The Great Ocean Rd to Adelaide and the Barossa

From Melbourne we drove via Geelong to Torquay. Stopped in Geelong to walk along the water front and to take photos of what I call the ‘pole’ people which were poles painted as various people, such as lifesavers, grannies, police etc. 

Nina with the Lifesaver pole people 

Torquay

We then parked up in Torquay for the night at the caravan park, the gateway to the Great Ocean Rd. Took a lovely walk along the beach at Torquay and dipped our toes in the freezing water! We started on the Great Ocean Rd the next day and drove through Jan Juc to Bells Beach - the home of Surfing in Australia and the Rip Curl Pro held in April every year. We took lots of photos and walked the length of the beach. The waves were minimal, the surf choppy and dumping on shore. We bumped into a local who told us a little about the area - we think he might have been a famous surfer as he looked familiar but we couldn’t place him. 

Nina at Bell's Beach

Gav with his 'surf glasses' on Bells Beach

On we headed past Point Addis to Anglesea and Aireys Inlet where we stopped at Split Point Lighthouse. This was where the TV show from our childhood was filmed ‘Round the Twist’ and apparently also scenes from Mad Max. We drove on stopping before Cinema Point to read the history of the Great Ocean Rd which was built by ex-servicemen from WW1 - a pretty amazing feat for 3000 men along cliff edges! We entered Lorne and stopped for a coffee. This is a great spot and somewhere I would love to visit again. 

Entrance to the Great Ocean Rd

Gav at Split Point Lighthouse - Round the Twist

Drove 9km west to Erskine Falls - there is a massively steep descent to get there and I would not recommend towing a caravan down there but Reggie managed ok. There was a 30m drop waterfall and it was lovely to sit on the rocks below and bask in the sunlight. We stopped at the St. George River Inlet just passed Lorne for lunch. We took the snorkel out and Gav saw an eagle ray and some gropers. I went in but it was a bit chilly in only a bikini and rash vest! The next 30km to Apollo Bay followed the coast very closely and had amazing scenery - the best road in Australia by far! It was one of those days when I felt very blessed to be on this trip. 

Gav appreciating the Erskine Falls

On the Great Ocean Rd toward Apollo Bay

Stopped briefly in Apollo Bay and then decided to head to Johanna Beach near Cape Otway for free camping. Johanna Beach is a great spot - grassy hills in the sand dunes behind the beach, there were heaps of people camping and with caravans and best of all it was free! We decided to stay here a couple of days and explore the surrounds from Johanna. 

Johanna Beach

An epic set up at Johanna Beach 

We drove down to Cape Otway towards the lighthouse. You had to pay to go into the lighthouse and because we are on a budget we decided against it. However, there were about 100 koalas on the drive into Cape Otway, affectionatley known as ‘Koala Rd’ by the tourists. We stopped and took a lot of photos and even saw a mother koala with baby on her back. It was a highlight to see these in the wild. The rest of the day we spent exploring the bays around Cape Otway and Apollo Bay to try and find a lobster or crayfish. Eventually after a whole day of searching we went to ‘Crayfish Bay’ and here Gav went snorkelling/free diving and caught two crays by hand. One we put back because it was soft shell and the other we kept and it made for a delicious feast!

Balancing Rocks - Great Ocean Rd

Koalas at Cape Otway

Gav's crayfish - a miraculous hand catch from free diving!

Dusk at Joanna Beach

We headed on from Joanna Beach through Princetown to start the 12 Apostles section of the Great Ocean Rd. They were really breathtaking. There is a really great boardwalk and information centre built around the headland and with the large swell that was there it made for some fantastic photography. We drove on and explored Loch Ard Gorge and the Thunder Cave and also walked down to a beach where you could feel the salt spray of the ocean as the waves thundered in. Drove on towards Port Campbell and took in the Arch and London Bridge, which in part collapsed in 1990s and left two people stranded and needing to be rescued by helicopter. Also stopped in at the Grotto which you descend a staircase into a stone cave and has a fantastic view of the water crashing in. It was an epic day - so much walking, a lot of sun and lots of amazing land formations! Our last stop was Bay of Islands, which is amazing - lots of mini apostles standing quite far from the headland of today. Demonstrates how far the land once went out into the sea. 

Nina at the 12 Apostles

Gav and I at the 12 Apostles look out

Gav on the 12 Apostles drive

Gav and I at The Grotto

Loch Ard Gorge

We stopped off at Killarney Beach for the night - which is an oval/community cricket ground with campsites around the outside. It’s run by an awesome guy who has brain damage after being in an accident in Jamaica - really cheap caravan park with free washing machine!!! Because the next day was forecasted for 40 degrees we decided to stay an extra day to stay near the water and keep cool! It certainly was a stinker of a day... did our washing and it was dry within half an hour. Drove to Tower Hill, which is a volcanic crater and was once farmland. Now it has been established as a nature reserve/state park and has lots of bush walks. Unfortunately because it was 40 degrees it was too hot to walk, but we would like to return one day to explore the area. Did some snorkelling around Killarney Beach and stayed in the water until about 7:30pm trying to keep cool. 

4WD to Cape Banks

Gav's abalone from free diving

The next day we left and drove through Port Fairy and then took the tourist drive to Portland, the “birthplace” of Victoria. Drove on through Lower Glenelg National Park and then past Nelson, our last stop before crossing the border into South Australia. When we crossed the border we stopped off at the quarantine station and threw away some apples that we had picked on the side of the road a few days previous. We stopped in Port Macdonnell and went to the local market and picked up some fresh produce. We then took a 4WD track near Cape Northumbeland which ended up being a near catastrophe towing the trailer and with soft sand. Halfway along we headed back and drove onto Cape Banks Lighthouse near Carpenter Rocks which had a great little cheap campspot on the beach. Watched an amazing sunset over the beach as it faces west. Did some fishing around the area and caught a few mullet but not much to feast on. Found out from one of Joe’s friends, Dave Morro about a spot called No. 2 Rocks on a 12km 4WD track close to our campsite. It was an incredibly bumpy journey through sand dunes but Reggie handled it well... Nina not so well haha. Eventually we made it to a lovely sheltered beach and while I went fishing, Gav went diving for abalone. Found 4 large abalone - one for the trophy room and he had a long battle with a cray... which is now known as the story of the ‘cray that got away’ haha. 

Sunset at Cape Banks

Sunset - Cape Banks

We left Cape Banks lighthouse the next day and drove to Mt. Gambier where we stopped to take in the ‘blue lake’ - it is an absolutely amazing site of a volcanic and limestone lake that changes colour depending on the season and temperature. We saw it at its bluest - around February/March. After a walk around the lake we took the Penola Rd through the Coonawarra wine region on to Narracoote, Keith and then Murray Bridge. The lady who was meant to be organising accomodation for us in the Barossa for the wine picking season failed, so we organised to go to Eden Valley which was a quiet park based around an oval like the one at Killarney. The first few days at Eden Valley was a challenge - it rained, it was freezing cold, our grape picking work fell through and we realised we were pretty short of money. Drove through and toured the local areas - Angaston, Nurioopta and Tanunda. Took a day trip down to Adelaide through Hahndorf  a German town in the hills. I arranged to meet up with my great uncle Doug and his wife Cath and Gav and I went to lunch at a pub with Doug - it was great to see him again, a kind spirited man with a twinkle in his eye! While in Adelaide, we visited Glenelg, and Jetty Rd and the sun popped briefly through the clouds for a moment! 

Mt Gambier's blue lake

So blue!! 

Visit to Glenelg, Adelaide 

Thermals in Eden Valley... brrr! 

Over the next 10 days a lot happened in Eden Valley. First and foremost we met an awesome Australian couple, Steff and Michael from WA who are doing the same trip as us. They travelled the west coast up, down and round to Adelaide and we travelled the east coast, up, down and round to Adelaide. It has been a blessing to meet such great people - like minded, very similar to us, into fishing and the outdoors. We did a wine tasting self drive tour with them and also went to Maggie Beer’s cooking class. Played cricket and tennis - Gav had never played but is actually a natural and loves tennis and spent hours trying to perfect his serve. I celebrated my 25th birthday in the Barossa. Had coffee at a local cafe ‘Blonde Cafe’ (how appropriate), played tennis, enjoyed the sunshine and had a BBQ and cake with Steff and Michael. I was fortunate to get some money for my birthday from my lovely family, which has helped a lot. While in Eden Valley we also met an older couple Shane and Diane from Busselton, WA - awesome people who we hope to meet up with on the other side. We also had a market in Gawler and made enough money to cover costs and our groceries - bonus! 

Steph and Michael at our market stall

My 25th Birthday in Eden Valley

Stephie and I in the sun at Eden Valley

Meanwhile Gav and I decided to relocate down to Adelaide. As our one day of grape picking in the Barossa at $13 an hour didn’t really make us much money. The experience was fun though - and we can proudly say we picked the 2012 riesling for Flaxman Valley wines. We will have to get a bottle when it comes out. I spammed Gav’s resume to about 40 pubs in Adelaide and within 24 hours he had 5 interviews. On the day we moved, we found a new addition for our family - Simon the Scorpion... adopted him as a pet for awhile as a dog isn't feasible! 

Simon the Scorpion

We have since moved to Adelaide and are staying about 15km north in a caravan park in the sticks. Steff and Michael moved with us and Michael managed to get a job in Port Adelaide as a boiler maker. Steff and I have been searching madly for work. Yesterday I had a job interview for an admin role and I hope it works out. Gav has started at a cafe just doing a few shifts - as the pub interviews are taking longer than expected. The plan is to save some money and then budget our way up the middle to Darwin and then across to Broome and down the coast. 

Gav at Highway 1 - Bolivar

Steph and I made cheesecakes! 

Michael and Dr Harry haha

We hope to move caravan parks in Adelaide after Easter - somewhere closer to the coast so we can take the boat out and go fishing. Steff celebrated her 23rd birthday recently and we spent the day touring Adelaide and went on a free Haighs Factory tour and got free chocolate - definitely worth it! Steff’s mum was lovely and gave her some money and she took us out to dinner to a great Chinese restaurant ‘The House of Chow’... still living it up even when we have no money! Times are changing and luck is returning to us... we will secure some well paid jobs so we can get out of Adelaide and on to greater things. In the meantime, I hope you are all well and I will write again soon with more news. 

All our love,

N & G