Great Ocean Road

I have been impressed with South Australia. They are mad keen recyclers (do not expect a plastic bag at any shop – you bring your own or buy a re-useable one) and there are at least two bins for cans or bottles or other recycles next to the “landfill” bin.

We have made excellent use of their state parks and conservation areas with a combined entry/camping permit.  $80 covered all entry and camping fees at most of the parks for a two month period. And they really are very friendly - no rivalry between the Sydneysiders and any South Aussies.  Everyone says hello or nods or smiles or waves, no matter where you are.

So we were a little sad to cross the border into Victoria. Our first port of call was Port Fairy. The information centre again supplied maps, local knowledge and pointed us to the best pies in town for lunch. We also happened across an Op Shop.

 As you may recall, we have been caught out with how cold it is. Apart from a handful of high 30’s low 40’s, it has been on average 22c during the day and regularly dropping to 10c or so at night.  In our efforts to “pack light”, we all packed just one jumper each.  I have slept in mine for about two weeks straight and worn it every day in between.  Op shop to the rescue.

The Information centre also told us that Victoria has no National Park pass scheme similar to SA and that the  State Government  have eliminated just about all the free camping sites and increased the National Park fees. The staff at the centre were almost apologetic. It’s a shame, because we much prefer National Parks camping to Caravan Parks – and not just because of the prices.

Despite this, we pressed on to the Great Ocean Road. It was not in our original itinerary but we decided that the kids deserved to see it. 

Travelling from the west, one happens upon the Bay of Islands, the Grotto and London Bridge first - all breathtaking.  The Victorians put on some fine weather and we knew immediately it was the right decision to include this section in our travels. It had been a long drive and we decided to make camp and see the rest of the sights the following morning.

 The information office gave us some good advice regarding camping at the Recreation Reserve in a little place called Princetown.

The Rec Reserve proved very comfortable, although you had to chase out the birds nesting in the laundry before you could get hot water for the dishes, couldn’t drink the bore water and had to compete with several mobs of kangaroo to use the oval for a game of cricket.  The site wasn’t to level and we all had to sleep with our heads at the same end.  It was very windy and the temperature dropped to about 10 degrees that night. We felt right at home and I slept like a baby.

This morning dawned bright and clear. The wind had eased and it was almost warm.  Our first destination was the Gibson Steps, The Twelve Apostles and then my personal favourite, Loch Ard Gorge. They were every bit as spectacular as I remembered them.

The beach at the bottom of Gibson stairs was sunlight and the sand warm.  The Southern Ocean rolled in calm, even sets of waves and smelled fantastic.  I realised that, on a normal year we would be just about ready to head to the Sunshine Coast and I was missing Kings Beach already. You can take the girl out of Queensland……

It was almost midday before we headed inland on some minor roads towards Ballarat.  We have fallen into a bad habit of stopping at a bakery for lunch and did so again today at a delightful town called Camperdown. Rod does all the driving when we are under tow and he was tired when we finally hit the outskirts of Ballarat.  Our normal campsite research routine was a tad truncated today and we ended up in a Big 4 Park so we are making full use of all the amenities. I will wash ( hooray!) and iron and the kids will play tennis, basketball and swim in the heated indoor pool .

 It’s funny the things you miss. Of course the “pack light” mantra left no room for an iron so we have all been pretty wrinkly. I am truly excited about having clean and pressed cloths to go to church in on Sunday.  Our poor cloths.  For a while, I thought I was losing weight.  My denim shorts were feeling baggy and starting to fall down.  In fact, I think my denim shorts are so desperate to get into a washing machine that they are prepared to make their own way to a laundry.

Thanks for reading folks. I have told Rod that he can do the next few blogs as I do not want to be accused of being a blog hog.  I am sure he will have some fascinating insights on Ballart and surrounds.