Day 75 - Apollo Bay to Melbourne

Uneventful trip up the back road to Geelong in overcast conditions. Got on the Geelong Freeway, stopped at one service centre for cherries & strawberries, another for fuel and another to empty the toilet cassette. (The only public dump point in Melbourne). Spending the next few weeks in Eltham. Will continue the blog on the 12th of August when we are planning to leave.

Days 73 & 74 - Apollo Bay.

Ahh, sleeping in. Been a while since we didn't have to get up and get going or do something. Margaret has gone to work and Brian is walking Rosie. Finally got up and wandered down to the shop Margaret is minding a few days a week. Jeff is doing the washing. Bought some pies from the bakery and brought them back. Yummy. Jeff decided to go down to the beach to check out the erosion. Not a good look.

Brian made dinner - Moroccan Chicken and then fried strawberries. Yummo. Had a reasonably early night.

Well, thought we slept in yesterday? Nearly lunchtime when we got up today. Brian has gone back to his place and Margaret is at work again. Jeff is washing Glen in the driveway. I think half of the WA desert is in Marg's garden!

Day 72 - Port Campbell to Apollo Bay

Woke to an overcast but fine day. This a shot of the amenities block at the Port Campbell Caravan Park. Pretty flashy. The upstairs is a camp kitchen, video games room and TV room.

This is Glen in the van park.

We drove around town and then went to Loch Ard Gorge.

Then we went to the 12 Apostles but they have santitised it all with a big visitor's centre and you have to walk so far to get to see them that we decided not to go. (We have seen them before.)

Next was Cape Otway Lighthouse. On the way there were lots of trees with no foliage. 

The reason soon became apparent - koalas. They were everywhere.

These ones were hanging out over the road.

This one was beside the road.

Again they have sanitised the lighthouse - you can't even see it unless you pay an entry fee. Since we have already seen it and it was raining we gave it a miss too. Arrived at Apollo Bay and pulled into Margaret's driveway for a few days break. Brian arrived a bit later and we had a lovely dinner at the pub. Fish and chips with real flake, yummy. Then we walked back to the house to watch 'The Help' DVD.

Day 71 - Portland to Port Campbell.

Woke to clear weather. Hooray. Motored to Warrnambool, passing another wind farm. Took a picture of the jonquils in the carpark instead.

Had lunch at Lady Bay. 

Very interesting place with a big breakwater and the waves crashing into it.

Visited Hopkins Falls known as Little Niagara.

When Jeff was about six he remembers going there with his dad to see the eels migrating up the river and jumping up the waterfall. That happens in October so we missed out.
Beside the road between Warrnambool and Port Fairy there is an extinct volcano called Tower Hill.

We started travelling down the Great Ocean Road just out of Warrnambool and the series of geologic attractions along its length. 

First was the Bay of Islands,

Then the Bay of Martyrs.

Then the Grotto, but we decided that we were grottoed out.

Then London Bridge.

And finally for today, the Arch.

Decided to stay at Port Campbell Caravan Park for the night. Walked to the beach to have a look.

Day 70 - Mt Gambier to Portland.

Weather has cleared a bit, so we went to Blue Lake to see what colour it was.

Even on a grey day it was blue.

Then we went to see the largest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere. Turbines everywhere. About 130 of them. Impossible to get them all into one picture even with panorama. Funny how the weather cleared for a few minutes and then got overcast again.

Just after we left Mt Gambier, Jeff remembered that he had forgotten to get more fuel so I looked up the mileage and found that it was about 100 kms. We both laughed, we were only going to do 100 kms, we would be there by lunchtime with plenty of fuel. Just so used to driving huge distances that even though it looked a long way on the map the scale had changed and it was 4 times bigger than before for the same distance! Again so many pine plantations along the road. Before we knew it we were crossing the border and passing through Nelson. More and more pine plantations.

Arrived in Portland and drove around to look at the port.

Some lovely buildings in Portland.

Settled into a seaside van park and hoped it wouldn't get too cold. Ten weeks on the road!

Day 69 - Kingston SE to Mt Gamber

Rough old night but we kept ourselves in one piece. Lots of wind and rain but nothing too terrible. They have a lovely old lighthouse at Kingston SE. 

Left Kingston heading for Mt Gambier. Not a lot to see. It kept raining most of the way. Really hard driving conditions. The road surface is very poor probably from all the log trucks from the hundreds of pine plantations along the road. Arrived at Mt Gambier and settled in at a caravan park for the night.

Day 68 - Langhorne Creek to Kingston SE

The weather broke down overnight to wind and rain. We drove around the edge of Lake Alexandrina and crossed the Murray River on the Wellington Ferry.

We drove down the coast beside the Coorong.

Saw some black swans.

Finally we arrived at Kingston, home of the giant lobster.

Staying at the Kingston Caravan Park, hoping the weather doesn't get too nasty.

Day 67 - Gawler to Langhorne Creek.

After we left the caravan park we visited my old Ryan chum Juanita and her little girl Valentina just down the road. She is doing well and enjoying her time in South Australia. Took off from there through Williamstown to the Whispering Wall at the Barossa Dam. Amazing. You can talk really quietly and the people over 100 m away can hear you quite loudly.

Then we went to the giant rocking horse at Gumeracha.

Next was the place Jeff had been waiting for for the whole trip - the Melba Chocolate Factory where they make inch liquorice blocks. Jeff's favourites. Bought far too many sweets - 20 liquorice blocks for a start! Then to the cordial factory for a cordial topup. Not my normal brand but the oldest cordial manufacturers in Australia. We'll see how they compare. Bought pies for lunch and ate them there.

We drove through Harndorf - up and down the Main Street but it was far too crowded to even try to find a parking spot so we headed off to Victor Harbour - the Rosebud of SA. People everywhere, fairgrounds, horse driven trams, fairy floss, the lot.

Next we went to Middleton to see cousins Hughie and Liz's new house they are building after pulling down their holiday shack. This is where they are planning to retire to.

And the beach just down the street.

We decided to go to a free camp at Langhorne Creek. Settled in for a quiet night.

Days 65 & 66 - Auburn to Gawler

A short trip of 60 kms today. Arranged to visit my cousins Hughie and Liza for the afternoon. Wonderful to catch up. Decided to have dinner together as well. Beautiful food. Settled into the Gawler Caravan Park for 2 nights. Need to do some washing - running out of knickers among other things. Today spent sleeping in, washing clothes and generally doing as little as possible. No photos either.

Day 64 - Whyalla to Auburn

Note to Self: Fractionation plants are not good on so many levels. They whoosh all night like a quiet jet engine. They have dodgy environmental credentials. I wouldn't live anywhere near one for quids. The poor giant cuttlefish that come to the area to breed and lay their eggs are being quietly decimated and many fingers point to the plant. Journeyed from Point Lowly to Port Augusta, another heavy industry port and then to Port Pirie where we had lunch. Weather is overcast with odd showers. Moved inland through Snowtown (scene of the bodies in drums murders). Such a quiet little town, must have been a huge shock about the murders. Across to Clare and down to Auburn through the vineyards and olive trees. Very pretty area. No pictures today, hard to get Jeff to stop anywhere, bit of white line fever when you let him drive on Highway 1. Stayed at Auburn Caravan Park (SA 390), a lovely little council run park, only small area but very friendly manager and lovely amenities.

Day 63 - Port Lincoln to Whyalla

The weather has cleared a little so we can see the town better as we drive out. We were going to stay for the weekend but we couldn't do or see much so decided to move onto Whyalla. Not a lot to see on the way, the countryside has gone back to semi desert with some big mines near the road. Whyalla has lots of mines and different processing plants around it. This is the HMAS Whyalla, next door to the Information Centre. 

We are staying at Port Lowly (SA 663) a cute little fishing village where giant cuttlefish come to breed. Unfortunately it is too cold, wet and miserable to explore. We are in a free camp that you need to get a $5 permit for so it is no longer a free camp but fine for the night with toilets and a fairly firm base under Glen. Our view is great and we had a lovely rainbow over the water.

Sunset over the fractionation plant over the hill was quite spectacular.

There is also a lighthouse spinning around just down the road.

Day 62 - Coffin Bay to Port Lincoln.

Woke to a cold, wet, miserable day. Luckily we only had 30 kms to get to Port Lincoln. We looked around town, nice place. Difficult to tell with decreased visibility. Went to the supermarket, different layout than normal for a Woolies but we coped. Decided to stay at the Tourist Park for the night and so pulled in there before lunch, got out the knitting and knitted away the cold, wet, miserable day. Watched the footy at night, at least it cheered Jeff up. No pictures because it was too cold, wet and miserable.

Day 61 - Venus Bay to Coffin Bay.

Woke up to this out of my bedroom window.

Travelled from there a short distance to some caves. This is The Tub.

Not an encouraging sign.

This is The Woolshed.

Had lunch at Elliston and arrived at Coffin Bay. Lovely spot.

 Decided to stay at the Memorial Rest Area (SA 691) which was mainly a gravel pit with a nice little parking area down the back. Had a quiet night but the rain started falling during the night and wouldn't stop.

Day 60 - Ceduna to Venus Bay.

Bought some oysters from a fish factory where they were filliting the fish as you stood there. Got to Streaky bay for lunch. Lovely village on a beautiful bay. The area is full of islands and bays and very pretty. 

Lots of birdlife around.

Travelled down to a rock formation called Murphy's Haystacks. It was called this because someone thought they were haystacks from a distance.

Arrived in Venus Bay and watched the seals surfing the waves off the cliffs.

 Settled into the Venus Bay Caravan Park. Another lovely bay and camping spot.

The birds flock to the fish cleaning tables to get scraps.