Life on the Open Road

First things first in this blog. We mentioned the humpback whales in our last update but, at that time, we didn't have photos of them. Now we do - courtesy of Mr Alan Ryan. Thanks again Alan - we're sure everyone will want to see just what they looked like.

We promised to report back on life on the Ocean Road and are delighted to do so. What a spectacle! We had been given some great tips by the younger Ryans about where to see, stop, visit etc and their advice proved invaluable. On Thursday we headed out of Melbourne to Geelong and on to Torquay where the Great Ocean Road officially starts. From there we wound our way along through some beatiful little towns and - more importantly - some fantastic coast road with shreer cliff looking down over beautiful golden beaches and HUGE breaking waves - no wonder the surfers love it!

We stopped off at the iconic and jaw-dropping Twelve Apostles - of which there are now only around eight left standing. It was very atmospheric when we arrived with a spooky-looking sea mist rising off the ocean and throwing a veil around the stacks....very impressive indeed. While there we got chatting to professional photographer Allan Savage who recognised us by our 'Glesgae' accents and spoke to us for ages about whisky, Scotland and photos. We've posted some of our own photos here but anyone who wants to see the professional version can go to Allan's website at http://www.redbubble.com/people/aeolus/art

We spent the night at Port Fairy before heading on to Portland and Mount Gambier then following the coast road down into Robe (as recommended by Michael Lennon) where we had the freshest seafood I've ever tasted - yummy!

On Saturday we headed for Adelaide via Policeman's Point, Meningie and the pink salt beds at Tailem Bend. We also passed through the Murray Valley wine region en route to the city which is very compact and pretty. On Sunday we visited Adelaide Art Gallery and saw the John Brack exhibition before heading for the aiport for our flight to Brisbane.

Our hotel in Brisbane was, once again, in a great position - right on the Riverfront looking over Story Bridge and with the city, restaurants etc right on our doorstep. We've been really fortunate in our choice of hotels - most of them just chosen on the internet so it's always a bit of a lottery. Just lucky I guess.

My nephew Steven had told me that Brisbane was his fave Australian city and I can easily see why - it has lots of character and some really nice old buildings but is quite obviously a young, up-and-coming city with plenty to offer. We spent two nights here and managed to cram quite a lot in to that time - including a trip on the Brisbane Wheel (like the London Eye), the City Cat ferry across the river, visits to the Art Gallery and the Museum and also some 'down time' for shopping, relaxing, eating and drinking.

We collected (another) hire car on Tuesday to head up north for Cairns. As we left Brisbane the whole city was getting primed up for the Melbourne Cup. Given the level of excitement in Brisbane, I just can't imagine how crazy it must be in Melbourne itself on the day of the race. We covered about 600km on Tuesday, stopping at Noosa Heads for coffee, and overnighted in Gladstone then did roughly the same distance yesterday (Wednesday) to get to Airlie Beach for an overnight.

Along both routes - between Woolongong and Adelaide and between Brisbane and here - we have continued to spot some crazy road signs and have, of course, snapped them so you can all enjoy them too!

Today we're having an easier time of it and are headed for Townsville (or theareabouts) tonight. We are due in Palm Cove - just north of Cairns - on Saturday and will be joined by Jan & Alan on Sunday. We are really looking forward to that!

Love, JandL
xx

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