So, the road trip is over and what have we seen since Phillip Island?
Well loads is the answer...
We hit our first real set of major roads on the M1 entering Melbourne. The road network here is an odd mix of dirt tracks, unsealed roads, cement roads, tarmac roads, highways and freeways....each one getting progressively better and speed limits getting hirgher on each one. It's only the highways and freeways which are anything like roads back home with some dual carriageways (mostly overtaking lanes) on highways and freeways being multi lane monsters.
Entering Melbourne gets very like spaghetti junction and there are threats of toll roads everywhere. Signs are very vague over here, places disappear and appear from one sign to the next! We found our caravan park in Melbourne just in time to head into the city for our first glance.
Melbourne was superb, one of my favourite places ever! It has everything that you want and is easy to get around either by foot or by tram. We visited the immigration museum, the old gaol (where Ned Kelly was imprisoned and the scene of Melbournes last public hanging!), the Australian institute for moving images, the parliament buildings, the Rialto Tower Observation deck, China Town and thousands of cool bars and shops. The parks are fantastic and there's loads of development going on to make it even bigger and better. It really is a fab city....
Then the Great Ocean Road! Even in the overcast weather we had a blast. Tons of walking and snapping the wonderfull scenery as well as some pretty hairy rides on the cliff edge highway in a camper with me at the wheel!!! Saw all the sights, the 12 apostles, london bridge, the grotto, bay of martyrs, bay of islands, lock ard gorge (all rock formations) and loads of lighthouses / maritime buildings. There are loads of stories of a whaling history and many shipwrecks of the treacherous coast. Many of the stories harked back to the killer whale museum at Eden in NSW.
My only real disappointments of the Great Ocean Rd are 1. The weather (which was overcast or stormy much of the time). 2. Not having the weather or the time to visit the Otway Fly (www.otwayfly.com) 3. Not doing a scenic flight somewhere along the way!
There are plenty of great little towns on the Ocean Road including Torquay! We stayed in a variety of places. Some quet and off the beaten track such as Wye River and some much more touristy such as Port Campbell. All had there own charms but my favourite was Warrnambool (pronounced war-num-bol), so much to do and a beautifull lake / park / beach environment. Warrnambool was the best example of what a little bit of sunshine and some public spending can do for the kids. There were tonnes of school kids on tours around the lakes in Warrnambool and with all the provisions there's little surprise the schools made use of them. There were public use BBQ's, showers, boats, play parks, permanent cricket wickets (great little astro turf wickets with steel stumps), fun mazes, shaded areas under awnings and loads of parking! A really great environment.
It was in Warrnambool we met up with a few other travellers who advised us to head inland rather than do the whole coast thing again so with that in mind we headed inland to the Grampians, a range of pretty big mountains where we saw some fantastic views from areas such as 'the balconies' at Reeds Lookout. We also hiked up to massive waterfalls including McKenzie Falls. All of which was better because the weather was picking up.
Canberra was a disappointment apart from the Australian Institute of Sport. Too much space, too fabricated and no real soul for me. Like Washington, Tyne & Wear.....
Drove some more hairy roads accross the Great Dividing Range back out to one of our earlier stops - Batemans Bay. This was a masterstroke as the weather came up trumps! Batemens Bay is a lovely place and our stay there was fun, just the right mix of sightseeing / shopping / relaxation. The highlight of this stay was a cruise up the Clyde river on the Excapade ferry which took us to very remote places such as oyster farms, loggers jetties, some small villages and some very expensive properties for big Aussie business men / recluses. The Batemens Bay experience is all the better for two things 1. Literally millions of massive golden jellyfish and 2. a bridge which lifts its middle section of road straight up out of the way so boats can get through! A really relaxing few days before heading back to Manly to hand the van back.
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