The Great Ocean Road Part 1

We are back on the road, slowly chipping away at the miles between us the Perth (biggest City on the west coast).  Per our standard operating procedure, we are taking a very indirect route.  The first part of this drive is via the Great Ocean Road.  Built along the rugged southern coast of Victoria, this road connected coastal towns and light stations extending west from Melbourne.  It is a scenic road, and popular with tourists and locals alike. 

At the start of the trip, we drove through a variety of seaside towns.  Most with some interesting attraction or two.  Here is Bells Beach's Addis Point (the surf film Point Break was filmed in part here).  Every year Bells Beach hosts the Rip Curl Surf Competition.  They were setting up the stands as we watched.  According to the internet, this region is the core of Aussie surf culture. 


Of course along the way, the wildlife loves to pose for us (especially the birds?).  This  little guy is only about 3.5” long.



This coastline has a long history with European settlers.  Hundreds of ships have wrecked along it.  To combat this Light Stations were built starting in the mid 1800s. Many of them survive to this day.
 




Just another  stretch of beautiful wave-smashed coastline.


Some towns like Lorne, have great walking, and relaxed vacation atmospheres. We did several walks here to view the  wildlife, and several waterfalls.


There is also a 30ft deep canyon in the middle of the forest.  With sheer rock walls, its definitely a change from the open air of the Great Ocean Road.



Once more, the birds posing for us.


This is a continuing theme. 





Lets take a break from posing  birds for a sleeping Koala.

The Great Alpine Road

By Jen.

Besides the Great Ocean Road (next on the list after we get our mail back), Victoria also has the Great Alpine Road. Recommended as a road trip, we thought ought to check it out. It was a welcome relief to the heat and you could tell that autumn was just around the corner there.
The road passes through the Alpine National Park, which protects the Australian Alps mountain ranges. Not knowing much about the park (Victoria doesn’t seem to have very good information posted online or on the roads), we just drove through the park and stopped at things that seemed interesting. First stop was Black Duck Hole. I think I managed to pick the hardest short walk in the park. It was a steep walk that wouldn’t have been so bad, except that the gravel kept making you slide. You had to be very careful with each step. The riverbend was very welcoming after the warm hike, though.

The next day, we found Mount Cope. With the clouds amongst the mountains, we thought it might be an interesting hike as well. It was sufficiently rewarding with views.

We also walked up the short trail to Fainter Falls.

At this time, my phone started randomly rebooting and getting caught in the boot cycle. If I kept it cold (stuck it in the freezer), I could get it to finish the boot cycle and actually start up, but it was a goner. So, I backed up my photos and everything else I could and requested warranty support. Unfortunately, that means shipping my phone back to the States and then getting my new phone sent back to me after I ship them mine. So, I will mostly likely be without a phone for a month or 2. After spending a day sorting that out, we kept going.
We really enjoyed our visit to Mount Buffalo National Park.  We, of course, went straight to the top first (Horn Summit Lookout).

 "May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds..." -Edward Abbey

Lyrebird Plain.

The park here has really fun boulders. I think I enjoyed the Old Galleries walk the most, with its maze of large rocks.

Luth family, does this remind of you any of previous exploits in his early childhood?

I think this might be one of the most poisonous snakes in Victoria.

To finish the Great Alpine Road trip, we made a few urban stops. First to Beechworth to view the old buildings; then to Milawa for their cheese factory and to have a pizza made with their cheeses!

The courthouse is famous for its trial of Ned Kelly (the equivalent of the States’ Billy the Kid).

Check out these old advertisements!

Mail and Rest Stop

We are thinking of spending a few weeks in the Perth area, just to get a change of pace. We have also been doing some online shopping and have shipped a few items there to await us. So, if you feel like shipping us anything from letters to care packages, you can also send them there (just hit the Contact Us button and we can send you the address). We are taking advantage of the marvelous Poste Restante system. We will probably be there around mid May, but make sure to contact us to let us know you are shipping something so that we make sure we get all the packages. Just note that it usually takes 2-4 weeks for things to get from the US to AUS.