Great Ocean Road

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A couple of photos from Melbourne plus we forgot to mention that whilst we were sitting in a cafe sipping our coffee, at the next table a local newscaster was being filmed as he was reporting on the extreme weather. Apparently it was the hottest 1st April in Melbourne for 150 years with temperatures hitting 33+ degrees C whereas it would normally be around 20 degrees C !!



Wednesday 2nd April - awoke to cloud and drizzle - the heatwave in Melbourne must be over!!! On the advice of the camp warden we took the Freeway to a town called Colac before dropping down to the Great a Ocean Road as he said that would save us a lot of time. We didn't linger in Colac as it was a depressing town but took the windy mountainous road towards Apollo Bay. On the way we spotted a sign to Stevensons Waterfalls so did a quick turn round and took the gravel road. It was pretty steep and narrow but through spectacular forestry and Tony spotted his first LIVE Kangaroo which was pretty amazing as he was driving at the time! 5Km further on we reached the river where there was a wonderful camping area. We parked the van, walking boots on and took the path to the Waterfall. Wonderful trees and loads of birds, crossed a bridge and spotted a large freshwater crayfish. A bit further on we could hear the waterfall and then spotted it through the trees - what a wonderful place. We were very tempted to camp here but really needed to push on a bit. Carried on through the Otway Range Forest to our camping area for the night at Johanna Beach. Had a quick walk on the beach past a lot of dead cuttle fish and a few puffa fish before settling down for the night - huge waves rolling in and a bit on the chilly side!!!!!



Thursday 3rd - awoke to cloudy skies with just a hint of blue sky fighting it's way through. On the road by 9.30 and making our way along towards the Twelve Apostles. Sun now starting to shine. The Apostles are limestone cliffs which has been worn away by the sea leaving these impressive stacks and which are really dramatic in the huge surf of the Southern Ocean. Many photos later we moved on to Loch Ard - again so impressive with limestone gorges, inlets and more stacks in the high seas. It sounds as though it's a place in Scotland but it got its name from the ship that was wrecked there after having sailed from Gravesend in the 1878. This really is a place where you have photo overload!! On to a small nearby town, Port Campbell, for a coffee and a muffin and a quick look at the map. Popped into the Info Centre to use their wifi to check on Dulcie's progress - G&R had emailed that hopefully she should be returning to Clifftop this week. On that good news we continued on our way to Mt Gambier to view the blue volcanic lake which was more of a grey on a cold day. Looked at the map picked out our next camp for the night on our way to Adelaide. Getting dusk as we drove which gave Lyn her first sighting of a LIVE Kangaroo! You'll be glad to know that we didn't hit it! Tomorrow it's a day of big decisions which wine region do we choose to tour - Barossa (Jacobs Creek), Coonawarra (Penfolds, Lindemans) or Adelaide Hills foe a selection of lesser known wines. We need the wine buffs amongst you to guide us through the tastings!

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Photos

Johanna beach
Right next to our camping area for the night

The Twelve Apostles
Only 7 of these stacks now left

Dangerous seas
No wonder there are stories of so many wrecks along here

Padlocks on Melbourne Bridge
Where did all the bicycles go!!!!