The Great Ocean Road

Guest blogger, Erika, now on deck, which has meant procrastination and a blank mind.  However, I will try to remember the exciting sights we have seen.  It has been a great week since being met at Adelaide airport by Thea and the kids.  Great hugs all round since I haven’t seen them for 6 months.

The Bloomfields had been staying with Tig’s cousin Trina and family in the southern suburbs of Adelaide and they kindly allowed me a mattress on the floor for Saturday night.  Sunday morning both families attended Seeds Uniting Church before a wonderful barbeque and then on the road again.

First stop, Hahndorf.  Just to look around, visit the lolly shop for the kids and the deli for Erika and Thea.  Loved the aroma of the European sausages but Thea and I had done a comprehensive shop in Adelaide and there was not a square centimeter for anymore food in the van so on the road to find a campsite for the night.

Hahndorf, what a charming town

This will probably not be the last time Kai wears a skirt

The Great Ocean Road

I had been planning and looking forward to doing the Great Ocean Road for many years.  At last I was there!  This is a spectacular part of Australia’s coastline but has to be seen from the various lookouts.  You really do not see much from the road.  We stopped to look at London Bridge (what is left of it), Loch Ard Gorge where two survivors of the wrecked Loch Ard came in to shore, and of course The Twelve Apostles.  Kai was more interested in the helicopters taking off every couple of minutes for scenic flights and his catch phrase on our short walks was “I am out of puff!”  Despite his moments, there were other times where he walked and walked more than I would expect from a three year-old.

We decided to go to Cape Otway and see the lighthouse and surrounds.  A ‘survivor’ Rose Ann Hyland from another wreck was there to tell her tale of the night in question to all gathered there.  The girls and Kai were very attentive and I am still not sure whether they really believed she was the actual survivor.  Then we went up the lighthouse and out onto the windswept walkway.  Ella and Maddi and I went round and round and round.

Our first Great Ocean Road Lookout

Kai and the Grotto

London Bridge has fallen down

Watch out for those crocodiles

Looking past 'The Razorback'

Loch Ard Gorge

Kai hitching a ride from Mormor (aka Erika)

Twelve Apostles is a big tourist attraction. It even has a walkway under the road.

The famous Twelve Apostles

Kai gets another lift. He has Mormor worked out.

Twelve Apostles again

Even his sister took pity on him when he was 'out of puff'

Cape Otway Signal and Telegraph Post

Cape Otway Lighthouse

The view from the top

Looking back to the Lighthouse Keepers Residences 

The trees on the drive into the lighthouse are populated by koalas.  We spotted several areas where the trees where almost denuded of leaves, they were the ones with koalas in them.  The kids sat on the roof-rack of the car to get a better view and were particularly fascinated by one koala on the move along a spindly branch stretching for that just out of reach juicy leaf.  With bated breath we watched, sure it would fall. It didn’t.

The right one has a baby on its front

Fast asleep

The trees made it easy to spot the Koalas

Stretching that little bit further

Our last evening before the ferry to Tasmania was at Barwon Heads Caravan Park, site of The Boathouse and Laura’s cottage of Seachange fame.  Bloomfields went to visit friends they had met on the road at Lawn Hill (Qld) while I had a quiet evening in the caravan before retreating to my last night in my bivy bag.

Ella our blue tongue lizard

Then it was on to Port Melbourne, do the drive by the Spirit of Tasmania to suss out where we needed to go to embark and then find a spot large enough to take our big rig for an hour or so until it was time to move on to embarkation.  I discovered that it takes less time to fly from Hobart to Sydney than it does to move through the queue to get onto the boat.  Whilst patiently waiting among the other caravans and motorhomes we were suddenly inundated by a Perth bikie gang, The Coffin Cheaters.  Harley after Harley after Harley passed us to our entertainment.  Thea looked them up on the iPad and read out to us all about the gang – the wonders of technology.  By the time we got on board, they were firmly ensconced in the bar, we kept away and went to have dinner instead.

Waiting to board the big red 'boat'

Coffin Cheaters making their way to the front

Into the ship we go

Parked for the night. Front row even.

The girls with their dad

After the adventure of a night on board, we were woken at 5:45am to get ready to disembark by 6:30.  The weather had turned nasty, wet and cold so we headed straight to Launceston to drop me off to get my motorhome and off to the airport to meet Jo, Anna and Tim (Tig’s sister and niece and nephew).  So next episode from Jo.

For more information on Rose Ann Hyland go to: http://www.lightstation.com/?page=events&subpage=cape_characters

Written by Erika, Thea's mum

Photo selection and captions by Thea

Since mum's version is short and sweet we are still deciding if we will bore you all with our longer in depth version (mainly for our own records).