Australia – Great Ocean Road – 23rd-25th Jan

After a surprisingly good nights sleep on the side of the dual carriageway/motorway/freeway (and no trees crashing down on our tent) we drove down the road to the local McDonald’s and BP service station. Home made breakfast in the car park, followed by a cup of coffee and some free internet at McCafe we were ready to hit the road and make our way to the Great Ocean Road which starts its coastal journey from Torquay.

To swap our defective hire car (to one with a working seat) we had to make our way to Frankston south of Melbourne which was on-route to what we had already planned so it wasn’t a huge detour. Driving through Melbourne would have taken too long, over 200km from one peninsula to the other so we opted for the ferry from Sorrento to Queenscliff. Crossing the bay by Searoad ferry cost $69AUD including two adults one way which took 45 minutes.

Driving along the Great Ocean Road we stopped several times to take in the beauty of the coastline and walk along a couple of the beaches. Sand and rock pools lie in wait and are great to explore. The road twists and turns its way along the coast dipping inland every so often through fields and hills. With the sun setting on our long driving day we arrived at the Johanna Beach Campground which is free and a great spot for a night of camping. We watched the sun set over the ocean whilst fishermen reined in their catches before a spot of cosmos viewing and shooting star spotting.

The 12 apostles are a great stop over point whilst on the Great Ocean Road, just make sure that you arrive early enough to avoid the mass of tourist buses that arrive later in the morning. There are plenty of places to pull over and explore the coastal beauty away from the main visitor centre but that is well placed with good boardwalks to see the limestone formations. Other notable features along the way are the “The Arch” and “London Bridge” which true to the nursery rhyme has indeed fallen down!

We wanted to have a few days at one campground located on a beach so decided on the Killarney Beach Camping Reserve which is a short distance from Port Fairy and the larger Warrnambool (both libraries in each town have two hours free internet). It was $17AUD per night per campsite which is great value considering the proximity to the beach and bay, a 30 second walk! The amenities are a little rough around the edges, but the showers located near the beach and BBQ area are much nicer than at the main building.

Port Fairy is a nice town to explore as well as Griffiths Island. A two hour walking track around the island gets you close to the ocean, some nice beaches, sea birds and wallabies. Back to the camping site for a BBQ and a walk along the beach before our last night in a tent for quite a while! Port Fairy will be as far as we will be going on the Great Ocean Road, our plans to drive to Adelaide have changed and tomorrow we will head to Melbourne and a stay in a family home, a comfy bed at last.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

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