Wish you were here...

The Grampians to Ballarat & the goldfields...

philthy-nomad — Thu, 1 Mar 2007 12:00:00 GMT

After a peaceful nights sleep we awoke Thursday morning to find a group of kangaroos had decided to join us for breakfast, one with a joey in pouch.

After our breaky we were off again, this time to the beautiful MacKenzie Falls. Though not in full flight due to the drought it was still amazing to see. I believe you could also have a swim at the base of the falls too.

One thing to note is how different the scenery was compared to what it was about a year or so ago. Devestating bushfires had run through the area and the re-growth was now coming through. This allowed us to see the actual lay of the land rather than just trees, which was a perspective we were not expecting.

There was also photographs at the shop at the path's enterence with some photos of very interesting rock formations with captions advising to explore more rather than stick to the tourist path. For anyone who enjoys a good hike this would be a great experience.

Our next stop was Reid Lookout and the Balconies, which had beautiful panoramic views of the vally area. On our way there we managed to run into a very friendly echidna type creature (someone was very creative!!). We also were surprised by the presence of rock wallabies. Surprised by the fact that you don't know they are there until they hop away because they are frightend of you... this actually gives you a bit of a shock also.

Our final lookout stop was Barooka Lookout. We had great valley views and you were able to see Hall's Gap from here also, way down below.

From here we high tailed it via Stawell through Ararat to Ballarat to vist Sovereign Hill (click here).

Sovereign Hill (click here) is a town that takes you back to the 1850's during the gold rush period in Ballarat. It depicts Ballarat's first 10 years after the discovery of gold. All the staff are dressed in perriod costume and act out how the times were during the gold rush period. You may find yourself being part of a "scene" so be careful who you are talking to!!

You are able to take tours through a replica quartz mine, pan for gold, see AUD$80,000.00 worth gold being moulded into a gold bar and coach rides among other activities. We both found out what our current weight in gold was too. I'm worth $2,130,193.96 and Sal is worth $1,268,804.05.

The highlight of the day was definatley the sound and light show "Blood on the Southern Cross" (click here). It depicts the Eureka Rebellion on the Ballarat goldfields where the miners rose against the establishment due to miss treatment and unfair working conditions. It was where the first oath was sworn to a flag not bearing the English coat of arms but the Southern Cross only. The show allows your imagination to decide how this battle was played out with a bit of help from the display.. this is a must see!!

From here the Ambassador was now pointed north back to our home in Sydney.

In summary, the trip was a highlight in our list of travels we have done. I cannot recommend highly enough the scenery and people who we met on the way, this trip is definatley a "thing to do before you die". For us, we found 5 days was maybe not enough time and you could easily spend two weeks doing the same trip.

Hope you enjoyed the blog, wish you were here...

Good Bye Great Ocean Road, Hello Grampians...

philthy-nomad — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 12:00:00 GMT

One of the first stops of the morning was London Bridge. This was a double arched platform that linked to the mainland. It is a “was” because in 1990 one of the arches collapsed leave two people stranded on the now unattached rock formation. No one was injured and the two marooned sightseers were rescued some hours later by helicopter.

There were some more grotto stops along the way before we came to the Bay Of Islands and neared the end of the Great Ocean Road.

The Bay has some more great rock formations standing alone in the ocean and the bay itself reminds you of something a ships captain may discover and seek refuge in from the wild southern ocean ever to leave because of it’s beauty.

From here we now headed north, away from the ocean and up towards The Grampians. We passed through some flat farmland where the windmill count was high… reference to my partner and co-traveler Sally, and the cow numbers were even higher!!

Our first stop along the way to Halls Gap, the hub of the Grampians, was Mt William.

This was a 10km drive off the main access road and a 2km walk from the car park to the summit.

Once on foot we experienced every known weather condition other than snow. The temperature went from hot to cold… to hot… to cold; the conditions went from raining to windy to foggy to overcast to sunny!! It was a very steep climb that didn’t seem to want to end so due to the inclement weather and knowing we had a morning of walking coming up we decided to head back down. We had great views of the mountain ranges on one side and the farmland areas on the other.

Amazing Sight #3

As we were walking back down the access road, out of the corner of my eye just off the road I saw some movement. After a quick word to Sal and stepping back a little we saw an Echidna in the bush, eating ants!!

It was just going about its thing as if we weren’t there so we happily snapped away. We even got close enough to touch it. At that stage I think it got a bit miffed with us so it just waddled off some rocks and into the bushes having had enough of the prying Homo sapiens.

As we continued to walk down the mountain we also saw some grey cockatoos feeding. The females are all grey and the males have a striking red head and grey body, just before the car park, a fellow traveler was filming another Echidna eating ants. We took a few snaps of this one also but were satisfied in the fact we had seen our own and it was bigger!!! It’s all about the size no matter what people say!

After a long driving day and plenty of wildlife encounters we decided to pull up stumps in Halls Gap for the night before heading on to Ballarat and the Gold Fields tomorrow.

While eating dinner we were invaded by a whole lot of hungry ducks that waddled over.

We threw out some bread and I’d swear I heard a “smile and wave boys, smile and wave…”.

In the park near our campsite some white cockatoos and currawongs were also having territory issues and the scene was like something out of Top Gun, with birds ducking and weaving through the trees trying to establish their homes for the night.

The Great Ocean Road - continued...

philthy-nomad — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

After our night at Jan Juc we found Pixie Cave, a small grotto shaped by the ocean that you are able to walk down to and in. We walked along the beach here and dipped our toes in the water (not to cold either!).

Next stop along the way was Split Point Lighthouse, built at the end of the 19^th century and one of 400 lighthouse erected along the Aussie coast. We didn’t get to climb this one but we have some great coastal shots. We broke here for coffee and tea at the café nearby and to savor our holiday mode were in.

As we drove along we stopped at the Great Ocean Road memorial for a quick pic. A sign we did notice had the advice on it to “Drive on left in Australia”. I can understand the reminder to drive on left for our foreign friends but if you need to be reminded of what country your in… surely the air ticket you booked told you where you were going???

As long as our roads authorities aren’t underestimating the people who use the roads!!

The memorial was built in honor of Victorians who had served in WW1, 1914 to 1918.

Our next stop was the beautiful Erskine Falls just outside of Lorne.

These are the most picturesque falls in the area, surrounded by rainforest, but the flow of water is minimal due to drought. The falls are tapped into a natural spring, which allows them to flow even though rainfall may not be at a premium.

We walked to the bottom of the falls and along the creek bed to enjoy the serenity… do we miss the city… NO WAY!!!

From here we went to Teddy’s Lookout south of the town centre, which gave great views of the ocean and stood directly above The Great Ocean Road. There was a distance sundial there to let you know how far away you are from the rest of the world.

Lorne, by the way, has a great music festival known as “The Falls Festival” which is held over New Years Eve for two days and attracts some big name bands from overseas.

We stopped in to Apollo Bay for a bit of a break and admired some interesting wooden sculptures outside the Tourist Information Office (the yellow “I”, like in Interesting!!).

Next stop was along the Cape Otway coastline at the Cape Otway Lightstation (click here). This is the oldest lighthouse on the Australian mainland and is currently being maintained by Tourism Great Ocean Road and the Victorian Government. Entrance fees go towards this maintenance and restoration.

The condition of the buildings is very good and you do get to climb the lighthouse at no additional cost. We were there when the wind was blowing 25 knots from the east and, thank God for the handrails, as I thought Sal and I may have been the next sacrifice to King Neptune. The attendant said that this was a summer breeze compared to when the wind is blowing from the south, then you know your alive!!!

On site, the old workshop building had some great memorabilia including old flags, a bike, a display living quarters and the original roof shingles (which are now supported so the roof doesn’t fall in, so don’t worry!!)

The Bureau of Meteorology uses the lighthouse to record the weather conditions here also. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1994 and replaced by a solar powered beacon.

Driving out on the access road we came across Amazing Sight #1. A fellow traveler had found a spot where there were two Koala’s sleeping in the wild up a gum tree. This was an incredible find as the only place city slickers like us (Sal is an exception as she’s from the country and has seen one koala in the wild before) see koala’s is in the zoo or as Killer Koala’s on the Paul Hogan Show.

After basking in this amazing find, no more than three minutes later we had stopped again, this time to find five koala’s sleeping up gum trees!! Unbelievable!!

One the drive out Sal spotted one more, which I think filled our quota for seeing koala’s in the wild for the next 20 years!!

The first sign that we were nearing the Twelve Apostles was Gibson’s Steps. Though we did not walk down the steps we had our first view of Apostle like rock formations.

The views were incredible but nothing like what was to come.

The Twelve Apostles don’t look real… they jut out from the coast like they were placed there rather than formed. The first viewing area has a newly collapsed Apostle, just a remaining pile of rubble. To see that happen would be amazing.

Not all twelve can be viewed from the one viewing area and there are many to choose from as you move towards Port Campbell. Only six Apostles can be viewed from the viewing platforms.

We stopped at Loch Ard to have our typical traveler meal of spag bol not expecting what was to come. We were trying to decide whether to stop here for the night or continue into Port Campbell. Boy, did indecision work in our favor!!

Amazing Sight #2

Now, we’ve seen some sunsets that, between us, stretch from the east and west coast of Australia, California USA, the Greek Islands, Turkey and Mexico but what we saw here was breathtaking!!!

The 43 photos we took in 17 minutes gives you some idea of how this sunset was… photos to follow…

We shared this with one other couple and no one else…

We pulled up at the Port Campbell Caravan Park for the night, coming in at the busy time of 8.30pm. This was the busy time according to the owner as everyone comes in after sunset.

Gallery: The Great Ocean Road

philthy-nomad — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The Great Ocean Road

philthy-nomad — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The day started early for both Sally and myself. She was coming from Sydney on a flight departing at 6am to arrive at Avalon Airport (about 30 mins to an hour from Melbourne) near Geelong at about 7.30am (it must be love) and myself driving from Melbourne to collect her to continue on our way to The Great Ocean Road.

After a scheduled stop due to a previous work commitment and the mandatory getting lost in a foreign city (I was TRYING to get ON TO a toll road, which in the end I managed to avoid as far as I’m aware) I was able to meet her at 9.30am (a time I had previously said I would be there by) and we were on our way.

First stop was south west of Melbourne at Geelong to their Tourist Information office (you can’t miss the bright yellow “I”… kind of like Idea!!) to get some maps and advice for the trip.

The three staff members were very helpful, and gave us some travel advice based on the time constraints we had, as we needed to be back in Sydney by Friday night.

The route we would take would see us head south via Torquay, Lorne, Apollo Bay, through Port Campbell to Wanambool, up to Halls Gap in the Grampians via Dunkeld, across to Ararat, on to Ballarat and then up to Sydney via Bendigo. Lets see how we go…

First stop was Torquay, a smallish surf town that has more surf shops than people. If your hunting for the brand names this is the place to be.

Building on that surf-culture theme they have a surf museum, Surfworld (click here), located in the Surf City plaza just off The Great Ocean Road, which shows a history of Australian surfing. They have various displays including surfboard art, a surfing hall of fame, an interactive paddling display to test your fitness (not for the over 35’s or it may kill you… true story!!), a rreplica surfboard-shaping bay and a mini theatre to watch movies. The movie that was showing when we were there was of Teahupoo (pronounced chi-poo), found in Tahiti, one of the heaviest waves in the world. The footage was amazing and a must see when your there.

From there we went Jan Juc, a small town just before the world famous Bells Beach. We booked in to the Jan Juc caravan park for the night and then got some fish and chips to eat at Bells.

I’d love to be able to say that Bells was 8 to 10 foot and perfect and being ripped apart by some of the best wave riders in the world but… to quote a famous line from the famous surf movie The Endless Summer “I should have been here yesterday”.

The surf wasn’t great but there were a couple of guys out and even in bad surf you can see how well it could break on a good day. It is more a surf spot than a beach as the beach is nearly non-existent. They had a very cool aboriginal artwork decorating the toilet block, which depicted a snake, which protects the area.

From here we found Point Addis and was to see our first of many amazing parts of this coastline.