Great Ocean Road

My mom and dad are visiting for a few weeks and we decided to take them on a drive along the Great Ocean Road. We started by taking the ferry across the bay to Geelong. It was a rainy Saturday morning and we pretty much had the ferry to ourselves. Unfortunately the rain stayed with us most of way, but we braved the weather and were rewarded with some beautiful views. We explored the pretty beaches in the morning and stopped in Lorne for lunch. After lunch Phil took his bike and road (in the rain) for several hours. We picked him up past Apollo Bay after we explored the Otways. Then it was on to Port Campbell for the first night. By then the wind had really picked up, so we only braved the Twelve Apostles for a few minutes before heading to the shelter of our warm room.
The next morning we went to see the apostles again, hoping it would be warmer and less windy. No dice. It was still pretty though. We continued along the road to see some arches and beautiful coves and then headed North once we hit Warrnambul. We continued on towards the Grampians, and after lunch Phil road his bike through the park while my dad tried to get us lost in the car. It's not unusual for my dad to try taking a side road that most people wouldn't take. It's not even weird for us to end up on dirt roads with questionable paving. But what made this drive unique (besides the parade of antique cars that kept driving by) was being stopped by not one, not two, but three gates across various roads we needed to be on. Apparently there were some floods in the area earlier in the year that wiped out several parts of the road. We ended up having to back track so much that Phil literally beat us to our hotel hours later on his bike. It was a pretty drive, but would have been more enjoyable if we had some warning that these roads were closed.
The following day we headed back to Melbourne via Ballarat. We tried to stop at a quilt shop another store owner had told us about, but when we pulled up in front all we could see were several fire trucks and smoke billowing out the windows. Turns out the place was burning down right before our eyes - no fabric for us :( That made for an interesting end to our road trip.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baw Baw Blog

Image
A couple weeks ago Phil set out to climb Mt Baw Baw again with a couple like-minded (read: crazy) bike friends.  We drove out with Les and met John and Glenda at the primary school in Drouin to start the ride.   The crazies started on their ride while John and I headed off to explore the area by car. Phil, Glenda, and Les at the start About 10km in to the ride, as they passed the Drouin West primary school, Phil realised that that was the place he meant to start, and now an already painful 80km ride had become 90km. John and I stopped at the Noojee Trestle Bridge and took a leisurely walk across.  Then we headed on to the "town" of Noojee and saw the sights - the water wheel that no one knows the origin of.  Then we enjoyed some lamingtons while we waited for the tiers to catch up.  They arrived and took a few minutes' break, then set out again on their adventure. Noojee Trestle Bridge Noojee Water Wheel John and I then drove to Tooronga Falls an...
Read more

Tanna, Vanuatu Part 2

Image
There was a wonderful snorkelling spot called the Blue Hole a short walk from the resort so we went there a couple times and frolicked with the fishies.  The weather was perfect and the water was warm so it was a very relaxing few days. The Blue Hole Fish in the Blue Hole More fish in the Blue Hole Blue starfish we found in the rocks Pretty sunset at the Blue Hole We also took a small boat up the coast to a place called the Blue Cave.  The boat trip in itself was worth the journey as it took us along unspoiled coastline for some amazing views. The coastline from the boat near the Blue Cave We got to the Blue Cave at low tide which made the opening just big enough to snorkel through.  Inside the cave was huge and the bottom was covered in clean white sand so it made the blue water of the cave spectacular.  A small hole at the top of the cave let a shaft of light through.  It was quite a spectacular place t...
Read more

An Aussie Birthday Party

Image
My parents arrived at the beginning of April and we took the opportunity to have an Aussie Birthday Party for my mom.  We invited her Aussie friends over for dinner and they enjoyed the chance to catch up.  My mom met these friends through a painting convention they teach classes at in Vegas.  Year after year she kept taking their classes and they became great friends.  The convention is now a yearly tradition for them, and they fit in plenty of fun before and after.  They had just been over for a visit in March, so it was nice for them to get together and laugh about their trip without all the distractions.  I made an echidna cake for dessert that went down a hit, even with the very American peanut butter filling.  After the party they spent a few days with Janice and Ted and then had a visit with Karen and family before heading to Kangaroo Island with us.  All in all it was a great way to begin their visit over here.  Gail, my dad, and...
Read more