Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
'So we went on driv-ing down the Great Ocean Road!' Anyone notice the slight corruption of the Gary Barlow hit 'Open Road' there? No? Right, guess i'm the only closet Barlow fan then... Anyway, the adventure began on a train to Ballarat, where we met up with the road-trip crew of Kyrsten, Bridget, and Lulu, who upon arrival, presented us with the paradox of sun-burnt Australians and tanned Brits!
Nonetheless, with copious amounts of sun-screen and after-sun on board, we jumped in the wagon and took the scenic route (via Meredith, twice) to the famous Great Ocean Road of Victoria. After enjoying a nicely prepared lunch at Lorne, we took a spontaneous jump into the sea taking on the rather cool waters that hailed from Antarctica. Subsequently, we warmed up, dried off, and drove up to Anglesea to Bridget's Aunt's cottage near the sea, where Bridget showed off her cat burglar skills to gain entry...well, she said it was her Aunty's place... Apricot Chicken Curry soon followed, and we hit the dorm room for the night. Next morning we borrowed some surfboards that we couldn't surf, despite Quince claiming that it was the board's fault. (It always is Quince. It always is.) Anyway, we enjoyed the sea leashed to surf-boards, Kyrsten and Bridget body boarded, and Lulu showed off her sand sculpting repertoire while on our own deserted beach.
Getting back on the winding GOR, we worked our way along the spectacular coastline to the Otway Ranges, via an ice-cream and milkshake stop which subsequently made us 10 minutes late for entry into the tree-top walk. Undeterred, the road-trip crew continued on towards Triplet Falls despite the best efforts of a German family to make sure we didn't get there before sundown. The falls were a great site to behold, with the experience made all the more interesting by quirky bits of information about the surroundings by a knowledgeable Kyrsten. We headed to Warrnambool to Bridget's family dairy farm for the night, where we were well fed and watered, and given a bed to sleep in for the night. As any person should on a dairy farm, we woke at 6:30am to help finish the milking of the cows, where we all got stuck in without getting covered in any unmentionables. A mini-golf experience soon followed, with mixed results and opinions on the matter in the searing heat, but despite that Kyrsten and I got a photo with Tiger Woods for our holes-in-one. Calm soon returned to the car as we headed back along the GOR to the mighty 12 Apostles and London Bridge, before going up the long road to the Roses Gap Recreation Centre, or Kyrsten and Lulu's home for those in the know. In the remote, yet serene and undisturbed, surroundings of the centre, we spent the evening sitting in and swimming around the lake, escaping the heat of the day.
The following days were filled with various stunning views of The Grampians, enjoying the naturally occurring Venus Baths, more BBQ-ing and lake sitting with Kyrsten's friends Leam and Jase, meeting Kyrsten's pet sheep Charles, and visiting the grandparents - as should be done on any visit to Victoria. Our penultimate night in and around Roses Gap involved a sumptuous BBQ at the Lett's family farm, and an opportunity to go out shooting with Kyrsten's brother Robbie. Yes, that's right, we were entrusted with a loaded shot-gun and rifle for the evening! We had a great time riding around the paddocks in the Yute, waiting for a rabbit or fox to show their hand, and by the end of the night Robbie had 2 foxes, and Quince and I a rabbit each. Before we left Roses Gap, we attempted an afternoon of fishing with little success, and even trying to fish at Safeways nearly proved unsuccessful when we arrived and their fish counter was empty! Nonetheless, we got our fish, said goodbye to Kyrsten and Lulu, and made our way back to Melbourne to stay with Bridget for a couple of nights before flying out to Ayer's Rock.
Our flight of 27 people on a 115 seater plane touched down in the red centre amidst 43 degree heat, totaling a flight time of 38mins from Alice Springs. The next morning we rose at 4:30am, with most of the resort, for our sunrise viewing of the famous red rock, Uluru. However, to our slight disappointment, overcast conditions were the order of the day, and the famous changing colours of the red rock were decidedly lacking as the sun rose - the sun rise itself did help to make up for this though. We then embarked on a tour around the base of the rock with our guide 'Smiley' (no relation to Carol), taking in the various rock formations and holy sites for the aboriginals, as the emerging sun began to give the rock its hue. The tour finished with a visit to the Aboriginal Culture Centre, learning about the people and their traditions; finding out that the Aborigines discourage the climbing of the rock due its religious significance; and that there is a 'Sorry Book' full of letters from people who have returned parts of the rock they regretted taking home.
Only 3 weeks to go...
- comments
Granny Enjoyed the latest and Ayre's Rock.Grandad in Godstone. Look forward to hearing your voice next week-. Sorry you couldn't get into the cricket. It's jolly cold so hope you have plenty of layers to wear. Granny