We were finally on the move, the esky was well stocked, our wine cellar was full and we had all the supplies we needed! We were very prepared and ready for night one in the van! Unfortunately the traffic wasn’t going in our favour and the fact it was starting to get dark was less good on night one! (02.06.16)

Eventually we got out on the open road and were off on our big adventure, it was dusk (when they say you shouldn’t drive) but we had a lovely sunset and fortunately our campsite in Deep Creek was only a short two hours from Adelaide. Just in case we decided we didn’t like the van and wanted to go back to Glen Ewin. Sorry that didn’t work out guys, we do miss you though!

Deep Creek conservation park had five campsites and we chose to stay at the Stringybark. It was deep in the forest and if there weren’t other campers there, I think I would have been a bit freaked out! Luckily when we got there, fires were going, people were chatting and it was a good atmosphere for our first night. We went for an easy dinner for night one, as we knew we would be pushed for time and as it was dark it was a good choice. Yummy curry with rice and naan bread. Our fold down table worked a treat and with a candle and a glass of bubbles, our adventure got off to a great start!

We washed up, put everything back in the van and made the bed. Ryan’s handyman work made it easy peasy to put together and we had the bed down in no time! It was a cold night but all of our blankets made it super cosy and we both slept really well!

The blackout curtains were our new excuse for sleeping in – they were great and we knew a bad habit was potentially in the making! Early mornings will take a bit of getting used to, and as Winter is setting in now, we need to make the most of the shorter days!

We opened up the van door and said hello to the Stringybark trees – the campsite was nice and as we hadn’t seen it the day before we had a little look around. The van had been very comfortable and warm during the night and we were super pleased we hadn’t frozen!

Hot showers were very welcome and even though they were a bit different to our luxe bathroom in Adelaide, it was hot water and we were not complaining!

The beach was nearby so we drove down for brekkie with a view. Fisherman were heading out for a late morning fish and we had fried eggs and beans on toast with a cup of coffee (Thanks Mary) It was amazing and we were just loving van life! We walked down to the beach after brekkie and just watched the water, today was going to be a good day.

After looking through our campsite book (Thanks Brooke) we decided to head towards ’42 mile crossing’ for night #2 (03.06.16) and went via Victor Harbour to have a look around. Gordon, the very kind man at the information centre gave us some good advise for the road ahead and after night #1 in the camper, we realised a few more bits and bobs would be required. Bowls, picnic chairs, pyjamas and slippers for Ryan (his poor feet were v cold last night – poor dear) So with more stuff to fit in the van, we were on our way, once again running a bit late. We had to go on a small chain ferry, which was gorgeous as the sun was coming down and the water had a beautiful pink hue. Pelicans were sitting on the water that was as flat as a pancake and so reflective it didn’t look like water at all. Eventually we got to 42 mile crossing, in the dark, again (oops)

The kangaroos had disappeared when we arrived and the night was so clear. The stars were absolutely gorgeous and even more amazing than the skies we had seen in New Zealand, so we took several moments to just stare at them. Annoyingly we didn’t have a 4WD, so we couldn’t camp on the beach but we had a secluded forresty spot for the night and although I was a bit hesitant as we were on our own, the van felt safe!

We survived night #2, woke up to bright thick fog and for one moment, I thought we hadn’t survived and it was the big bright light coming to get us. Luckily it cleared and the sun came out. It had been a very cold night last night and we think it got down to about 3/4 degrees (positively freezing for Oz)

I was driving today and luckily it was a pretty straight forward journey to Robe, a lovely town that so many people had told us about. It was very quiet, being winter and all so we went on a lovely walk by the sea. Admiring the waves hitting the old obelisk and keeping lookout for mini penguins. We walked through the old Gaol (Jail as we English folk would call it – but apparently thats how it was spelt in the old days!) It was a gorgeous sunny day and after a nice walk we were in need of a drink at the local pub. This had been recommended to us by a few people and it didn’t disappoint, it was called ‘The Caledonian’ it was typically English and we watched the French Open.

Being in Robe, we thought oh, we should have some Lobster!!! Momentarily forgetting we were backpackers and on a budget, we asked for lobster tails at the fish factory. The lady rubbed her hands together and directed us towards the fridges – I mean we really should have known – $98 per pack, um I think we will go for something else tonight actually. Eventually, we settled for Boar fish (wish was actually absolutely amazing and a fraction of the price) but we did buy the most expensive broccoli in town (FoodLand Robe is a rip off) and headed to Naracoorte for the night, in the dark and again and it was a cold one (again) so we wrapped up, cooked our garlic heavy dinner and ate it in the warmth of the van. It was AMAZING!!! Way better than Lobster tails and just mmm so scrum! Washed down with some wine (obviously) we slept very well in our garlic van and it was another chilly but cosy night (#3)

We got up at 8:30am (this was us doing well), had a quick breakfast and headed to the Naracoorte caves. The tour we wanted to do wasn’t until later and because it was winter they didn’t have many going, so instead we went in to the ‘Wet Cave’ and did a self guided tour, it was very cool and really well lit. The region is named ‘Limestone Coast’ and you can understand why. There were at least five caves and we walked around the grounds and read up about the other caves – very interesting place!

Next on our drive was The Coonawarra wine region – well, it would have been rude not to stop at one cellar door on route and as it was after midday, we decided it was a must. We went to ‘Rymill’ for obvious reasons and it was insanely busy (not – we were the only ones) the lady was pleased to see us and Ryan tasted every wine on the menu. She told us more about the surrounding areas that we should visit than she did about the wine – but that was fine, she was a lovely lady! The vines were bare and it looked a lot different than the vineyards we had been to in New Zealand, all green and summery! It was still extremely picturesque and great to see it in a different season.

No more wine was needed after that but we had cheese and bickies en route to our next stop – with Ryan decorating the van with cheese (maybe it was the wine) we drove on to ‘Mount Gambier’ which is a town in a volcanic crater. I was having a sugar low by this point and needed to stock up on Toblerone so we headed to the supermarket for the night’s dinner. We went for seafood pasta, to use up some of the stuff we had in the chiller and as the rain was heading in, we just wanted something warming! Night #4’s accomodation was a little ‘caravan club’ but it was friendly and had warm showers and so we were happy – we also managed to get there in daylight which was a result. There was a kitchen with a kettle AND a toaster – luxury, so we were v pleased. Another scrummy meal with some more wine (this has to stop) and a good nights sleep.

It was drizzly and a bit miserable when we woke up (slept in – again – silly curtains) but we rallied around, cooked our eggs and headed up to the Umpherstone sink hole which was a garden that had been part of the Umpherstone estate in the 1800’s. You walked down the stairs to rows of flowers and a waterfall, it was gorgeous and not what we had expected at all. We wandered around and compared it to the ‘To Sua’ trench in Samoa.

Next stop was  ‘Mount Schank’ –  an extinct (they think) volcano that was on our list of things to see. We were running away from the rain and managed to time it well, the sun was shining as we walked up the many steps and wandered around the volcano. Ryan had the ‘dress for cold’ theory’ which I had obviously gone against and was way too sweaty at the top! A sign of being unfit me thinks! ‘

 

The view was gorgeous and it was great to get some fresh air! After our walk around, we headed down the many steps, seeing a horrendous spider on the way down, reminding us that we were in Australia, as well as our first wallaby in the wild. We went back to lonely Horace and set out on our way to The Great Ocean Road.

We passed in to Victoria and got the tourist shot of the state sign – celebrating the fact that we could get rid of the silly half an hour time difference! Wahoo!

We were staying in ‘Warrnambool’ on night #5 and we stopped off to watch some surfers riding the waves bravely in the cold water before heading in to our campsite. It was a bit warmer today but still drizzly and a bit grey so we went for a hearty dinner of Vietnamese noodle soup. With the van packed with ingredients, we used the luxury kitchen in our surfside campsite and even watched a bit of TV – Masterchef obvs! Camping is very quiet at this time of year and we are a little spoilt as I imagine it would be mayhem here in Summer! Our dinner was awesome and Ryan was very pleased with himself! We anticipated rain for the following night and knowing that if we stayed somewhere without any shelter we probably wouldn’t be able to cook, so I made a chilli for the next night in preparation. William the cat (we named him) came to join us for dinner. He was a large cat and was obviously fed very well, hence his arrival at dinner time. He wasn’t a shy boy either, jumping on my lap and nestling in, being very cute and cuddly, more like a little dog really. Ryan had a cuddle too and I think he wanted to come back to the van. Not tonight William!  Another good night with Horace and a comfy sleep even though the wind was blowing a hooly and the rain was rather loud!

Before starting TGOR (The great ocean road) we headed to ‘Tower Hill’ a wildlife reserve that was known for its Emu’s and Koalas, but due to the horizontal rain and gusty winds, everything seemed to be hibernating today and we weren’t surprised! In all honesty, I would rather have been in the back of van having a nice warm nap away from the weather! We did however see some Emu’s before leaving the reserve and very excitedly took photos out of the van windows and just stared at them! Almost like all of the New Forest tourists looking at the ponies and cows – oh how funny!

There was a positive to the weather, however and this was whales, so we headed to the famous whale sighting beach in Warrnambool hoping that the first sight of whales would be today, especially for us!!!! Afraid not! We just looked out at the sea for minutes and saw nothing but blue waves (not whales)

Well this wasn’t going to dampen our spirits and we were super excited for TGOR! We passed a sign for Cheeseworld (which we couldn’t really not stop at) and coincidentally we actually found the best cheese in the world which had an amazing buttery texture and after tasting about five pieces of it, we bought some along with crackers and a rhubarb salsa – yummy !!

The best thing about going in the off season was that everything was much quieter and the view points weren’t packed with, well tourists, like us! There were still a fair few, but the roads were quiet and everything was very relaxed. We stopped off at almost every view point that was sign posted.

 

Bay of Islands

The Grotto

London Bridge (London Arch now as the bridge fell down)

Loch Ard Gorge

The Twelve Apostles (in the rain)

It was all amazing to see and even in the rain, the views went on for miles and the sea was just amazing! You can totally see why there were so many shipwrecks along this coast! The seas were extremely rough and we just stared for ages looking at the waves crashing in! We were enjoying the fresh air and the short walks but it was getting cold and we were getting wet. Deciding to come back to the Twelve Apostles the following day, so we could see them in a better light and also without the four coach loads of people that had just turned up.

We were in need of a drink and after seeing the signpost for a pub, oh a pub, we thought oh there must be one close by…..20 km later, we are at said pub in the middle of no where. I by this point was a little over the pub idea, but we forged on, hoping that the pub would be gorgeous and warm and welcoming! Unfortunately not, it was cold, damp and just really far away. Ryan downed his drink and we headed back 20km to civilisation – slight waste of time but ah well.

Night #6 was a campsite at the recreation ground near Princetown (where the princes live – Ryan tells me) and so we heated up our chilli con carne! Good thinking not to make it from scratch tonight – we did have sheltered cooking but it was chilly and rainy and a quick dinner was a good choice! Another movie night was in order and tonight we went for The Bridge Of Spies! We had tried to watch this once before but as it required a lot of concentration we gave up, but the second try was a success and we loved it. Great film!

The following morning we went to ‘Gorge Chocolates’ to purchase our afternoon snack. From here we took the short detour back to The Twelve Apostles to see them in much better light, with fewer tourists and a better view, and a very good decision it was!

From there we went down very windy, thin road to the ‘Cape Otway’ lighthouse. This was the only thing to see at the end of the long road and as it was v expensive to get in, we didn’t bother. It was a shame as we had driven quite far down the road and would have loved to see it, but being budget travellers we opted against it and went for a walk to the view point instead. Oh what a lovely lighthouse it looked like from a far!

We drove back up the long windy road and kept going in the miserable weather – we made it to ‘Apollo Bay’ shortly after and because we couldn’t actually see much of the bay, we went in to a pub instead. I mean, you really can’t go wrong there. It was a craft beer pub too so Ryan was very pleased and we stayed there to have a few drinks and contemplate our next move.

After a drink and a plan to stay in a campsite close by, we had even more left over chilli and some wine to wash it all down. Night #7 was a miserable night and we were woken by hail and a thunderstorm in the middle of the night. It was however a great test for the camper and we were nice and dry when we woke in the morning! Phew! No leakages!

The weather had some what cleared in the morning, so it was nice to actually see Apollo Bay and have a wander down to the long beach. There was a gorgeous rainbow across the whole of the bay which we stared at for a while and then watched it as we got back on the road towards Barwon Heads, where we would stay for night #8. We had a great day of exploring today and stopped off at some lovely places. We first drove through Kennett River and headed towards Lorne, where we stopped off for a coffee and a blueberry muffin at a cute little cafe and a walk across the long sandy beach. You can imagine this would definitely be a busy beachside town in the summer and it was just nice to experience it in the quiet months of winter, even if it was a bit drizzly! The sun kept shining though and we reached Airleys Inlet just in time for beer – the pub was on TGOR brewery trail and so Ryan knew they would have some craft beer for him to try, and indeed they did! We had a lovely drink and chinwag by the open fire and had a nice relaxing hour or so. Ryan left with a bottle or five of ‘Cranky Mrs’ beer (no hints there AT ALL) and we were on the road again.

Bells Beach had a great surf beach reputation so we had to stop off and have a look. Quietly watching in the van, we could see twenty or so surfers, braving the cold in their wetsuits and hoods! Ooo it looked so chilly in there but the waves were big!! We wandered down to the view point and watched in awe for a while, before feeling the chill and getting back in to the comfort of the van!

It was raining when we arrived in Torquay so we quickly popped to the shops for some food for the evening and a jumper for Ryan. The esky was nice and full again and we were excited to get our dinner underway!

Barwon Heads wasn’t too far up the road and it was the best campsite view point by far – we parked up right next to the beach and decided that we should definitely wake up early (7:30am) for the sunrise the following morning! We had to make full use of this amazing view!!! The sun was going down but we had time to get out our camping chairs for the first time and enjoy a cup of tea with the last of the sunshine. With our tummies rumbling, it was time for dinner, we had cajun chicken thigh burgers with guacamole, salad and baked potatoes – delicious! Our bellies were now full and we had decided that tomorrow morning we should go for a run!!!! The first run in a long time, but as there was such a nice track next to the beach, we just couldn’t not go! Hmmm, was I really agreeing to this?!

I mean 7:30am isn’t early at all really, but it was for us lazy folk!!! The sunrise was definitely worth waking up for though and it was gorgeous over the sea. I was trying to go back to bed but Ryan said no, we were definitely getting up and going for a run, so we headed out on the boardwalk by the beach, over the bridge, on to the beach and back. Ryan lapped me about five times and the run up the cliff stairs at the end definitely finished me off! It was great to actually start exercising again though and it had just been way too long since our last one!!!! We have been eating and drinking so much, more exercise is definitely in order, and with views and running tracks like this one, we didn’t really have an excuse! Onwards and upwards I say!!!

So with The Great Ocean Road done and dusted, in probably a different light than the usual summer months, but gorgeous nonetheless, our next stop was Melbourne and we couldn’t wait…. ah so many different exciting things around each corner!!! Loving Australia!