Victoria

 

Sunday 26th October 2008 (continued)

Portland, 38 19 84 S, 141 36 02 E, (150 Km).  We had a coffee in the picnic area right on the beach at Nelson which was one of our intended stops on our itinerary, but as it was rather early we decided to continue to Portland which seems to have more to offer anyway being a much bigger town,  We did turn off the main highway intending to visit Mount Richmond National Park, drove about 12 kilometres along the road before being stopped by a police road block, flashing Red, Blue and all the other colours of the rainbow dazzled me as I decided to either try to evade capture or surrender!  Yet again, (remember New Zealand), I wondered if our Mercedes motorhome could out run a 4 litre Ford Falcon and decided perhaps not and came to a halt.  We had seen smoke in the sky when we were at Piccaninnie Ponds and evidently a large bush fire was moving along the coast  in the direction of Mount Richmond National Park and for safety reasons they had closed the park.   We think we were his first “customers” of the day as we chatted with him for a long time and he wanted to know all about our trip, we offered him a drink but he evidently “was being looked after”, we then turned around and continued to Portland.  As we went into the caravan site we met a couple that were camped near us at Mount Gambier and had also seen in Woolworth’s car park there, Glyn and Jo are a young couple from Coventry on a 3 month trip here, we invited them for a drink after our meal and we had a good chat, so much so they didn’t leave our motorhome until 1:30 am. 

 

Monday 27th October

After such a late night (or rather early morning) we didn’t exactly get up early, it was a good job we had decided to stay an extra day.  The Information Centre was our first stop and we picked up some more information on Victoria and the “Great Ocean Road”, Jenny checked on Internet access in the state and unlike South Australia it is not free, that’s a pity, must write to the Governor of Victoria and complain.  After lunch overlooking the port (told you we got up late) we went to Cape Bridgewater and walked (or got blown) to the petrified forest and the blowholes, the former were probably the best example we have seen, the latter despite the strong wind and heavy seas was a non-entity, we guess the tide needed to be higher.  After a look at Bridgewater Lakes and a steep climb up to Tarragal limestone caves, for a excellent view over Discovery Bay we thought we would take a look at the lighthouse and drove along the scenic road to Nelson Point, we didn’t stop long at the lighthouse instead taking advantage of the lull in the wind and a break in the grey skies we headed along the road to the “Enchanted Forest”, which wasn’t very enchanting and not much of a forest.  The next place lived up to its reputation, “Yellow Rocks” a large limestone rock formation positioned on the edge of a cliff, there were boardwalks, platforms and staircases right down to the rocky beach and with the sun (at last) lighting up the rocks and shoreline, hopefully made for some decent photos. Despite a late start we have achieved a lot today, we have only travelled 80 kilometres around Portland and have seen so much and I even had time to wash the motorhome when we got back and type today’s news, despite being interrupted watching a Koala in a tree close by,  I hope he doesn’t snore!  Glyn and Jo have invited us to their motorhome for a drink, I feel another late night approaching.

 

Tuesday 28th October 2008

Port Fairy, 38 22 50 S, 142 13 90 E, (121 Km).  A trip into town for diesel and photo’s of the lighthouse and we were on our way.  We stopped for coffee in a rest area near the Fitzroy River, a rest area which we wished we could have free camped at, 400 metres from the road in the bush with only the birds for company.  We only had a short distance to travel today (actually 79 kilometres direct) so we spent sometime at a very scenic viewpoint “The Crags” a group of rocks which were being pounded by the high waves, the distant cloud formations giving  interest to the scene.  We arrived in Port Fairy at lunchtime so we decided to have a light lunch at a café, the chicken salad on a Turkish bun was delicious and “loose” tea (took me a minute to remember what the mesh thing was) in china cups was rather decedent.  After a visit to the information centre we decided to visit Tower Hill Game Reserve,  nestled inside a volcanic crater just 14 kilometres from the township, we saw Emu as soon as we entered the reserve and were also lucky to see a Koala with Joey.  We spent some time walking “The Lava Tongue Boardwalk” trail and we realised there is so much to see here, we are therefore going to come back tomorrow to walk some of the other trails.  We had another late night last night with Glyn and Jo, tonight we will endeavour to go to bed earlier, we  heard quite a squabble going on as we got ready for bed, we presume it was a disagreement between two Koala’s, we hope for a peaceful night tonight.

Wednesday 29th October 2008

A walk along Moyne River Fisherman’s walk this morning, home to Port Fairy’s small fishing fleet mostly catching Crayfish and Squid, we were just in time to watch a fishing boat unload it’s catch, we obviously didn’t know how long it had been out but they filled a few large crates with fish, which looked like  Shark, Dogfish and  other species.  Then we walked across the walkway to Griffiths Island and did the circuit of the island which took us about 2 hours.  We thought we might see the Short-tailed Shearwaters that nest there at this time of the year, but evidently they “go to sea”, fishing during the day. only returning after dark unfortunately there were quite a few dead ones about, which, because they nest in burrows, make them easy prey to foxes.  You would think these amazing birds, that arrive within 2 days either side of the 22nd September all the way from Siberia, would have the sense to nest in a tree.  Lunch was at a parking area overlooking the bay, and a better spot for lunch would be difficult to find, we even had some entertainment in the way of two surfers who were “attempting” to stay upright on their respective sheet of polystyrene in the heavy surf.  We returned in the afternoon to Tower Hill Nature Reserve which is only 14 kilometres from Port Fairy and walked the “Last Volcano Trail” which was a meandering undulating walk around an old volcano rim, after quite a demanding walk we returned to the picnic area for tea and cake.  We watched for some time an interesting tussle between to “stubby” lizards, we don’t know whether (is that Kookaburra laughing at me while I’m typing this?) sorry I digressed, we don’t know whether it was a fight or some sort of mating ritual, but they bared there teeth at one another and wrestled for at least 30 minutes to our knowledge.  I decided to lie along the picnic bench for a  15 minute power nap, for at least 50 Kilometres since being in Victoria, road safety signs have been suggesting I do that i.e., “Droopy Eyes, Power Nap Now” and “a Fifteen Minute Power Nap Could Save Your Life” so I decided to do just that, until Jenny spoke to me “ get up slowly there’s an Emu about 2 feet from you” I need not have worried he was more interested in the grass nearby, passing wind like a roll of thunder as he ambled past.  We returned  to the parking area where we had lunch for our evening  meal it was such a great view and would hopefully see a decent sunset, alas it became cloudy so we waited till after dark to see the Short-tailed Shearwaters arrive back from their days fishing, we didn’t see them either.

 

Thursday 30th October 2008

Halls Gap, Grampians National Park, 37 07 66 S, 142 31 44 E, (161 Km). Yes I know, we said we would not be going to the Grampians National Park because of the devastation from bush fires, but it is our privilege to change our minds! When we looked at the magazine “Tourist News” (Spring 2008) it said that almost half the National park had been effected by the fires in January and February it failed to mention it was in 2006! We had spoken to the advisor at the Information Office who said “her relatives had just returned and it was as beautiful as ever” and also to a German girl on our campsite 2 days ago that also said it was wonderful especially with the spring flowers, we were therefore confused with two conflicting reports, we decided to ring the National Office direct who confirmed the two latter pieces of information. We are now right in the heart of the National Park and we have made the right decision, yes there is fire damage, but 2 seasons of new growth is on the eucalyptus trees and the undergrowth has re-grown, we have already stopped at Silverdale Waterfall on the way and tomorrow we will look further at the parks attractions. Another plus is that the weather has improved and the temperature has increased by 10 degrees centigrade, it was cold and wet when we left Port Fairy it is now 6:15 pm and I am typing this up outside with the temperature at 30 degrees and although we like the coast and ocean we are both pleased to be back in the peace and tranquillity of the bush.

 

Friday 31st October 2008

I  should  not have added that last sentence yesterday, together with the Emu we thought we had left the high winds at the coast,  but last night we had very high winds that shook the van all night and this morning the clouds are right down on the hillside opposite and the temperature has plummeted.  We had a late breakfast (due to me lying in after an interrupted night’s sleep), but eventually we set off to visit the various attractions of  “The  Grampians”, we decided to visit them in reverse order i.e. we drove the furthest distance and worked back to Halls Gap, this always works well, as if we haven’t time to see a particular place it is sometimes possible to visit the next morning as we leave the area and obviously we will have a shorter distance to drive.  We did however deviate slightly from the plan by visiting Reads Lookout on the way, not that we saw anything it was so misty and cloudy.  We therefore continued on to “Beehive Falls” having lunch before we tackled the 3 kilometre round trip classed as “strenuous” to the base of the waterfall, which because of the lack of seasonal rain was just a mere trickle when we arrived there.  We watched what we thought was a Rock Wallaby eating, completely indifferent to how close we were to him, he’d got a grey face, was it the particular species or was he old?  We will have to check in a book.  The only “strenuous”, part of the walk was a few rock steps at the end of the trail, we thought the walk was relatively easy, perhaps we’re getting fitter.  After a cup of coffee at the Zumstein picnic area, (an old homestead with a interesting history), we continued to “MacKenzie Falls” unfortunately this is when the weather turned particularly wet and misty, so we aborted our walk and drove the 20 kilometres of twisty and hilly road through the low cloud, mist and rain back to the camp site.  Tomorrow promises to be sunny (according to information posted on the camp reception door), so we will drive up to MacKenzie Falls again to attempt the walk, (weather permitting), before returning to the coast and our delayed drive along “The Great Ocean Road”.

 

Saturday 1st November 2008

Lake Bolac, 37 43 22 S, 142 50 49 E, (169 Km).  Somebody dropped one calling it that, as the lake is ½ empty and the town has a water shortage (couldn’t resist it).  At last we woke up to a sunny morning and we (Jenny) set the alarm for 7:00 am so that we could have an early start, pity she didn’t set it correctly!  We did get to Reeds Lookout and the trail to “The Balconies” before 10:00 am when the temperature was only 7 degrees C, we needed to wear our trousers (instead of shorts) and body warmers, it was 13 degrees C when we were here yesterday and that was in the mist and cloud.  The view from the lookout and the balconies was spectacular, certainly worth the effort in visiting a second time.  By the time we arrived at “MacKenzie Falls” (which is at a lower elevation) the power of the sun was making itself felt, so we changed into cooler clothes before descending to the base of the falls, well at least we intended going to the base of the falls, we were too busy talking and took the trail to the falls lookout instead, still it was a good view, we doubled the distance we intended to walk but finally got to the bottom, I blame Jenny.  We continued to Lake Wartook along the same road from the falls, the intention was to have our lunch there, but is wasn’t anything special (the lake not lunch) so decided to continue to Boroka Lookout and eat there instead.  Boroka Lookout was worth the drive, fantastic views across the Grampians and the plains and lakes below, we could even see the camp site we stopped at in the near distance.  Our next stop was a bit of a mystery, we had seen the signpost to “The Wonderland Car Park” but hadn’t got a clue what it was and none of the guide books or the Victoria Parks information map mentioned it, last night I “Googled” and found it to be a series of trails through a gorge and the accompanying photos, although I only glanced at some of them, looked spectacular.  We were lucky at the car park only one space left and the 2 in front were for emergency vehicles only so despite how busy it was we parked right next to the trail head.  After studying the Information board we decided we would only have time for “The Grand Canyon” walk, and although difficult, with the aid of steps and handrails we enjoyed the walk through the canyon with it’s unusual rock formations and the return route down the boulders to the car park.  It was time to leave the Grampians as we were going to drive to the town of Warrnambool on the coast which is the largest town before driving the Great Ocean Road, it was going to be a little out of our way but we did need some food items.  However, we didn’t realise that the town of Ararat which we were passing through was so large and there was a Safeway/Woolworth’s, we had already done our shopping list (very organised we are) and we did our usual “trolley dash” and also refuelled (Caltex/Safeway 4 cents off a litre with a voucher).  We didn’t expect anywhere to be open as Australian’s have another long weekend, they seem to have one every other week, don’t know who’s birthday their celebrating this time, Dame Edna’s perhaps?

 

Sunday 2nd November 2008

Peterborough, 38 36 28 S, 142 52 80 E, (185 Km).  We free camped last night, unofficially, we arrived at the camp site and there was nobody in reception however a telephone number had been left on a notice board to ring, which Jenny duly did, Keith answered “I’m away, find a spot and Andy will be along to see you”.  We left at 9:30 this morning still waiting for Andy, reception was still locked, nowhere  to put our fee, $22 better off.  After a stop at Panmure to have morning coffee and do “maps” we had a plan of action for the next couple of days, summed up in three words, explore “The Great Ocean Road” (that’s 4), but not before calling at the Warrnambool cheese factory, (the information guide said free tasting) we patiently waited behind some Japanese tourist for a small square of both Mature and Vintage Cheddar, the vintage was infinitely tastier so we bought 500 grams of that, (we bought cheese yesterday or we would have bought more), after a quick look in their museum (museum’s are getting younger or we’re getting older, we have used some of the things on display) we continued on our way.  The first major scenic stop was “The Bay of Islands”,  towering pillars of rock in wonderful colours dotted around the bay, we stopped there for some time taking photographs before it became cloudy.  We thought it would be a good idea to sort out 2 things before we did anything else,  a) a camp site and b) the weather forecast for the next few days, we therefore drove into Peterborough and organised accommodation, then to Port Campbell Information Centre for the weather, not good news, cold and showers with the chance of a storm later today.  We decided to drive the 20 kilometre back to “The Bay of Islands”, stopping at “the Arch” and “London Bridge” lookouts on the way, thinking logically that even taking photographs and a look in the cold and dry, would be a better bet than in the cold and wet.  We actually stopped for most of the afternoon and early evening at “The Bay of Martyrs” lookout car park (the parking allocated for long vehicles i.e. us, affording the best views) as we could see a stunning vista of wild ocean and ever changing forbidding sky sitting in the comfort of the motor home, the other plus we cooked our evening meal there (Mongolian Lamb).  At 7:00 pm we drove 2 kilometres to the “The Bay of Islands” car park, although pretty confident we would not see a sunset we thought we would see the daylight end over the ocean with some photographs of some atmospheric sea and sky, I walked the short distance to the lookout while Jenny stopped in the motorhome to read.  It was fantastic, the threatened storm was over the ocean and although there was only one lighting flash, despite many rumbles of thunder the light through the cloud was both stunning and unusual.  Jenny brought me my anorak when the rain arrived (bless her) and the all important towel for the camera.  Unfortunately it started to rain heavier so we both returned to the motorhome, Murphy’s Law, the rain stopped so I returned once again to the lookout and stopped until the best light had gone, we did stop for a short stop at “The Bay of Martyrs” for another couple of photo’s before returning the 5 kilometres to the campsite.  We will decide in the morning whether (or weather) to stop for an extra day to see if the weather (or whether) improves.

 

Monday 3rd November 2008

Decision made, we will stop an extra day, even though the weather is still poor, supposedly the showers will clear tomorrow.  We didn’t move far from the motorhome for most of the day, Jenny did the washing and had to use the dryer to dry it, she also caught up with the paperwork, banking, receipts etc, while I cleaned the camera equipment and tidied up the photographs on Adobe, we also just relaxed and read our books and drank copious amounts of tea.  4:00 pm and the skies started to clear, we decided to drive to “The Grotto” a unique hole in the cliff caused by erosion, we could walk right down to the back of the hole facing the ocean, with the increase in the wind today the sound of the surf pounding the rocks was deafening. Our evening meal of banger (yes, only one they are very large) and mash was at the same place as last night the car park at “The Bay of Martyrs” lookout, the clouds dispersing and the sun coming through made for a picturesque scene as we eat our meal.  The light was still good for a short time after we had driven to “The Bay of Islands” and enabled me to get some decent photographs of the coloured cliffs, it didn’t last and despite wearing a fleece, body-warmer and anorak the extremely cold wind blowing 2000 miles plus from the Antarctic without stopping, soon made us retreat to the motorhome and return to the camp site.

 

Tuesday 4th November 2008

Apollo Bay, 38 44 40 S, 143 40 48 E, (130 Km).  Not  a brilliant start today, weather is still dull and cold, there is occasionally a bit of blue showing through.  First stop this morning was the lookout over Port Campbell it was only a view of the bay and town so it didn’t inspire a photograph and we were anxious to press on to Loch Ard Gorge and the surrounding views of the coast, great they were all in walking distance of the Loch Ard car park and easily split into 3 different walks.  The first very short walk was to the Loch Ard Gorge itself, named after the Clipper Loch Ard  that sank close by in 1878, if you have time “Google”  Loch Ard for a story of heroism and tragedy.  The next walk was to “The Razorback” a long rock stack with a serrated top (hence the name) and “The  Island Cave” which unfortunately we couldn’t see as they were re-building the lookout platform (too many Japanese tourist got on the old one at the same time).  We returned to the motorhome for our morning tea and biscuits and good news the sun is out, still a cold wind blowing though, the next trail was much longer one and we visited several different vantage points along the 2 kilometre walk, including “The Blowhole, Thunder Cave, Mutton Bird Island”, and the cemetery where 4 of the victims of the sinking of the Loch Ard were buried.  We had decided to return to Port Campbell 8 kilometres back and  book a camp site before continuing to “The 12 Apostles” a 20 Kilometre drive along The Great Ocean Road, Jenny went to the reception and soon returned, they wanted $45 for a power site, a fee they justified by saying it was a peak weekend, we didn’t stop, (the dearest we have paid anywhere was $38, tonight we paid $30, last night $26.50).  After a quick “pow wow” we drove to “The 12 Apostles” having made our decision to continue to Apollo Bay instead of  staying in Port Campbell it meant that we would not be able to photograph “The 12 Apostles” at sunset (or sunrise if we got up in time) but we were not prepared to be “ripped off” by the camp site, (no wonder they were not very busy and the camp ground almost empty).  After the wonders of “the Bay of Islands” and “Loch Ard Gorge” and all the “hype” that surrounds  “The 12 Apostles” , Jenny and I both agreed that they did not deserve their reputation and we thought that “The Bay of Islands” and possibly “Loch Ard Gorge” were both better, have a look at the photographs, what do you think?  We found out why it’s a long weekend in Victoria, it is “Melbourne Cup” week, why they have a holiday for a horse race I don’t know.  Does the UK have a bank holiday for the “Cheltenham Gold Cup, Ascot, Grand National or the Donkey Derby on Blackpool Sands? No!

 

Wednesday 5th November 2008

Dromana, (Mornington Peninsula) 38 19 84 S, 144 58 23 E, (168 Km, Including Ferry).  First stop along the Great Ocean Road this morning was the “SheOak Falls” a 1 hour round walk to a waterfall which though not outstanding was quite picturesque and we would imagine that in the winter with extra water coming over the rim it would be outstanding.  We then had a quick stop in Lorne to pick up a loaf of bread, before continuing to a lunch stop beside a beach.  Rather than attempt to drive through the centre of Melbourne and it’s suburbs we have crossed to the northern side via the Queenscliff/Sorrento ferry which crosses the mouth of Port Phillip the large body of water that Melbourne sits on.  I thought it may be a possibility to cut across when we looked at the map and a man we were talking to at the Bay of Islands lookout confirmed it as he was going to do the same on his way back to Queensland, the cost was only $75 and has saved us time and mileage and we can approach Melbourne proper easier from this side.  The ferry was so easy to use, pulled up at a kiosk, paid, got in line, and unlike the Kangaroo Island ferry we could drive on and drive off without worrying about reversing into the briny. They run every hour on the hour and as we arrived at 2:30 pm we only had a short time to wait and our line went on first and we were second on (and off)!  We have stopped tonight at a proper little seaside resort and are just five minutes from the beach, time tomorrow to buy a candy floss, knot my handkerchief in each corner, roll my trousers up to my knees and have a paddle.

 

Thursday 6th November 2008

A dear friend of my mother sent a letter to her in 1992 from a district just 20 minutes from where we are staying, although unlikely we thought we would attempt to find her,  We found it was a lovely retirement village, unfortunately my “Aunt Hilda”, who I had last seen in about 1971, had moved from there and left no forwarding address, the staff at the office who were very helpful are going to investigate further but they don’t hold out much hope, never mind it was worth a try.  We then drove to a local shopping centre and found a “Harvey World Travel” who have booked our ferry over to Tasmania, great news “Spirit of Tasmania” are doing a special offer for November, return passage, twin bed outside cabin and motorhome for $440, the downside is the “special” is only for November so we will lose 6 of the days we were going to stay there, if we stayed until December the single fare alone would have been $648, so we have saved an enormous amount and we are sure we can amend our itinerary. As a matter of interest the ferry fare over to Kangaroo Island was $406 return and that was for a passage of just 55 minutes, Melbourne to Tasmania is 10 hours, (it is known that the ferry to K.I is one of the dearest in the world, has anybody been over to the Isle of Wight lately?) After lunch and a short walk at a fauna and flora reserve we drove to Portsea on the end of the Mornington Peninsular and walked along the beach to a formation of Rocks called “London Bridge” (yes, every rock in Australia that has two holes through it is called London Bridge),  This was not as impressive  as the London Bridge rock on the Great Ocean Road, but at least there were 2 Arches (the second arch on the Great Ocean Road one collapsed in heavy seas in 1990).  We returned to Dromana and did the “seaside” thing bought some fish and chips and ate them on the beach, not sharing any with the resident Silver Gulls.

 

Friday 6th November 2008

Yesterday we started off in the morning dressed in trousers, fleece, socks and shoes and changed to shorts, T-shirts and thongs (UK = flip flops) and today we have done precisely the opposite as well as using the warm air heater in the motorhome,  as you can probably gather the weather is cold, wet and miserable.  We are not sure if the price of food is dearer in Tasmania, so this morning we did a shopping list, drove to Safeway and stocked up, don’t know were we can put it all but nevertheless we have stocked up, we have also filled to the brim with diesel, the cheapest so far on our trip $1.469 per litre, plus an extra 4 cents per litre off with a Safeway Voucher.  We intended going to the other side of the Mornington Peninsula but decided it would not be worth the drive in the rain, we even parked near where we had our fish and chips last night, but instead of the wonderful view over the bay, all we could see was depressing mist and cloud.  We therefore returned to the camp site, Jenny did some laundry and we have spent most of the day reading and listening to music.  Tomorrow we leave for Melbourne Port to catch the ferry to Tasmania, it would be great if we could see a sunset as we sail into the Bass Strait, but I won’t hold my breath.   

 

Saturday 8th November 2008

Port Melbourne, 37 50 58 S, 144 55 89 E, (162 Km) we decided to drive to the other side of the Mornington Peninsula and the many bays and inlets along the way, however, again the weather was not kind and we viewed most of them from the motorhome.  Rather than use the freeway into Melbourne we (as normal) drove the prettier route stopping at a place called Chelsea for our lunch before driving to the ferry terminal to collect our tickets.  We need not have done so, all the documentation is carried out as you drive to the check-in booth, we therefore just confirmed that we were on the passenger list.  As Albert Park (The Australian F1 Grand Prix circuit venue) was only 10 minutes away we thought we would stay there for the afternoon, once we were there we had the idea of walking the circuit (it is normally public roads) and that is what we did, what a brilliant place for a motor race and there was so much going on, sailing on the lake, cricket matches, cycle and walking tracks, tennis courts and a swimming pool.  I can’t remember (I will have to check) the distance of the track, but we walked around the complete perimeter. I also had to be able to say I have drove a GP track and we did that on the way back to the ferry terminal, albeit at the recognised speed limit of 40 kph.  We arrived back at the terminal at 5:00 pm and joined the queue for a security check before driving along the pier to the Check-in booth.  Nice to be greeted “Mr Morris” everything must be done through the vehicle “reggo” we were given our boarding cards, cabin key etc and here we are at 6:10 pm in line waiting to board, see you in “Tassie”.

 

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