The past two weeks travelling the Great Ocean Road have been simply put, amazing.  After leaving Fred’s family in the Tarra Valley we have made our way west. Stopping in at a number of little towns, campsites, nooks and crannys, until making it to our current destination, Warrnambool.

Now where to properly begin . . . . .?!

Firstly I must warn you, I have been instructed by my mother and mother in law, “We want details!”.

And so, though I will attempt to keep my entries interesting & to the point, if they slowly turn into an essay this is my excuse.

The day we left Gippsland we were headed for the Sorrento Ferry, a half hour ride across to Queenscliff. This meant keeping to the coast and cutting out Melbourne CBD (something we were MORE than happy with!). We stopped in at Rye to visit one of Fred’s good seafaring mates Caple, and here we had a gorgeous lunch date at Hotel Sorrento overlooking the sea. As an added bonus, the food was delicious. Even Barney was kept happy as Larry with a stop in at Rye beach and a play with all the other pups on the doggie off-leash section of the beach. Shout out to Caple for showing us around! The day was stunning – hot, sunny & not a breath of wind. Once off the ferry we commenced along the Great Ocean Road right the way along to Apollo Bay (about 130 – 140k’s, or 2 ¼ hours drive time). They ain’t lying when they tell you it’s a beautiful road that’s for sure.

Apollo Bay is a small fishing town, very vibrant at this time of year and as you can imagine, chockers with holidaymakers. But that didn’t seem to take away from the experience of the town at all, if anything it brought it to life. We stayed at Marengo Holiday Park (dog friendly, RIGHT on the cliff tops & bloody fantastic). It was a full park, but we enjoyed it. Falling asleep to the sound of crashing waves every night. The surf was huge & from the SW. We snagged quite a few surfs. Counting ourselves lucky we scored a couple of places that don’t break all that often. Thanking you Frosty & Maddy for the heads up on a few local hot spots !! It turned out the one local we befriended in the surf knew (& knew well) the only 3 people Fred & I know that are from Apollo Bay. The world proving once again it is not as big a place as you think.

Besides decent waves for surfing and beaches for swimming, Apollo Bay also gave us the most BS good ice cream to have ever slid down our throats. Dooley’s Ice Cream, on the main drag – a MUST try, and try again & again (to ensure they’re keeping consistent of course). The museum offered some pretty cool history on the town during white settlement, as well as the history of telegraph / telephone lines – did you know the first telegraph line connecting Mainland Australia to Tasmania was placed on the sea floor between Cape Otway and King Island & then King Island to Gorge Town in Tasmania in 1857..? It was a shitty line, as it only lasted a month or so before it failed. You have to start somewhere though, don’t you?

After Apollo Bay we turned inland into the Great Otway Ranges / National Park. We camped at a few different locations within the rainforest, enjoyed several short walks & visited BULK beautiful waterfalls. In Forrest we went mountain biking for the day & saw some echidnas up close eating little ants with their ridiculously long tongues. At Beech Forrest we went zip lining and walking ‘in the tree tops’ at the Otway Fly. This was a fun and beautiful experience, though a little pricy for what you can appreciate for free throughout the whole region. The California Redwoods were very cool to walk through. They are so vastly different to the usual Australian bush lands and rainforests. And SO tall.

Dog Owners – Victoria have this terrific thing where they allow dogs into a large portion of their national parks !! On leash and yes you have to clean up their poo, but hey, having your little buddy by your side enjoying the sights too is something you can’t beat.

At Cape Otway we stayed at Bimbi Caravan Park (Camping Under Koalas). And their promo’s were no lie – we were literally camping under koalas, they were scattered out as far as you would dare look throughout this region. Quite the novelty when you are a Tasmanian. The park was more like a hobby farm. With chickens, horses, tucked in the bush away from anything else, loads of activities for kids etc., and it was very spacious. Visiting Cape Otway Lighthouse was great. It’s pretty touristy, has some old fellas dressed up all colonial like giving historical talks about the history of white settlement and the lighthouse. We found it really well presented. Always good to give the brain a workout and learn new things. It is a pretty impressive lighthouse. Surprisingly there is also an aboriginal historical site here too, with a guide to talk you through what it was like during that time for the traditional owners of the lands – something we have not come across yet on our travels through all the coastal museums. A nice addition, that I think is too often missed or brushed over vaguely.

We left Cape Otway, driving only 20k’s or so until pulling into Johanna Beach and setting up camp behind the dunes. This was a pure camp site, in National Park, though it did have a toilet block, and you still had to book and pay… We have discovered the Great Ocean Road is VERY popular, especially at this time of year!! And there are not many “proper” raw camping locations along this stretch of country. We definitely cannot complain. We have had a ball regardless. But we are looking forward to the crowds thinning out and real camping, with no one else, no reception and no facilities. Just good old dirty nature. Johanna Beach was beautiful. The surf was enormous, too big for surfing. So we settled for beach fishing and swimming in the amazing rock pools instead. We didn’t really accomplish much else besides a few beach walks and general lounging in the sun. It was nice to slow the pace down and just chill out by the ocean for a few days. I nearly laughed myself silly after Fred’s first cast with the beach rod. He was so excited to have it out for the first time of the trip. He was all full of beans ready to catch some salmon. First cast – the line tangled and snapped. Favourite lure gone. Smile demolished. But Fred being Fred he ran back, re-rigged and was back catching fish in no time.

From Johanna we tucked into Princetown for the night. A very small coastal town with a nice river and another rugged rocky beach. The local store made a damn fine toastie! We were up at dawn the next morning and on the road headed for The 12 Apostles. The whole coastline from here to Peterborough is breathtaking. Watching the sun come up over The 12 Apostles was amazing. They really are HUGE !! And standing so tall, straight out of the sea. This day we were stopping A LOT. And walking A LOT. There are so, so many scenic lookouts along this stretch of coast. They are all just as stunning as the last. Raw beauty at it’s best. Loch Ard Gorge was my personal favourite. Jumping in for a morning wake up dip was just what the doctor ordered (against the rules but well worth it). As we were on the road so early we were even lucky enough to score it to ourselves for a special little while.

We stopped at Port Campbell for brunch at the café overlooking the bay. It was so good to have a big wholesome breakfast. I am a hot chocolate kinda girl. I like ‘em hot and I like ‘em choclately. And this place needs to up their anty – the one I got would have been too small for a hobbit. Aside from that though the place was spot on. We were admiring the Board Riders Club photos on the walls. It appears the surf cranks here, huge and perfect barrels covered the walls of this café. Not today though, dammit. So instead we went on another scenic walk around the Port and headlands. Fred & I both really liked Port Campbell & the vibes it was giving out. The main bay / beach was totally sheltered from the ever blowing winds along the coast. Perfect for swimming.

Port Fairy was our next stop for a few nights before Fred heads back to sea and leaves me to hang out in Warrnambool for the next 4 weeks. It is another lovely little coastal town. Facing more easterly, we found it is largely sheltered from the big swells and much of the wind. Perfect for getting the tinny off the roof of Perry (The Patrol) and out for some fishing !! The day was bliss, sun shining, calm seas.   And VOILA, flathead for lunch it is. Fred was stoked to get the boat out before he went back to work. Not so stoked on the fact I caught more fish than him!! What can I say, I like pink lures and it seems so do the fish. For the rest of our time here we did the usual walk around the town, along the beaches, seeing the sights. There was live music on at a couple of the pubs, which we popped our heads in. The grey nomads all were having a little boogey.

All up these past 2 weeks have felt like an eternity. We have seen so many beautiful places, soaking in this feeling of freedom and generally having the best time. SO, thanks for hanging in there. I hope you have enjoyed reading of our adventures of The Great Ocean Road. Check out the photos below for a better “picture”.    😉

Until next time.

Xo

And we are away !!

Left the east coast and boarded The Spirit of Tasmania for the overnight journey to the big island. It was pretty smooth sailing, though the food on board was rather average. If we had our time over we would have settled for a National Pie from the gift shop instead of paying $25 for a plate of blandness. Though worser things have happened.

Our biggest worry was Barney, and how he would cope with the trip. He is used to being in a crate since he was a puppy so that was on our side. Pets on board are put in a RSPCA approved cage for the night, next to the other dogs and we weren’t allowed to see him until we were birthing in St. Kilda the next morning. It turned out he was fine, thank goodness – with not even a single smelly surprise all night!

Tip for anyone planning on taking their fur children on the Spirit; Walk your pup twice that day, make sure he’s well fed up and all energy expended. Plus toilet them shortly before boarding. Additionally, you are actually allowed to keep your pet in your car – something we didn’t find out until it was too late. Hindsight is lovely isn’t it?

 

Once we were off the Spirit we pretty much B-lined it straight up into the Tarra Valley to where Fred’s folks and siblings were waiting for us. We stayed in The Tarra Valley Caravan Park (dog friendly of course), and it was magnificent ! Situated in a rainforest, with the Tarra River running close by there were loads of short walks, waterfalls and fresh water swimming pools to be exploited. Plus is was anything but crowded !!

The boys managed to catch some fresh water crayfish for a nibble – don’t get too excited, they were actually not that tastey. And seeing as it takes one crayfish 25 years to grow to 20cm length it would seem a catch and release method might have been a better option !!

Aside from exploring the Tarra Valley itself through short walks and bike rides, we also managed a few family trips out of the Valley to the coast. Seaspray beach was a bit over an hour drive and a much needed ocean drenching, sand and sun bingeing day was had. (A dog friendly beach of course).

Port Albert is an old sleepy fishing village we visited another day. The towns’ small maritime museum provided some great history of the old port, and the café over the road makes ridiculously delicious cake !!

Barney came along on all the adventures too. We haven’t had too much difficulty travelling with him yet – he gets a big early morning walk everyday, off lead wherever possible, and as long as he has shade and water plus an occasional juicy bone he is generally the happiest shepherd you would meet !

 

After 5 beautiful days in the Tarra Valley it was time to move on and say goodbye to Fred’s family. It was such a special few days with them all, and I’d like to thank Wendy (Fred’s mum) especially for planning and organizing us all. A time that will not be soon forgotten.

 

The Great Ocean Road here we come !!!

xo