The Great Ocean Road runs from Adelaide to Melbourne and that is the road I have been trippin’ along for the past two days. What an incredible road trip it has been so far. I picked my car up at Ace Car Rentals in Adelaide….the only rental agency that did not charge an exhorbitant one way drop off fee. I got a Rav4 and after all the wetwipe protocols were dispensed with…I was on my way.

My first overnight stop was Mount Gambier about 345km from Adelaide. It doesn’s sound to far, but the top speed on the ‘highway’ is 110km and most sections are between 70-80km. So it is about 4.5 hours travel time. I took my time and stopped at various spots en route for photo ops and leg stretches- no need to stop for food thanks to my padkos pack! My route was mostly along the Riddich Highway and took me to Murray Bridge, Tailem Bend, Coome, Keith, Padthaway and on to Mount Gambier. Mount Gambier is famous for its limestone, volcanic landscape and crater lakes. The Blue Lake, turns cobalt blue in summer, normally only between December and March. Saw the Leg of Mutton forest  crater and  the Valley Lake. The Blue Lake was beautiful…unfortunately it was very overcast, so I didn’t see the blue in all its glory, but I got enough to understand how special it is. This crater lake was created by a volcanic event about 4500 years ago. It is the main source of water for the town. Rainwater filters through limestone and replenishes the lake.

From there I went to the Umpherston Sinkhole, a dolomite sinkhole which now contains a manmade sunken garden. The sinkhole was so spectacular that I went back there after a rather blah dinner at the local inn. I was so glad I did…as I walked down, I saw my first possum. Too damn cute and a very kind lady gave me some apple to feed it with. The sun only sets around 9ish….so it was quite a wait to see the lights come on. But I was so rewarded with beautiful insect sightings (sadly no ladybirds), birds and possums aplenty. Eventually the lights came on and it was so special. Got back to my motel/hotel which was great! Spacious room and clean. I fell into bed at 10.30ish and blogged as much as I could to catch up. Thanks for all the comments and feedback so far!

This morning I got on the road just after 9am…took a slow drive back to the Blue Lake, but it was raining so no better sighting. My first stop was the Piccaninni Ponds….glad this is not in Africa! Essentially a wetlands and a huge pond….massive frogs and plenty birds in the area. Then I set course for Lorne, via Nelson, Portland and then onto Port Campbell to see the 12 Apostles. There was some incredible scenery along the way. I made numerous stops at lookout points to see the sights. It rained on and off most of the day, so some of the pics have rainspots all over them. From there to Warrnambool and then to Port Campbell. I drove through national parks, forests and rain forests. The massive blue gums along the way are so impressive.

At Port Campbell I decided to do a quick helicopter trip to see the 12 apostles…. which are actually only the 8 Apostles….but now only 7 remain standing. Just after we got airborne, bad weather closed in and we had to go back, so we only saw about 6 minutes of scenery. Kind of a blessing, because I had this dude…you know the ex-military know it all about everything who had to jabber and ask helicopter questions! To add insult to injury he kept holding up his camera in front of us. So not much in the line of good pics for me. Kudos to the helicopter company, because we got a 1/3 refund because the trip was cut short.

Then the rain set in and stayed set. The rest of the trip was quite hair raising, driving along a windy coastal road in torrential rain. Huge roadworks, stop and go’s and the rain made the trip quite long. The drive went through the Otway rainforests and hugged the coastline. The scenery was breathtaking. I will happily do this trip again, the scenery has exceeded my expectations a hundred fold. The farming areas look just like the Free state, the coastline looks like Chapman’s peak, the forests look like the Sabie forests. Beautiful beaches, rocky in places and sandy beaches in other areas. I think that the route is best enjoyed over a 4 or 5 day trip, to give you enough  time to explore and see everything. I finally drove into Lorne just after 6.30pm tonight.

Then I had the best dinner (apart from Mabel’s pasta). A seafront restaurant called The Pier, on the beach and I had a paella. Oh my word, delicious and humongous. Then I walked along the pier, had a great chat to Mom and Dad. Now in my hotel, blogging and then off to bed.

Tomorrow is the final short leg of the trip to Melbourne. I will pick Heidi up at Avalon airport at Midday. I have already spoken to Gary and Tommy on the phone…Brian Grobbelaar is also joining us. I also chatted to Trevor tonight…30 year catch up to happen on Saturday night. Watch this space…..