First stop on our journey across the Great Ocean Road was Anglesea. We arrived in warm weather and clear skies. Our site for the next couple of days was great – next to Anglesea beach and the beautiful orange and red cliffs. However, the site presented us with our first major access challenge - with a fire hydrant on one side and a large tree in the middle of the site. We relaxed in the knowledge that we had both successfully achieved our unit of competency “Drive and manoeuvre trailer(s)” in December (I kid you not). We channeled Graeme (our towing instructor) and in no time we had ‘squeezed’ our 8.3m monstrous van onto the site. We then amused our neighbours with a few high fives around the campsite delighted that we hadn’t hit anything and our marriage was in-tact.
The next day was cloudy and the wind had picked up, so we decided to explore the first part of the Great Ocean Road towards Lorne. After lunch we wound our way up behind Lorne to Deans Marsh and from there went in search of the back road to Airey’s Inlet (on the advice of the tourist information people in Lorne). After an hour of bouncing our way along pot-holed dirt roads and dodging kangaroos we retreated back to Anglesea via Winchelsea.
Next stop, Apollo Bay - a great little seaside town. After dropping the van at the caravan park, we headed to Cape Otway Lighthouse and arrived exactly two minutes after closing time… That night we were buffeted by strong winds which continued into the following day. With overcast skies and strong winds, we decided to have a quiet day exploring Apollo Bay. The kids achieved a major milestone - both managing to skim their first rocks!
Thankfully the winds abated and beautiful clear skies prevailed as we set off to explore the 12 Apostles. While we have visited the Great Ocean Road before (in life before kids), it is hard not to be amazed by the beauty and grandeur of this wild coastline. The photos speak for themselves. The highlights for the kids were exploring the beaches and rocks below Gibsons Steps, eating huge scones at Lavers Hill and spotting a snake on the walking track out to the Bay of Martyrs.
After a brief stop in Peterborough for the night, we headed to Warrnambool and then on to the quaint seaside town of Port Fairy. Just as we had stumbled into the national bream fishing competition in Mallacoota, so too we managed to arrive into Port Fairy the night before the start of the Port Fairy Folk Festival. The place was heaving, with every spare space in and around town occupied by a tent or caravan. We had a great time exploring the town.
Next stop Mt Gambier and then on to Robe to spend the weekend with the Adelaide Bohms…
