GREAT OCEAN ROAD & ADELAIDE
Wednesday 29th June
We really didn't want to leave Bondi. In the van we came up with scenarios on how we could come back. We even (for a minute) contemplated not going travelling to South America. The night before, we had taken a stroll down to the beach for one last sunset and seen about 12 dolphins playing around in the surf. Bondi was making it as hard as possible to leave.
We had said goodbye to our amazing Bondi family and packed up the van for good. The only thing left to do was decide on a route and wipe the tears from our eyes as it made driving tricky. We headed inland to Canberra, around a 4 hour drive and arrived after dark. It felt like we had arrived on the set of The Hunger Games, all concrete modernist buildings with no soul... It was bloody freezing and we had no plan on where to stay the night as it didn't seem the kind of city to encourage free camping. As luck would have it, we pulled off a main road into a deserted carpark and found that we were exactly inline with the Parliament building, the lake, Anzac parade and a mountain (the London equivalent would be accidentally parking on The Mall, with a view of Buckingham Palace one way and Trafalgar Square the other.) By this time it was rather cold and so we went for a walk along the lake to warm up. On the path was a bronze statue of some old dude, but it wasn't lit up so as we approached we both thought it was a real person. A lot of joggers were out in full force and we had to remind ourselves it was only 7pm, not midnight like it felt.
Thursday 30th June
In the morning we had a toast breakfast and checked the weather. It was -3 c and super foggy concealing the amazing view from last night. We had survived our first sub zero night in the van. We had both worn hats to sleep in and the extra duvet really helped. It was our first taste of winter in a year and a half.
We headed off to parliament hill for the 9.30 tour of the Parliament Building. We were taken into the 2 chambers, learned about the Australian system and reminded that Saturday was the day Australians would take to the polls. Let's hope they have a better result than our vote in remaining in the EU last week. The colours were interesting in the two rooms, starting dark and getting lighter higher up in the room. The highlight easily was having a wander up onto the roof.
After this we headed to the National Gallery of Australia and were wowed by the calibre of artists they had on display, from Magritte, Matisse, Picasso, Monet, Lictenstein, Hockney, Warhol, Wei Wei, Kandinsky Pollock, Rothgow... the list goes on. And if that wasn't enough, there was a sculpture park outside and a piece by James Turrell, the same idea for an installation as the one we'd seen in Hobart at Mona. If only we'd known we could have got ourselves over here first thing that morning to see the sunrise show.
We felt we'd done Canberra by this point, so after a quick lunch in the cafe, we headed off with the aim of getting half way to Melbourne by nightfall.
Friday 1st July
We woke early and drove the 20mins to the beach where we made a standard Aussie breakfast of avo and eggs on toast.
Then we begun the long drive to Philip Island where we had a date with some little penguins. The journey took us along the south coast, over a bridge and onto the island. At dusk, hundreds of tiny penguins swim to shore after a day of feeding and swimming, and run back to their nests under the cover of darkness. We fixed our eyes on the shore line mistaking every bit of rock or clump of seaweed for one of Pingu's little cousins. Nothing happened... Ten mins passed and still nothing. Then suddenly as if a watery curtain lifted, at least two hundred or so penguins appeared all at once. It didn't seem real. Then the real fun started as they made their way home, pooping as they walked, trying to avoid a goose out for an evening waddle. If that wasn't enough, two wallabies started having a boxing match up the hillside. Still the little penguins pottered past disappearing off into the undergrowth. (we borrowed these photos from the internet as the little guys are camera shy and visitors are asked not to take pictures)
That evening we camped in a secluded beach carpark on the island, cooked up a delicious beef rending curry, drank gin and did a lot of star gazing as the Milky Way was so clear. It was van life at its best.
Saturday 2nd July
We headed back to the penguin landing beach for a surf. I lasted 15 mins as the water was much much colder than up in Sydney and I only had a legless summer wetsuit. Will had a thick winter one and so was fine.
We took a stroll through a nearby Koala Sanctuary where we spotted four or five of the lovely little guys, then it was time to head for the bright lights of Melbourne.
Sunday 3rd July
We went for a swim in Richmond pool, had a lovely long hot shower then made our way to St. Kilda where we were meeting Fiona and Alan, the people we hoped would buy our van! They seemed keen. We walked a few blocks to meet my sisters friend Zoe and her boyfriend Danny at The Local Taphouse for lunch. They brought a few friends with them so it turned out to be a lively affair. We tried chicken parma for the first time at the recommendation of everyone, drank some good pints and had a blondie brownie for pudding. It turned out the night was still young so we headed to Iddy Biddy, Zoe's local for a few Espresso Martinis. Unfortunately everyone else had to work the next day so we called it a night. On getting back to the van we found we had parked in a prostitutes territory and after witnessing a few potential customers pull up to her and spying her pimp in the car behind ours, we decided we should move the van around the corner, where we got a much better nights sleep.
Monday 4th July
We took Vanwell in early for his Roadworthy check. These are required for the buyer to re-register the vehicle in their name. Then we did some chores and waited for the results and for Fiona to call us as they has been viewing other vans all day yesterday. As we were walking along, a bird managed to time it's shit so perfectly that it fell INBETWEEN my eye and my glasses. I know people tell you it's good luck to make you feel better, but this didn't really bode well for the rest of the day. Shortly after we de-pooed my face, we got the bad news. That Vanwell was Van-Unwell. The mechanic hadn't even put it up on the hoist, as when he'd turned the key in the ignition, lots of smoke came out of the exhaust. We had noticed that when we started up the van in Canberra the other day but had put it down to the fact it was so cold as it cleared after a few minutes. He advised us that it would fail it's roadworthy check because of this so he didn't bother and didn't charge us which was very kind! We drove the van back and started to brainstorm our options. We were both very subdued for the rest of the day. This was a big blow as we had been counting on selling the van and making some money to top up the travelling fund. The mechanic said it was worth trying to sell it to someone as a project. We've only got a couple of weeks left in Aus and didn't want it to get in the way of seeing more sights. If it doesn't sell, then we could always sell it to the scrap yard a day or two before we fly out and make a few hundred dollars. None of this was ideal. The beauty of buying a van rather than renting is that you recoup most of what you spent on the van back when you sell it. Now that this wasn't an option, and that Vanwell being scrapped was a big possibility, we both felt extremely deflated. We had imagined selling him
on to a couple or some friends who could carry on the journey, taking him to places we hadn't had the chance to visit, and carrying on the story. We had to come to terms with this and snap out of it pretty quickly as we had a road trip to go on and some amazing sights still left to see. I guess we always knew this could happen with backpacker vans and this was a risk we took, but after we'd poured so much of ourselves into building a home, it all seemed rather sad.
Tuesday 5th July
We awoke bright and early, determined we were going to make the most of our last couple of weeks in this great country. We packed up the van, had a shower at Zoe's and as we were about to set off, the heavens opened. We jumped in the van and the rain got heavier. We hit the freeway and the rain got heavier still. The visibility was almost zero and for the second time this week, we both felt pretty upset. We arrived at Bells Beach, arguably Australia's most famous surf beach, but because of the weather there was no one out. We headed back to the town of Torquay and resigned ourselves to a chores day indoors, we weren't going to see much of the Great Ocean Road with rain like this. So I find myself in the Board Riders Cafe, drinking endless cups of coffee and chai, using their wifi and writing up the last few days. The only thing left to do was to work out where to park up tonight, but Vanwell had already decided this himself as his battery was completely flat when we returned. Turns out Will left the lights on. With night drawing in and no wheels till dawn (when we could call the roadside assistance) we walked into town for Thai and wine.
Wednesday 6th July
Time to hit the Great Ocean Road. We awoke in the carpark behind the surf shop and eagerly awaited the roadside assistance bloke. He rolled in round 8ish and had Vanwell alive and kicking in no time. Will insisted on checking all the beaches in the area for surf, he said it was because we needed to drive the van solidly for at least half an hour and this was the most logical thing to do. However the gloomy weather and onshore winds ruled out surfing so we headed out of Torquay and joined the Great Ocean Road west. Our first tourist stop was Split Point Lighthouse, made famous as it was the lighthouse in 90s kids show 'Going Round the Twist'. We had to kill half an hour in a near by coffee shop where Will found a book of poems about surf breaks around Australia.
Suitably caffeinated we met a delightful tour by a local lady who told us some fun facts, such as the outside of a lighthouse gets narrower the higher up it gets but the inside remains at the same width throughout. One of the keepers when it was an oil lamp was meant to stay with the lamp all night to ensure it didn't burn out. However the clever little fellow would set it alight then go down the local pub. He would then keep an eye on the flame through a small hole he had made in the side of the lighthouse directly inline with the pub. LEGEND!
We carried on, stopping for obligatory photos under the start of The Great Ocean Road archway and spotted the house on a pole. We arrived in Lorne around lunchtime. Will spotted a wave and it was a point break meaning I could be on photo duty. I got a few good shots and he got a few good waves, then I headed to town for a wander.
We went up to the viewing point in town then went for dinner at the Lorne Hotel. We had scouted out a place to sleep earlier in the day and sure enough it was a perfect spot out of view from the road and right by the sea!
Thursday 7th July
We awoke early and made a warming breakfast of porridge in the rain but safely dry under the back door of the van and sheltered by a tree. The waves were breaking over the reef close by, so close in fact I got up in the night to check we were not about to start an unexpected voyage into the deep blue. We decided to drive up the hill to Erskin waterfall 10km inland from Lorne. After being greeted with two drizzly walking options, a 10min return to the viewing platform at the top and 2hour return route to the bottom, we were back in the van after 11 minutes heading back towards the ocean.
The coast line was rugged and dramatic, this was heightened by the large swell rolling in from the south west and the low calculated clouds eagerly waiting for their moment to drench the unexpected tourist in a brief moment they dared to set foot outside their vehicle. We pulled up in a town called Apollo Bay for a walk about and more importantly lunch. I think in summer this place would be full of life but today it was fairly sleepy and the gloomy weather wasn't really helping the town live up to its postcard. After a quick coffee to warm up, we found a brewery at the end of a stretch of shops. We couldn't think of anything more perfect and practically ran in due to a mixture of gathering clouds and childish excitement. We sampled a range of their cider and beer then left with a selection of bottles. Funnily enough only one of the beers was made there, the rest were from a brewery further down the coast made by a bunch of surfers who had seduced Will with their packaging.
On our way we grabbed a couple of fresh Lobster rolls and parked up by a stormy harbour just out of town to eat them. We hit the road and a few hours later after a long windy dirt track arrived at Wreck Beach. The couple who viewed our van tipped us off about this place as it is well off the beaten track and usually deserted. It was a remote lonely stretch of coastline where many ships had met their watery grave. Old rusty anchors are all that remain sticking up from the rocky reefs like headstones. The gloomy weather for once really added to the scene. We walked about 15mins west then saw our first of the anchors (The Marie-Gabrielle Anchor) half lost in the reef. A second (The Fiji Anchor) was visible 10mins down the beach however it involved a treacherous run along the sand in between waves to avoid getting very wet as the waves rolled in and splashed against the cliff.
Next up was arguably the Great Ocean Roads headline act, 'The 12 Apostles' a set of rocky stacks out to sea that run along the coast and glow in the morning and evening light. The best time to come was at sun set but as we hadn't seen the sun for about three days the prospect of catching a dramatic sunset seemed slim.
We convinced ourselves the stormy weather made them more dramatic and it was probably better to see them like this. We both seemed happy with this lie and headed to the near by village of Port Campbell for really good fish pie and to find a place to park up for the night.
Friday 8th July
We awoke on our private peninsular after a fluke turn off the night before and drove off to catch first light back at the apostles. Thankfully conditions were much better than last night and we got a bit of a light show as the whispy leftover cloud turned pink in the morning glow. We saw people down on the beach to the east of the look out, at the foot of two of the rocky stacks named Gog and Magog.
We took a quick hike down the Gibson steps and had a morning stroll on the sand. It's amazing how much these limestone stacks change size and shape as you walk around them.
After a quick cliff-top breakfast, we spent the rest of the morning carrying on west, stopping at all the main sights. Firstly the inlet called Loch Ard Gorge. The story goes that a ship was wrecked here after a three month voyage from England back in 1878. A deck hand called Tom Pearce (15yrs) and a passenger called Eva Carmichael (17yrs) were the only survivors who had drifted in the currents and got washed up in this natural gap in the coast. Pearce saved Eva from the ocean and then climbed out of the gorge to get help. It was a pretty little spot with rich orange and yellow cliffs and deep green and blue water emerging from the white wash at the entrance.
Next stop was a large natural arch creatively named The Arch, carved by the sea over millions of years. The swell looked pretty busy continuing its handy work on the arch so we left it to its work and carried on west. Next was another arch called London Bridge. Until 1990 it consisted of two large arches jutting out into the ocean. Visitors used to be able to walk all the way to the end. However on 15th January 1990 a couple were mid way across when they heard a large cracking sound and noticed a lot of rock moving. They bolted onto the equivalent of the centre support and watched as the first arch crumbled away into the ocean below. There they stood on the worlds newest island, waiting to be rescued by helicopter a few hours later. Before and after shots below: (thanks to Onzle.com for the before image)
To be honest by the time we reached the Bay of Islands, (sometimes known as The Bay of Matrys) I was pretty 'rock formationed' out, but made the effort to get out the car in the rain as Fraser had said he preferred these to the apostles. However my nostrils were hit with a pungent smell as we opened the door, earning it the nickname 'The Bay of Fartyrs' We had made it to the end of the Great Ocean Road. Sure, it would have been better in the summer, sure it rained the entire time, but we'd had fun.
After an amazing hot shower in a leisure centre (ask and ye shall get) we hit the road, stopping for lunch and to watch some old boys surfing a reef break in Port Fairy, framed by rainbows.
We went for a walk around a pretty inlet and harbour the other side of the headland. The calm waters and dusk tones created some jaw dropping views that are some of the best we have seen on this road trip so far. The clouds on the horizon almost took on the form of distant snowy mountains.
We raced west, chasing the sun for as long as possible until the last light had gone and we were thundering along in darkness, occasionally passing huge trucks coming towards us at breakneck speeds. When we realised we were just 5 minutes form the border with South Australia, we obviously had to the put on the song 'South Australia' and sing along at the top of our voices. We pulled over for the night at 9. Made a chicken curry, did some star gazing, drank our new beers and went to bed.
Saturday 9th July
The aim for today was to make it to Adelaide in the morning. We woke up at 5.30, we had set our alarm for 6, but the clocks had gone back because we'd entered a new state. We snoozed till 6 then hit the road, getting an hours drive in before stopping to make a monumental bacon and egg sarnie. There really is nothing better than van life when you're sat in the middle of nowhere, eating bacon and eggs and listening to the sound of silence occasionally interrupted by a birds call, the bleet of a sheep, or as was the case this morning, the sound of gun shot. We presumed it was someone clay pigeon shooting but it could have been a mad man, looking to shoot some Poms so we hurried off.
We arrived on the edge of Adelaide round midday. It's a quaint little city laid out in a simple grid system and encircled by a big leafy park like a big green moat. We though the park marked the boundary of the city centre but later learned that was the boundary of the whole city. Adelaide has a famous market right in the centre so as it was nearly lunch time we headed there. It was a charming market located inside what appeared to be an old warehouse. The local Adelaidians were busy stocking up on groceries and fresh meat and fish whilst the aroma of fresh coffee hung in the air.
We had a wander then drove Vanwell up to north Adelaide where there appeared to be a lot of residential streets perfect for parking up for the night. There was even a free shuttle bus that not only picked us up just round the corner from Vanwell but also took us around all the key tourist sites in the city. We did a lap of the city then hopped off round the west end to have a wander.
Our wander eventually turned into a pub crawl and then something lovely happened. We found the best pub in Australia. It's hard to explain why but the Exeter Hotel was the first pub we have been in since we left England that actually felt like a proper pub rather than a kind of members club or betting shop that so many of Australia's drinking holes resemble. We settled in by the fire with a couple of pints and a packet of crisps.
That evening we had arranged to meet an Aussie guy called Shane who I had not seen in 10 years. We met working together at the Barnt Green Inn one summer, and he had since come back to Adelaide where he grew up, to open a bar called Proof. We went there and had plenty of gins, espresso martinis and the most amazing mushroom toasty. It was a lovely bar. It's sort of strange when you literally don't see someone in a decade. The only view you have of them in your head is aged 20, and it was awesome to catch up on the last 10 years! Unfortunately we forgot to take any photos so this will have to do.
The next morning we went for a swim and shower at the local pool. Brunch was at a place outside the city called Mister Sunshine (with a name like that how could we not go). Ironically it was pissing it down the entire time. We took a stroll along the river bank and visited the South Australian Museum and the Art Gallery of South Australia.
We loved our afternoon in the Exeter so much we went back to spend another afternoon of playing cards by the fire. Round 6ish we met Shane, his girlfriend Harriet and a couple of their friends Tyson and Sam at a wine bar over the road. After a couple of chosen bottles by Shane we all returned to the fire place at the Exeter for some ales and a very slow game of darts. We left at some point to get pizza and drank another carefully selected bottle, its great going out with a wine maker and a landlord. We said our goodbyes to everyone and set off in the direction of the van. Our route took us back past the Exeter that had a live band playing in the front room. We decided it would be rude not to drop in for a final pint.
Sunday 10th July
The following morning we were up early, dosed up on coffee and headed east on the inland route to Melbourne. We pulled up by a river guarded by Pelicans a couple of hours in for brekki. A few hours further we stopped by a lake in the middle of a nowhere town for lunch. Once the leafy hills and vineyards of the edge of Adelaide had disappeared into the horizon there was just hours and hours of flat farmland to drive through. There were a couple of things to punctuate the drive however. We pulled up next to a massive pink lake. At first we thought the evening light had arrived a bit early however on closer inspection it was in fact a pink lake. Apparently it's something to do with the algae.
The next thing to catch us off guard was a massive three storey high Koala, in the day I think it may have looked quite charming however they hadn't really lit it up well for night time viewing but they had decided to put red light in his eyes giving it an evil demonic appearance.
After a good six or so hours behind the wheel we spent our last night in a leafy woodland a couple of hours outside Melbourne and whipped up a shit hot macaroni cheese. We were going to miss van life when it was all over.
Monday 11th July
Our last breakfast was a very windy affair back at Torquay where we'd spent Christmas Eve. With no surf on the beaches we went looking for it in a museum.
It was now time to put the glad rags on Vanwell ready for a few viewings back in the city. We cleaned out the van, gave it a car wash, and lastly, removed the Hills & Waves logo :(
Our last night in Vanwell was eventful to say the least. We parked up in a quiet residential street around 11pm and went to sleep. In the middle of the night, I sat bolt up right. I could feel the van shaking and I sensed there was someone outside. I could see a guy peering through the windscreen, so I woke Will up and we waited, holding our breath. Once he'd gone, we decided to drive off and park some where else as it all felt a bit weird. We jumped into the front, started the engine and pulled away, only to hear a loud grinding and clanging noise from the drivers wheel. We couldn't believe our bad luck, we must have been clamped on our last bloody night. Will got out and saw that there was just a chain, not a clamp, and it didn't stop us driving, it just made a noise and a mess of the paint work. Not wanting to wreck the van the night before we were due to sell it, we attempted to get the chain off ourselves. When this didn't work, we called the breakdown assistance, and I finally got the guy to agree to send someone as we were pretty freaked out by this point. The guy came pretty quickly and as soon as it was off, we sped off into the night. We had no clue where to go as we really didn't want to go back to sleep again. We opted to go to the casino and while away a few hours before having some breakfast. It is arguably the most depressing place to spend time on earth between the hours of 4 and 6:30am.
Our last few days in Australia
In the morning we managed to sell the van for $1000 to a guy who had a mechanic friend to help him out with it. I also sold my surf board for $100. To reward ourselves for our sale we went to a cheese and wine place Zoe recommended called Milk the Cow. It's a cosy little place and was choca-block. We lurked outside waiting for a table then eventually lurked inside as it started raining. Once we were settled we couldn't decide between a cheese and beer tasting paddle or a cheese and champagne tasting paddle, so we ordered both.
We spent the rest of our time in Melbourne cycling up and down the seafront, eating and drinking.
As Helen was going to be in Rio for my 30th she gave me my present early. It was a half day barrister course with a shit hot coffee maker. It was out in the industrial suburbs of Melbourne and after walking past various garages and warehouses I found the place. It was set in a little warehouse and was full of old and new coffee machines and crates of beans. The teacher was really knowledgeable and obviously loved his coffee. I learnt all kinds of pub quiz info about coffee from its roots to how to make micro bubbles. Unfortunately without dropping a few grand on equipment I doubt I'll be using my new earned knowledge very soon but it was a great experience.
Our time in Australia had come to an end. Will was the first to leave on route home via the Philippines. My flight was a couple of days later over to Rio for the Olympics before catching up with Will back in the motherland. We were both very sad to be leaving Aus, but new adventures are beckoning us!
