2008 Great Ocean Rd, Kangaroo Is & Adelaide
23 October 2008 Great Ocean Road with Friends
Tomorrow we set out Melbourne to pick up John and Georgiana, friends we met on our Italian holiday in 2006, and then we are driving back home via the Great Ocean Road.
We are both looking forward to getting together with John and Georgiana again, as well as the trip home. The Great Ocean Road has to be one of the worlds great drives.
First stop on our way there is Ballarat friday night.
Ballarat is famous for the gold rush and the Eureka Stockade uprising and of course, as the birthplace of at least one great Australian , I am far to modest to say who, (or is that whom??)
Then on to Melbourne on Saturday.
More to come as we travel around.
John and Georgiana have signed up to traveleor, so if you want to enjoy their travels as well, and see how they are experiencing Australia, here is a link to their page.
25 October 2008 Ballarat to Mornington Peninsula to Lorne
Had an easy trip to Ballarat, only took 6 1/2 hours arrived at 8.30pm. Woke early this morning we left around 8am took us a few hours to Myra’s house, we met her husband Serge and had a cuppa, was great to see Myra again. We were on the road around 11am, drove to Sorrento, I have wanted to go there for forever, bit strange we made it to Sorrento, Italy first!! We didnt have much time to explore, but we will be back!! After buying fish and chips we caught the ferry to Queenscliff was a good trip, very calm, took 40 mins. Was good to sit and chat to John & Georgiana eat lunch and enjoy the view. We explored the main street of Queenscliff and found an old church, well Greg did, that is now a restaurant, it has beautiful stained glass windows, we sat and had a drink. Then it was off to the Great Ocean Road, first stop Bells Beach, we walked down to the numerous viewing platforms and enjoyed the scenery, sorry Carly the surfers were tooo far away!!! We were then marauded by flies, there were thousands of them, I have never seen so many! Next stop a photo under the Great Ocean Road arch, maybe we might get one posted here!!! Then it was off to Lorne, we are staying in an old pub, nice room, great view. We had dinner at a cafe by the jetty, it was very 60’s decor, the food was magnificent, we all had seafood of one sort or another and it was delicious! yum. oh yes and a lovely bottle of sauvignon blanc! I know hard life!!
26 October 2008 Great Ocean Road
We had lots of fun today, started at 7.30am with breakfast on the balcony overlooking Lorne bay, doesn’t get much better than that! There was no one at reception when we went to check out, it said to try the bistro, it looked dark but I went in anyway, I saw some shells on the counter so went to get John because he wants to get shells for his grandson, then all of a sudden the alarm went off, we quickly left, well I did, John just sauntered out, the alarm went on and on, must have woken everyone in the neighbourhood, what an exit!! We were in hysterics!
We drove to Apollo Bay, went to the lookout, lovely 5 min walk on private property to the top, great view over the coast, we sat for a while and soaked it in. Then we drove around to the Marina and had a view back over the town. Next the Otway treetop rainforest walk, for about an hour and a half we walked in the rainforest, took photos of dinosaurs, they are great will post them soon. And walked up high looking down on the rainforest, was really good, Carolyn was right, well worth doing, we thought of you
It was lunchtime, so we sat outside and had a bite to eat before heading off to the 12 Apostles, (there are only 8 now, there were only ever 9!) they used to be called the Sow and the piglets, but were renamed ages ago. We all decided to take a helicopter ride to see them from above. They were offering for $20 more to only go to 500 metres, instead of 1500 metres, so we took that option. It was exhilarating! Absolutely made my day, the scenery was stunning, I highly recommend it if you get the chance. It is amazing the difference seeing things from the air, always puts another perspective on things. I was on a high after the ride, guess the adrenalin was pumping!!
Then we went over the road and saw the apostles from the boardwalks, they have really improved things there are great viewing platforms. There were more tourists here than anywhere else we have been on the Great Ocean road, it is not surprising, stunning scenery. Afterwards we saw Loch Ard Gorge, the Arch, London bridge and the Bay of Martyrs, by then we were all pretty over limestone cliffs and monoliths we had seen some great scenery, what a great day!
But it wasn’t finished, we arrived at Port Fairy at 5.30 and checked into our accommodation for the evening, a B & B Gobels millhouse, an 1860 millhouse that has been renovated more than 10 years ago into a B & B, it is right on the river, more great views. We walked down the street after a cuppa and relax, and decided on dinner at Saltra brasserie, the food was wow, every dish exquisite, Georgiana chose the restaurant, she did well, couldn’t have been nicer, great food, wine and wonderful company we had lots of laughs. It has been a fun day, one I will long remember
28 October 2008 Adelaide
Had a slower start to the day today, left home around 10am, drove into Adelaide and had a walk down the mall, we tried to go into Parliament house, but there was security at the door, so we just had a look in the foyer, very posh. Then off to Festival theatre and down to the Torrens, John & Georgiana are used to the white swans, so the black ones on the Torrens were a novelty. It was a beautiful day, nice to be out for a walk. We had a walk through the Art Gallery, it amazes me that it doesn’t matter how many times you go in there, there are always paintings to see that you didn’t notice before. We had lunch at the Art Gallery, then it was off to the Central Market, being Tuesday it was not very busy, easy to move around, we bought some goodies and drove home, was a pleasant few hours. Oh yes on the way home we stopped off at Haighs, and stocked up!!!
Later in the afternoon we went to Carly’s to drop Aiko off was lovely to see them all. Ella and Ethan are at such a lovely age, really delightful.
29 October 2008 Kangaroo Island
We were up early and out the door just after 7.30am to go to Kangaroo Island, we caught the ferry from Cape Jervis at 10am, I was surprised how dry the ground is at the bottom of the peninsula, shame! It was a rough crossing, but fortunately we took some pills beforehand, (Greg didn’t and he was fine!) We drove around to Kingscote, and checked in, we were fortunate to have been upgraded, to the Penthouse no less!! That put a smile on all of our faces, you should see it, magnificent, it is all very new too, everything in it is very nice and even nicer that we paid about 60% of the going rate, and the price is even better when you pay in US dollars!!!
We settled in and had lunch, oh yes nice view from the balcony and lounge room! Then we went off for a drive, a very long drive!! Well it was only an hour but we were heading for Stokes Bay and were very near Seal Bay before we got on a road heading north, a very bumpy dirt road, the car is now red!! We had a good laugh about it in the evening, the tears were rolling down Georgiana’s and my faces! We have had lots of laughs, it has been fun. We had a good time at Stokes bay, walking along the beach, it is good walking through the rocks and coming out to find this amazing beach. We found a few shells for Johns Grandson.
Then it was off to Emu bay we drove on the beach which they had not done before, was a great beach. Stopped off at the Honey shop, saw the bee hive, tasted the honey, John bought some Honey chocolates which were nice, then it was back into Kingscote to * reserve and up to the lookout. We arrived at the wharf in time for the Pelican feeding, it was fun, I enjoy watching them come into land, we got lots of photos.
We had a lovely dinner crayfish (which we bought freshly cooked 2 days ago in Kingston) and prawns and a bottle of Tattinger champagne, yummy! I know it is a hard life, but we are enjoying it! At 8pm we strolled over to the wharf and looked at the aquarium before going on a penguin walk, which was very interesting, there were not many penguins, but we saw some and we learnt a lot.
We are off to the South coast today, looks like a nice day, hope you are all enjoying yours! Our love to you all xo
1 to 4 November 2008 Adelaide
Saturday 1 November 2008 We have had so much fun with John & Georgiana while we have been together lots of laughs. After we left KI we drove to mum and dads for a great lunch, then down to Aldinga Beach fossicking for shells for Nolan with Tom & Von. Carly invited us for a lovely dinner with them. Saturday we had a lazy morning before driving up to Mount Lofty for a view over Adelaide. Then a look around a local monastry. We arrived home to find Von & Tom on the doorstep already enjoying a drink Later all the family arrived for a barbecue, John had his first Fosters! We sang happy birthday to Emily’s voicemail in America, was fun.
Sunday 2 November 2008 we went up to Carrick Hill for a wander and lunch, then it was off to Glenelg for more wandering, in evening the boys beat us at cards!
Monday 3 November 2008 we drove up to Hahndorf and enjoyed the town and a German sausage before heading to Hahndorf Hill winery for John & Georgiana’s first wine tasting at a cellar door, and a very nice one it was. We were going to go to Jerusalems for dinner but it was shut so we went to the local pub, another first! We played cards late into the night, we were so tired, well the girls were, the boys seemed to be on a roll the longer the night went on, that I have no idea who won!
Tuesday 4 November 2008 Today we went up to Cleland National park and enjoyed walking around the park and got lots of great photos with Koalas, Kangaroos, Dingoes, Emus and birds. We came back and watched the Melbourne cup, none of us had any luck with the sweep, (Ben won first and third!!!) Then it was off for a walk to Brownhill creek, where we spotted a few koalas in the trees. Tonight we have just got back from the Red Ochre, where we had a great table overlooking the river and enjoyed a tasting plate first up with Kangaroo, emu and crocodile, the meal was wonderful and the company even better
We are going to miss John & Georgiana, we have had so much fun together and lots of laughs, we have decided to try and meet somewhere in the world every couple of years, ain’t life grand
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