Sue....it was so good to meet you again!!!!

We also had a couple days exploring Melbourne....another beautiful Australian city....what a buzz. Noel visited the Ocean World ....and photographed the sharks....probably wishing he could dive in with the staff who were feeding them.

And as you can see from the rest of the photos...we did some visiting in Melbourne...Noel knew when he married me that there would be family and friends to visit....even in OZ.

Brian McEvoy...Sinead and Maire moved over last year from Strabane so we were able to see their new house for a nice barbecue and a great laugh! And to hear their good news of number 2´s expected arrival in May.

We also headed Notheast of Melbourne about 3 hours to Rachael Martens ( my dearest Auzzie friend, married in Gurteen) hometown of Chiltern....to see the rural countryside of Australia.

Her parents, Barry and Jeanne gave us a wonderful tour of the vineyards in the area and of the famous Ned Kelly´s stomping ground.

Her new niece Tahya was along for the ride and finished the day at her brothers Chris for dinner. So it was great to finally see Rachaels home and meet all the family.

So thanks to all for all the hospitality.

Next stop....South America....Santiago, Chile.....with stop off in Auckland, New Zealand....journey ended up taking about 30 hours with a delay in Auckland. But we arrived here safely...and are now preparing for our Inca Trail trek.....so will fill you in on all the travels next week.

take care xoxo