Geelong to Melbourne & Home

Sun 4 Dec – 30km drive from Geelong to the ferry terminal at Queenscliff. We were early for our 11:00am sailing to Sorrento so were first in line. We are sailing across the entrance to Port Phillip Bay to the south tip of the Mornington Peninsula where we will spend 4 days. This is saving us driving up one side of the bay, thru Melbourne, and down the other side. It was a 45 minute trip in a small version of our Interislander. As it was a beautiful hot day, we sat out on the deck enjoying the ride.

 Our camp at Sorrento is at a camping area on the beach. It was quite unusual with camp sites on hilly ground tucked under trees. By fluke our side was flat and easy to get into. Our neighbours all around are setting up for the summer, older caravans with huge awnings and shade coverings, everything including the kitchen sink! There is a sailing/boating club here and we walked down to a great beach.

 After lunch, as it was now well over 30C we headed back down to the beach, with our sun umbrella and books, for a couple of swims - slightly chilly but very refreshing. Back at “Andy” we sat in the shade and watched the holiday constructions take shape. Most of the campers in our area are related and have been setting up here for years. They will spend 3 weeks at Christmas and the weekends until April. We are paying $42/night and assumed the long stayers must have a discount but were shocked when our neighbour said he was paying the same. ($5,200 for the summer!!) We sat outside late and walked the thru the camp, back along the beach, and out onto the jetty to watch the many people fishing but catching nothing.

Mon 5 Dec – Sometime in the night the temperature dropped and it started to rain. We woke to a chilly morning nearly 20C cooler than yesterday! Because no one seems to care, I climbed onto “Andy’s” roof and gave it a much needed clean, throwing buckets of water everywhere. We also cleaned the vent in the bathroom. The guy on one side is still in construction mode and on the other side has arrived back with 3 big fridges on a trailer! In the afternoon we walked in a cool wind along the beach to the town of Sorrento. This is a very rich holiday area with many million dollar homes and the many clothing, art, and interior design shops in the town reflected this. No swimming today!!

Tues 6 Dec – We left Sorrento and drove along the coast with many more camping areas before turning inland and crossing the Mornington Peninsula to the east side and another camping reserve at Balnarring Beach. In the afternoon we took a long walk along the beach, which is on Western Port Bay, with many secluded holiday homes. It was a nice sunny day but with a cool wind. Straight out from the beach, in the distance, is Phillip Island famous for its motor racing circuit. Drinks outside.

Wed 7 Dec – Sunny again but with cold wind blowing from the south. Nice and sheltered in our bush site. In the afternoon we ventured back out onto the beach walking in the other direction. The cold wind sent us scurrying back to “Andy” for a sit in the sun, a read, and drinks. It rained in the evening.

Thurs 8 Dec – We left Balnarring Beach crossing the Mornington Peninsula to the west coast again and to the town of Frankston, where we shopped at a Bunnings and BCF for new levelling ramps. (the old ones are buggered!) We chose to avoid the free-way to Melbourne and followed the coast road. Slower but less stressful! We skirted the south side of the CBD, thru St Kilda, over the Western Gateway Bridge and on to our camp about 15kms out of the CBD. All achieved with a minimum of heart ache. We will be here for 4 nights exploring Melbourne and readying “Andy” for storage. I managed to install new washers in our sink taps, stopping the pump from coming on every few minutes. Very satisfying!

Fri 9 Dec – Sunny but with a cold southerly. We caught the bus from outside our camp using our Myki cards (pre loaded tap on/off about $9 each for all day transport) into the centre of Melbourne. It was a trip of about 45 minutes thru the old suburb of Footscray and past Docklands. The skyscrapers are spectacular as we walked down to iconic Flinders St Station.

 There is a free tram that goes around the perimeter of the CBD which we caught thinking it would be a good way to orientate ourselves. After a bout 4 stops the driver kicked us all off. No explanation!!

We were near Docklands so walked a bit of the area before catching another tram back to Elizabeth St, bought Subway and sat outside Myers and David Jones watching people lining up to view the Christmas windows. Found an information kiosk and got maps and advice. We took a tram trip to the MCG and the Tennis Centre. The MCG was setting up for Billy Joel tomorrow night. At the Tennis Centre players were practising on the outer courts, for the Open next year. A tram back to Flinders St and the bus back to our camp. The traffic was horrendous in the centre of town, not helped by many road works and building construction. Our trip home took 1/2 hour longer. A good first day exploring Melbourne.

Sat 10 Dec – We relaxed in the morning, a very hot day forecast, and then caught the bus back into town. A short tram trip and then walked down passed the Parliament buildings and on to the banks of the Yarra River.

There are people everywhere and lots of groups celebrating Christmas. We strolled the river and crossed to the Southbank Precinct with its many bars and restaurants facing the river. As it was so busy we booked a restaurant for a 7:00pm dinner. Near the Casino we caught a very full tram for a hot ride out to St Kilda beach.

 We walked along the beach with many people swimming in the muddy looking surf. An ice-cream and a walk passed Luna Park back to the tram for the ride back to the Southbank and our dinner booking. As we were early we filled in the time people watching. Our dinner and the wine were great sitting at a table semi outside. A stroll back to the bus enjoying the warm evening and the Christmas lights.

Sun 11 Dec – Clean up day! A sunny day with a very strong NW wind. Great for the washing! It is nice to arrive back to Aussie with everything clean so that’s what we did. It is forecast to cool down so before this we went to the camp pool for a swim. Later on the rain arrived and it cool down.

Mon 12 Dec – Rainy with a cool wind for our last day. Cooked breakfast using the last of our perishables. We left the camp at 11:00am and drove 30kms towards our storage place. Our route, surprisingly, took us via the airport. We stopped for lunch before meeting Schalk, our contact for storage. With the paper work sorted, and the bikes inside, Schalk took us back to the airport. The storage looks fine in a very isolated field with many other caravans etc. We have had a great trip despite some bad weather. Only the bit between Melbourne to Sydney left to go before we can claim to have “been around the block.”

Mt Gambier to Geelong - The Great Ocean Road

 Mon 21 Nov – Really strong winds in the night at Mt Gambier caused our neighbours to move out at around 1:15am. Worried about the tree they were under, we supposed. We shopped before driving up Mt Gambier which is an extinct volcano with a beautiful blue lake in its crater. This also is the water supply for the city.

A very short drive, in strong winds, to the coastal village of Nelson and a camp overlooking the Glenelg river, crossing the S.A./Victoria border. The winds were still strong with heavy showers. A group of school kids set up some ground sheets and flies for the night and must have got wet and cold. They made it thru the night however!

Tues 22 Nov – It is still windy but the showers are fewer. We drove to Portland, thru many pine forests, and camped in a free area. In the afternoon we were heading for a walk when we came across a vintage tourist tram. We bought tickets and were the only passengers as we followed the tracks past the port and harbour and up to a lookout, with a lady giving us an interesting commentary.

Portland is a large port exporting wood chips to China and logs to India, and bringing in Bauxite to a nearby aluminium smelter. A real port town with a feel of Port Chalmers but with tourists.

Wed 23 Nov – Another short drive to the mouth of the Fitzroy River. We found a sheltered spot, the strong winds of the last few days have eased at last. We sat outside for lunch the first time in 5 days! A nice short walk to the mouth of the river before enjoying a read in the sunshine. This bit of coast is called the Ship Wreck Coast and it is easy to see why with huge surf breaking onto beaches and cliffs.

Thurs 24 Nov - We walked to the river again before another shower. Back on the highway heading S.E. stopping at “The Grags”, a rugged bit of coastline and our first taste of the scenery to come. We had a quick shop at Warrnambool, a city of 35,000 where we stayed in a caravan park. Lunch outside before we walked along a beach walkway and back via the Pertrobe Lakes to our camp. All very nice. Sat in the sun and read until 5:00pm.

Fri 25 Nov – 25kms down the road we joined the famous Great Ocean Road with its many view points. Our first stop was at the “Bay of Islands” which was a bit of a wow! Then onto the “Bay of Martyrs” and then the “Grotto” with a steep descent down to it. Very spectacular! Our last stop was at “London Bridge”, what a coastline!

As we have plenty of time, we camped at a reserve at Port Campbell with great views over bush and farmlands. The sun came out and the temperatures rose as we walked via a scenic view point into the lovely village of Port Campbell for an ice-cream sitting at the little beach. A beautiful day sitting outside in the sun for drinks.

Sat 26 Nov – Our next camp is only 12kms away as we have allowed plenty of time to explore this next bit of coastline. The cliffs are limestone and the wave action has formed many spectacular features. Our first stop was at “Lord Ard Gorge” where the sailing ship the Lord Ard was wrecked. There was a large parking area with many paths leading down to great lookouts with names like Razorback, Gorge, Thunder Cave, and Mutton Bird Island. At the Gorge we climbed down steps to a secluded beach. Most tourist seemed to be like us and stopping off at various point. No bus tours or large groups.

 After 1 ½ hours we left this area and drove on to the famous “Twelve Apostles”. A whole new world here, with a huge visitor’s centre, buses, tour groups and helicopter rides. A very short walk to the large viewing platform with a great view of these limestone pinnacles in the ocean. Selfy sticks everywhere!

We felt some of the formations 6kms up the road were better but it seems most people only come to The Twelve Apostles and then head back. Another short drive to “Gibsons Steps”, a steep descent down the beach with a different view of one of the “Apostles”.

 Our camp was at the Princetown Recreation Reserve where we parked around the oval. As we parked up a local cricket match started. You would swear it was Australia, in green and gold, verses New Zealand, in black. It was in fact Camperdown (Aussie) v Princetown (NZ) Quite entertaining. There had been a warm wind blowing all day but just as the cricket finished the wind change and it rained. A large group of kangaroos also invaded the pitch.

Sun 27 Nov – Pancakes for breakfast!! We left camp late and drove to a park where we followed a boardwalk across a wetland and the Gellibrand River and climbed up into the tiny town of Princetown.

 Back on the Great Ocean Road thru some hills and out onto Cape Otway where we drove to the end and the famous Cape Otway Lighthouse. We paid our admission fee and enjoyed walking around the various buildings associated with the lighthouse including a Telegraph Station, School House and WW2 Bunker. This lighthouse is at the western side of Bass Strait and the second most southerly point of mainland Australia. We climbed to the top coming out to great views and a cold southerly wind. Lunch in the car-park before a very short drive to our camp in the Otway National Park. It was a private camp with a jumble of huts and old caravans all a bit alternative but at least we have power.

Mon 28 Nov – Drove back to the Great Ocean Road and on to Apollo Bay, stopping for a short but lovely walk along a track in the rain forest. Quite different to most Aussie rain forest, much more like a fiordland walk with ferns, pungas and moss. Spent some time outside but more showers sent us in. In a break in the weather we took a short walk along the beach.

Tues 29 Nov – The road today was like the Kaikoura coastal road with cliffs on one side and rocks and beaches on the other. We chose to stay for two nights at Wye River at a great camp right on the beach. It was a beautiful small beach with the Wye River at the centre. We walked along the beach wading thru the river and back passed the one shop/cafe. We read in the sun with many birds around us, cockatoos, king parrots and unusual ducks.

Wed 30 Nov – Great not to be driving today. A cool morning with a bit of sea fog and drizzle. After lunch the sun came out and we walked over the river and up a road passed the pub and onto the flash holiday homes with great views of the beach. Back down and we followed a track up the Wye River. We took our pre dinner drinks down to the beach and watched some surfers and the life savers practising with their IRB in the waves.

Thurs 1 Dec – More of the Great Ocean Road in cloudy weather, stopping at Lorne, another tourist town, before stopping at Torquay at a camp for the night. Torquay is a larger town with the usual great beach. This is officially the end of the of the Great Ocean Road. We walked down to the town from the camp and were surprised to find a huge set-up at the beach. It was the World Beach Volley Ball Pro Tour with three courts with grandstands, lighting and TV coverage. We watched the end of a ladies game and then a men’s match, Switzerland v USA. An exciting game with Switzerland winning in two sets. The sun had come out and we walked up thru the usual tourist town shops back to our camp.

Fri 2 Dec – A beautiful sunny morning with breakfast outside. The first time in quite a while. The November weather in Melbourne has been the coldest and wettest since 1975!! A very short drive to the outskirts of Geelong where we shopped before checking into the Geelong Show Grounds for a couple of days. Show ground camps are great, cheap, huge sites and we are not paying for stuff we do not use. The weather is still great and the forecast for the weekend is hot. We biked around our area, and discovered an easy bike ride into the city which we will do tomorrow. Geelong has a pop of 300,000 about the same size as Christchurch.

Sat 3 Dec – The top temp today is forecast to be 30C. We hopped on our bikes in the morning and rode thru the suburbs and along the beautiful beaches, piers, and foreshore of Geelong. We parked near the city centre and walked the Cunningham pier and into the CBD. Lunch on the foreshore before getting back on our bikes, passing the beaches, and swimming areas now with many people cooling off. There are 40 figures looking like full sized clothes peg characters. What a great ride! Sometimes we do not use the bikes for many days and then we have a day like today! Back at the show grounds we sat in the shade reading and watching horsey pony club things happening in the show ring.