Author Archives: Dearne and Rod

By the time we left Mildura on Sunday both the motorhome and jeep were sparkling again. The red mud was gone and if you had seen us on the road that day, there was no evidence of our ‘misadventure’ the day before.

Our stay at Loxton on Sunday night was a very relaxed affair. Loxton is a RV friendly town and as such provides free overnight stops, fresh water and if required, power. While not requiring any power or water, we certainly took advantage of our overnight stay on green grass – a luxury in the summer months in South Australia.

Loading the motorhome onto the barge at Swan Reach

On Monday we continued to follow the Murray River and found another lovely free camping area directly beside the river at Swan Reach. Swan Reach was first settled in the 1850s and was originally the largest of five sheep and cattle stations in the area. It soon became one of the first riverboat ports in South Australia and was a loading port for grain and wool.

To get to our camping spot we had to use the cable ferry crossing operated by the state government as part of the state’s road network. We were a little more relaxed about loading the motorhome and jeep onto a barge this time so took the journey in our stride.

Our entertainment on the Murray from our parkup at Swan Reach

Again we cannot believe the free camping locations that have been made available to the ‘gypsies’ travelling along the Murray. We were parked six metres from the water’s edge, had a few trees for shade and there was nothing to interrupt our view of the wildlife, houseboats and paddle boats sailing the river. It was such a great spot we ended up staying there for two nights.  The Captain threw a line into the river and was rewarded with a large ‘inedible’ European Carp for his efforts.

Sunset on the Murray at Swan Reach

We found it very difficult to leave Swan Reach on Wednesday but the journey must go on and we needed to get into Adelaide for the Motorhome and Caravan Show. There is no such thing as free camping in the cities so we had booked a site at the Adelaide Shores Big 4 Holiday Park, about 10km from the show venue at the Adelaide Showground.

This morning it was up reasonably early and we made our way in the jeep to the Show. We thought it was an excellent event and certainly provided us with some ideas of what a ‘future’ motorhome might look like and contain.  Our motorhome is only 2.5 years old but there were certainly some exciting new concepts and innovation in the latest models.

We leave Adelaide tomorrow and head down into the Fleurieu Region. We thought we might have a look at the Wooden Boat Regatta and Boat Show at Goolwa (just east of Victor Harbour) on Saturday.

There was no let up in the weather at Paringa on Thursday. It rained heavily for a full 48 hours so we decided to play it safe and remain at the Bert Dix Memorial Park to ride it out. Luckily for us the Murray River did not rise too much so we were reasonably comfortable with our decision. We had no leaks in the motorhome or the jeep so we were very happy.

On waking Saturday morning there was still light rain but we had decided to move on anyway toward Mildura, our next over night stop. In looking back, we would have probably been better off to stay where we were as we had a bit of drama on the journey.

About half way between Paringa and Mildura there is a lovely lake which we had every intention of making a lunch stop. When we arrive at the Lake Cullulleraine turnoff we noted that the road was a ‘no through’ road. Normally in these situations and for obvious reasons,  there is a turnaround at the end of the road. “Not this time!!”

Trying to dig our way out!

When we got to the end of the road there was nothing apart from a large expanse of flat vegetation covered land. It looked quite firm and was obviously not new ground so the ‘captain’ decided he would u turn on it. What a mistake. Thirty seconds later we were up to the diff in red mud and going nowhere.  Our only way out was to dig the motorhome out. We had bought a spade with us but it was never our intention to have to use it to get us ‘out’ of a hole.

After an hour of fairly robust language, frantic digging (it was looking as though it was going to rain again), lots of help from Bruce and Lyn, our saviour in the form of an elderly Australian (Ken) arrived with a 4WD and offered to try and tow us out.  We had made some progress in digging the mud out behind the front and rear wheels so reversing out was going to be the best option.

Our Saviour, Ken

We connected the two vehicles and it was a massive relief to see the motorhome moving freely across the ground. What did we learn from this? Australia’s red earth goes very soft after any rain. Stay off it! An inexpensive but embarrassing lesson well learned.

After thanking our saviour profusely, we carried on down the road to Mildura.  Mildura is sometimes referred to as the Mediterranean of the outback. It is a major agricultural centre notable for its grape production, supplying 80% of Victoria’s grapes. Many wineries also source grapes from Mildura.

After our little adventure, the motorhome and the little jeep were in desperate need of a cleanup so we decided to book into a motorcamp in Mildura and make use of their power and water.  A couple of hours after our arrival it was all done and we ‘rewarded’ ourselves by heading off to the local RSL for dinner.

“Still talking after the incident” and at the wetlands on the Murray near Loxton

We departed Mildura this morning (Sunday) and are meandering our way back to Adelaide over the next few days to attend the South Australia Motorhome and Caravan Show on Thursday.

Our plan is to stop tonight at the little town of Loxton. Loxton is a town on the south bank of the Murray River in the Riverland region of South Australia.  The area around Loxton is a significant citrus fruit and summer fruit growing area. We will be replenishing our fruit and vege supplies here.

The stunning Wetlands on the Murray

Because we are moving back and forth between the States of Victoria and South Australia i.e. crossing boarders, there are strict rules about taking vegetables and fruit in and out of each state. It pays not to carry too much of each in our present travel plan as you have to ditch what you have onboard each time you cross a boarder. They even came into the motorhome this morning to have a look refrigerator and freezer. The fines are very heavy if the rules are not followed. It is certainly not worth the effort to try and smuggle a 50 cent carrot.

It will be back on the road tomorrow and we will carry on toward Adelaide.  We are not quite sure just yet where we will stop tomorrow night.

If you are travelling South Australia and get the chance to visit Barmera and Lake Bonney, do it. It is a stunning little town directly beside a beautiful lake. It reminded us very much of the Lake Taupo and Taupo situation (except warmer). On the stopover we were able to park up beside the lake and with only a 5-minute walk into the township.

Dearne paddle boarding on Lake Bonney

The lake was heaven sent on Tuesday. The outside temperature in Barmera was around 45C with very little breeze. The temperature inside the van was approximately 49C. We spent most of the day in the lake. While endeavouring to stay cool we even tried our hand at paddle boarding. It wasn’t overly difficult and something we will consider taking up when we get home.

We decided it was too hot to cook dinner so escaped into Barmera and dined out for the night. The meal was itself average but the air conditioning in the restaurant was wonderful!!

Poppa doing his best to keep up!!

Tuesday night was another nightmare sleep. The temperature inside the van sat around 37 – 39C all night and as we were freedom camping, we could not run the air conditioning unit. We are not sure whether it would have done much good anyway in those temperatures.

On Wednesday it was back on the road and in an easterly direction toward Renmark. Because of the continuing high temperatures we decided not to stray too far from water and stopped for the night at the Martin Bend free camp area just 5km west of Renmark. We spent the rest of the day either in the Murray River or on the edge of the river with a glass of wine and a beer.

The weather is playing a big part in our travel as you can tell. We were watching the news on Wednesday night and the forecast was for torrential rain for the following two days. We looked at the sky in disbelief however decided not to ignore the warning. Much of the ground at Martin Bend was a mixture of sand and dust so if it did rain, mud was going to be the obvious result.

The Murray River from our Bert Dix Memorial Park parkup at Paringa

Based on that, on Thursday morning we packed up and headed further west to the township of Paringa and parked up on blacktop at the Bert Dix Memorial Park, 1km west of Paringa. We had only been there 2 hours and the rain started. It is now Friday afternoon and the rains have not stopped. While many parts of South Australia are now flooded, the upside is that a number of rogue fires have been contained because of the rain.

Ignore a weather forecast warning over here at your peril.

Depending on the rainfall, and whether or not the Murray rises too much, we plan to stay here for another 24 hours.

We are not quite sure what we will be doing today for Valentine’s Day. If it clears up we may walk into the local town for dinner. If it continues raining as it is now, I may have to cheer Dearne up with my rendition of Pearly Shells and Ten Guitars. That should do it!!!

With the temperatures again soaring in South Australia, we are having to be very careful in planning our day-to-day travel. There are currently a number of wild fires in the State and while not too close, we are acutely aware at the speed at which they can travel.

On our departure from Port Parham on Saturday morning, we were advised that there were a number of fires just 10 km north of us. While the intention was to spend a bit of time at Port Wakefield, because the fire were so close it was a quick lunch then onto Clare some 70km further west.

We made Clare our Saturday overnight stop and selected the greenest and most open piece of land we could find – the Clare Racecourse.  After setting ourselves up, we went out and took in the sights of the town. Again it is a very old town with some stunning 1800’s building. The standout for us was our visit to the Sevenhill Jesuit Winery in the Clare Valley. Established in 1851 Sevenhill cellar is the oldest winery in South Australia and the only remaining Jesuit owned winery in Australia. It was originally set up to produce alter wine.

We felt quite safe at the Racecourse, however it was a very uncomfortable night. Temperatures throughout the night remained at 40 – 42C and a hot northerly wind blew continuously.

After a sleepless Saturday night we woke to an entirely different day. The wind had changed to a southerly overnight and the morning temperature was around 25C. Ecstasy!!! We celebrated the change by treating ourselves to a breakfast in the village of Clare. What a difference a night makes!

Our Murray River barge crossing

After breakfast we continued in a northeasterly direction towards the township of Burra. We have been having a bit of a struggle in this part of the journey being able to get fresh clean water. We were hoping Burra would be our savior. As luck would have it, the town receives piped filtered water from the Murray River. Our problem was partly solved because the motorhome was on a slant and we could not get a good fill. We were still on half a tank.

On leaving Burra we continued 80km east to our next overnight stop at the Graham Claxton Reserve near Cadell in the Cadell Valley. The Reserve was another free camp (are we good at that or what!) but the catch was we had to access the site by loading the motorhome and the jeep onto a barge, which was then pulled across the Murray River by cable. Both the driver and navigator were a little nervous about the crossing as we both had visions of the motorhome ending up at on the bottom of the river. However all went well and the Reserve was a lovely grass area directly beside the Murray.

Dusk on the Murray River at Cadell

On Monday we did a wee walk from the Reserve to the metropolis of Cadell. The town consists of a General Store/Mail Centre, a hardware store and a Sports Club. Our social life around Cadell was spent around the motorhome!  As the temperatures stayed around 20 to 30C at the Reserve, we ended up by staying for two nights with temperatures remaining at 25 – 28C for both days.

It was with great sadness yesterday that we were advised of the passing of an ex work colleague of our EAP Services days. Gabrielle Kearney epitomized the true professional and always placed her clients needs first. Rest in peace Gabrielle – you have left us far too soon.

Sunrise over the Murray River at Cadell

This morning it was up anchor and on with the journey. We were now in urgent need of fresh water so we drove into town in search of a ‘spare’ tap. While there, we got into a discussion with a lovely gentleman who allowed us to fill our fresh water tank from his house tap. He also sent us on our way with a dozen duck eggs. A great gesture from a local.

Temperatures over the next three days are going to be around the 40 to 45C so we will not be moving too far away from any water. The water breezes seem to cool the air just a bit along the foreshores. Today’s plan is to go as far as Barmera and stay on the foreshore of Lake Bonney. Apparently there are a few free spots around the Lake but there is also excellent parking on the foreshore in the town itself. We shall see.

Our overnight stop at Langhorn Creek was ‘damage free’ due to the careful ‘parkup’ plan.  We stayed well away from the trees and had a relatively peaceful nights sleep.

Tuesday morning we received an early morning phone call from the Australian Caravan Company to say that our replacement satellite dome had been delivered the night before. A great service from FedEx – a four-day delivery from Auckland. We booked the fitting of the dome for Wednesday.

The big lobbo at Kingston

Because of the fitting we decided to stay reasonably close to Adelaide for the next few days. We departed Langhorn Creek and headed for the ‘lobster’ town of Kingston. Kingston is at the entrance to the Limestone Coast Region of South Australia with its commercial activity centred on the lobster, aquaculture and the fishing industries.  Farming, radiata pine production and a brilliant wine industry also have a significant input in the region.

After a short stop to pick up groceries and have a look around the town, we made our way towards our next overnight stop – Port Parham. Port Parham is on the St Vincent Gulf on the south coast of South Australia and about 60km west of Adelaide. Our friends Bruce and Lyn who we last saw before Xmas were also at Port Parham so it was great to catch up with them again. We had no cell coverage in Port Parham so our apologies if you could not get hold of us or we could not answer your emails.

The boys off crab gathering

The beach on which we stayed is very tidal but is famous for crab hunting. We bought ourselves a ‘crab rake’ and over our stay we tested our crab hunting skills. We initially wore our boat shoes in the water but we were told the ‘toughies’ over here go in with bare feet and when the crabs attach themselves to the toes, they lift their foot up and grab the crab!!  We had seen the size of the crabs so were not too keen on trying that. The boat shoes turned out to be a bit of a hindrance in the mud so it was ‘off shoes’ and into bare feet. You certainly knew when a crab was onto your foot but it was great fun and a real laugh.

Success – are they big or what? And they hurt!!

On Wednesday we took the trip back into Adelaide to get the new dome fitted. The guys at the Australian Caravan Company were super helpful and had the old dome removed, the satellite system vacumned and cleaned and the new dome fitted in 20 minutes – all for the princely sum of A$20. Again, thanks very much guys for a great service.

Thursday morning Nick and Elizabeth, who we had met at Wrights Bay, joined us at Port Parham. If you could see our set up today we are similar to a circle of ‘chuck wagons’ waiting for the Indians to attack. I have a feeling the next few days are going to be very social.

Dinner at the Parham Sports and Social Club
From Left: Dearne, Rod, Bruce, Lyn, Nick, Lizzie

On Friday night we took a leisurely 800 metre stroll up the dust road to the Parham Sports and Social Club. The Club pays many of the facilities at our beach camp so we decided to return their hospitality by visiting the Club. We had a relaxing social evening with a great meal and were treated very generously by the members. They even shouted us a glass of port before we departed. It is a great little Club and we are glad we made the effort to visit.

Speaking of Elizabeth, some months ago she developed an excellent Budget Tracker for travellers using Excel as the base software. Over the past few weeks we have been working with Elizabeth to refine the programme to reflect our expense streams and how best it can meet our needs. It is a brilliant tool and it certainly gives us a better idea of our spend over here on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. Elizabeth is selling the tool as a customised product. If you are interested talking with her, please email her on lizzienic5@gmail.com .

We departed Port Parham this morning (Saturday) and are driving north to Port Wakefield, having lunch and a bit of a look around then heading inland to Clare, across to Burra, east to the Murray River and then following the river back into Adelaide in time at attend the South Australia Motorhome and Caravan Show on the 19 February.

Our plan is to stay at Clare tonight.

Our relaxing four days at Wrights Bay on the Limestone Coast came to an end this morning. We had picked it just right with the weather. One hundred kilometres away temperatures of around 40 to 43C were being experienced. At our beach stopover, temperatures in the van were a cool 28C and we experienced a constant 10 to 12 knot wind off the sea all weekend. Brilliant.

Wrights Bay, sunset, glass of Pinot Gris – a perfect end to the day.

The area in which we stopped was about 4 hectares of grass and trees with probably five or six vans on site at any one time all weekend. While it was not a free camp, the three dollars per night per person was not going to break the bank. It was tempting to stay on for a few more days but the journey must go on.

The Limestone Coast in South Australia is a stunning part of the country. Kilometres of white sandy coastline and hardly a person to be seen. What we did notice on our many walks along the beach was the absence of any sea life in the shallows or being washed up with the tides. There were very few shells along the shoreline and piles and piles of seaweed. We think it may have something to do with the limestone rock in the area.

A typical stone cottage at Robe – stunning

On Saturday we unhooked the jeep and travelled the 30km into Robe, Wright Bay’s closest town. Robe was settled in 1802 and in 1847 was declared a port. By 1856 Robe was the second major colonial out-port. A decline in trade in the 1870’s meant that in 1878 Robe was closed as a port and became a quiet little seaside village as it is today. It is a beautiful village with many of the 1800 limestone cottages still being lived in today. We certainly recommend the town be worth a visit.

We reluctantly packed up this morning a bid farewell to our many new friends we had made over the four days at Wrights Bay. As an aside, many of the travellers at the beach had small dogs. For some reason they seemed to spend quite a bit of time under our motorhome. We thought we may have passed over road kill on the journey and some was left under the motorhome. However when we pulled out this morning, a very large bush rat jumped down from under the motorhome, we think it was in the spare tyre well, and fled into the trees. There is an upside to this story – at least we know there is no snakes travelling under the motorhome with us – the snake would have eaten the rat!!

Our journey westward today was quite nerve wracking. We travelled 270km of the southern coast in 40 to 50 knot winds.  The van was being thrown all over the road. It was with some relief that we arrived at our overnight destination of Frank Potts Reserve at Langhorn Creek and directly beside a winery. Our next challenge was to find a spot away from any trees as 60 to 70 knot winds have been forecast for tonight. All sorted and we are reasonably relaxed about our stay here tonight. Managing the weather conditions is one of our biggest challenges over here.

Over the next few days we will be staying within half a days travel from Adelaide as we are awaiting the arrival of our new satellite dome from New Zealand.

Dearne doing her patchwork amongst the gumtrees at Mt Clay

As suggested in our last blog update, our stay in the Mt Clay State Forest ended up a two-day stopover. We were a wee bit nervous on the first day as temperatures were quite high and we were surrounded by the ‘bush’. Our minds were eased however when we discovered a manned fire tower approximately 600 metres from us and the ranger was visiting our site twice a day to let us know of any fire danger. The horrific stories we hear from people who have experienced the fires make us very wary.

A visiting kookaburra at Mt Clay

For everyplace we are visiting in Australia, there is always something ‘different’ that helps us remember the area. In the Mt Clay State Forest it was the kookaburra. While we have heard and seen the bird in many places in our travels, this was the first area where they were in abundance and had no fear about coming down to the van and settling within a metre of us. There were both adult and young birds and they seemed quite happy to sit close and listen to us talk. In some of these remote areas the wildlife have very little fear of humans.

We departed the State Forest on Thursday morning and made our way along the Princess Highway toward Mt Gambier.  The pantry was looking a little sparse so a stop at the local Woolworths was essential. From Mt Gambier we continued along the highway to our next stop at Wrights Bay Bush camp, about 24km north of Robe and directly beside the beach. We decided to head for the coast as temperatures are forecast to be above 40C for the next four days and we thought a sea breeze might be a lifesaver.  It is 2pm at the moment and 28C so I think we made the best decision.

Dearne’s latest shot for her new book

When we started our journey in Australia, Dearne decided she was going to photograph ‘old’ buildings along the way and when we get back home produce a book of historic Australian buildings, homes and abodes. The number of these types of buildings makes it easy to accumulate photographs. The most difficult part will be at the end when she has to select the best photographs. She is loving the challenge of the project.

We have said many a time in the blog that the customer service ethic over here leaves much to be desired at times.  However where bouquets are due, we feel we must give it. You will recall that a week or so ago we punctured the dome over the satellite dish on top of the motorhome. A low branch skewered it while we were searching for koala in the wild at the Cape Otway National Park. Last Friday night (the long weekend) we emailed Majestic, the makers of our dish, and asked them if they could provide us with a new dome. We were not expecting a reply until Tuesday. Our email was answered the next day (Saturday) by Majestic’s Australian CEO who arranged to have a new dome couriered to us from New Zealand to our next city stop  – Adelaide.  The new dome will be in Adelaide before the end of the coming week.  Brilliant service!

We also arranged for the Australian Caravan Company, a motorhome and caravan repair business in Adelaide to receive the dome on our behalf. They have also offered to fit the new one for us. Again, brilliant service!

To Majestic, especially Tony Munro, Australia’s CEO and to Jocie Haggett of the Australian Caravan Company, many thanks for all your help and advice. We promise we will pay more attention to ‘hanging branches’ in the future.

Our plan is to stay at Wrights Bay until Monday and take the jeep out over the weekend to visit Robe and a number of very popular vineyards in the area. Shouldn’t be too hard.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Friday morning we departed our Lavers Hill ‘roadhouse’ overnighter and continued our journey down the Great Ocean Road. Our first stop for the day was breakfast 30km on at the little seaside town of Princeton.  As it was Australia Day weekend this weekend, we were surprised when we got to the café that we were the only ones there.  We both ordered French toast and when the meal arrived we then understood why there was no one else there – the meal was a shocker!

The Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road, Victoria

From Princeton we carried on down the Great Ocean Road to the ‘Twelve Apostles’. The Twelve Apostles (formerly the Sow and Piglets) are individual stacks of limestone formed in layers with the youngest rock closest to the surface. The cliff alongside the Apostles is a vertical geological record of millions of years.  However it is thought the stacks themselves developed during the last 6000 years. The landscape is a stunning sight.

As we drove toward Peterborough we stopped at the impressive rock formation sites of ‘London Bridge’ and the ‘the Arch’. Again, all very impressive when you consider that it has taken millions of years for the formations to evolve.

From Peterborough we continued into Warrnambool where we spent the night at the showground.  We had heard that the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool put on a brilliant laser light presentation depicting the sinking of the schooner Loch Ard in 1878 with 52 lives lost.

It was a brilliant evening. The laser screen itself was a fine spray of water that enabled the viewer to watch the laser show against the backdrop of the Flagstaff Hill village, a cluster of typical 1800’s coastal buildings.  The theatre in which we sat ‘moved’ with the ship as it battled the waves on the screen. It was great technological wizardry. Unfortunately no cameras were allowed.

From left: Rod, Dearne, Jo and Brent at Monday lunch on the Warrnambool waterfront

Sunday morning we arose to discover that the showground was the host to a bi monthly market so we were obligated to have a look around. No purchases were made with the exception of an early morning coffee.

Later that morning we made our way up the Hopkins Highway to catch up with our kiwi friends Jo and Brent.  Both hail from the Waikato/BOP area and are farming in Pernim, Victoria. We spent two lovely days on the farm and we were most appreciative of the ‘inside’ bed offer. Thanks guys – while we love being in the van, it was great being in the house for a couple of nights. We will see you again early next year.

The Calf Whisperer!!!

This morning (Tuesday) we continued our way west along the Princess Highway towards Portland. It is superhot here again today (41C with hot northerly winds) so we have pulled in for the night at an off the road spot called the Sawpit Picnic Area in the Mt Clay State Forest (493 in the Camp 7 book). The area is providing us with plenty of shade and is not so exposed to the wind.

Depending on the weather, we may stay here two days as the forecasters are predicting a lowering of temperatures and a drop in the wind.

Before starting our journey in Australia we understood that many of the roads, especially those around the main cities, were toll roads.  So to save us online time and ‘overdue’ charges, we managed to get ourselves a little Roam ‘etag’ that sits on the windscreen of the motorhome and automatically deducts toll fees from your account as you accumulate them. It ‘beeps’ to let you know the deduction has been made.

From our arrival in Brisbane in June ‘13 and prior to our arrival in Melbourne on Wednesday, we had only heard the ‘gadget’ beep three or four times. However on the Melbourne motorways on Wednesday it seemed to be ‘beeping’ all the time. Goodness knows how many toll points we went through and what the final bill will be. But we have to say this – the motorways were flowing at a steady 90 to 100km at peak hour time. We have no aversion to paying tolls as long as we are getting what we pay for i.e. free flowing traffic, no delays and shorter distances.

Our Melbourne dinner at Terra Rossa
From Left: Rod, Kieren and Tori (Pennys daugher and her man), Penny (Dearne’s cousin), Dearne, Linda (cousin) and Nick

There is no free camping in Melbourne so we ended up tucking in for the night at a Big 4 Caravan Park at Braybrook, a suburb about 9km from the central city. As we had a dinner date in the city that night, our goal was to find a stop on a good public transport route as we did not want to take the little jeep into the city and have to deal with parking and driving after a couple of wines.

We caught up with some of the family in a little Italian restaurant, Terra Rossa, in inner city Flinders Lane.  It was a lovely meal with good wine and fine company. Thank you Tori for arranging the restaurant and taking us home. We will catch up with Penny again when we get to Perth toward the end of the year and with Tori in Melbourne around February/March 2015.

Thursday morning we departed Big 4 and headed south toward Geelong. We had both been to Geelong before so we did not spend to much time in the town itself but drove further onto the peninsula to Queenscliff.  Now there’s a lovely little seaside town. We parked up down by the water, made lunch in the motorhome and then had a walk around the area. It is a bit like Whangamata but only bigger.

Along the Great Ocean Road

On leaving Queenscliff we followed the coast road around to Ocean Grove then Barwon Heads and made a decision to drive inland for an overnight stop as the coastal areas are still frantic with university and school holiday makers. We ended up in a little town called Winchelsea about 40km inland on a lovely free site beside the Barwon River.  We really appreciate what the country towns provide for RVer’s. In our way of thinking, they are so in tune the baby boomer ‘bubble’.

Dearne at Lorne

This morning we had a relatively early start (9.30am!!) and drove about 40km towards the coast to Lorne.It was another coastal town frantic with holiday makers.  After a leisurely stroll around the town it was back onto the Great Ocean Road driving southwest through Wye River, Kennett River, Wongarra and Apollo Bay. The Great Ocean road is a challenging drive but has stunning scenery.

The long awaited shot – a koala in the wild

About 20km past Apollo Bay we hooked a left and drove toward Cape Otway through the Great Otway National Park. There was good and bad about that decision.  The good was that we saw our first koala in the wild. As we drove along we could see them sitting in the trees along the roadside. There were plenty of photo opportunities. The bad was that the trees along the National Park road were very low. While we did our best to ‘miss’ the low hangers, unfortunately one low branch hit our satellite dome and put a hole in it. Not happy!!!  If anyone is coming over to Adelaide over the next couple of weeks and would be happy to carry a new dome over with them as luggage, please let us know.

We are currently parked up for the night behind the roadhouse at Lavers Hill, just on the edge of the National Park. It is another free park but it cost us a couple of beers at the local bar in the roadhouse. Tomorrow we continue eastward along the Great Ocean Road with planned stops at the 12 Apostles, the Loch Ard Gorge and the Port Campbell National Park. It is a long weekend in Australia this weekend (Australia Day on Sunday) so we will be doing our best to stay away from the popular tourist spots.

Our two days at Golden Beach was a very relaxing stay. There were very few people in the area during our visit and the temperatures had cooled somewhat to a pleasant 23 to 25C each day.

Golden Beach is a small settlement situated on the beautiful Ninety Mile Beach in Gippsland, Victoria. Most of the town’s residents can easily walk to the beach while campers and RVer’s such as ourselves have 21 sites to choose from along the foreshore. We continue to meet plenty of other Kiwi’s on our travels. The people who owned the local beach store at Golden Beach hailed from Stratford in Taranaki.

We departed Golden Beach on Sunday morning and continued our journey south on the Princess Highway toward Toora. We had decided we would stay Sunday night at the Franklyn Reserve just out of Toora so we had a nice relaxing day stopping in at all the local sights on the way. Franklyn Reserve was one of the top free spots – plenty of grass and shade and right beside a small local river. We certainly slept well again that night – it was a nice quiet area and the temperatures remained low.

Our goal on Monday was to visit Phillip Island, a further hours drive from our Monday overnight stop. Phillip Island measures 10,000 hectares, has a population of 10,000 permanent residents and is connected to the ‘mainland’ by a two-lane bridge. The island is famous for its penguin and seal colonies, its GP Racing track (the first ever Australian Grand Prix was run on Phillip Island on 31 March 1928), its dinosaur digs and the many walks and trails around the island.

Lang Lang Beach on the Western Port Bay

We spend two or so hours on the island having a look around but did not feel enticed to ‘pay’ to look at a seal colony or watch penguins walking to their nest at the end of the day. We can do all that for free at home. In saying that, the island is stunning and we can understand why it attracts so many tourists.

There are very few free camping areas as you get closer to Melbourne so our Monday night stop was at the Lang Lang Caravan Park on the edge of Western Port Bay and directly across the water from French Island National Park.  It was very reasonably priced ($22 per night) and again we were surprised that there were very few people in the camp bearing in mind the time of year i.e. school holidays.

Louise, Brian and Rod on their Lang Lang Beach visit

We ended up by staying two nights and receiving a lovely visit from our cruising friends Brian and Louise from Melbourne. In 2012 we undertook a river cruise from Amsterdam to Luxemburg and we met Brian and Louise on the cruise. We have remained in contact since. Thanks guys for taking the time to come down and meet with us. We will see you again early next year.

We head in to Melbourne tomorrow for a one-night visit and to catch with some of the family. A dinner at a local restaurant has been planned so we a really looking forward to our ‘big night out’.

Thursday we will continue our journey southward and onto the Great Ocean Road.