Melina Magdalena
(c) 2008
Yup! One month into 2008 already, and one month since last I posted... I got home yesterday after three most wonderful weeks with my Honey - one week here in Adelaide, one week on the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne, one week in Melbourne. T'was excellent.
So this is one of those holiday posts that bloggers seem to indulge in from time to time. I didn't do a round up of 2007, as I spent New Year's Eve on the beach at Semaphore. And I've been too busy since. There's a lot happening. It's going to continue to be a most excellent year.
Perhaps this will be the year to learn some more about blogging - images, artwork, links to other blogs, etc. - perhaps?
Here we go with the post proper.
GOOLWA and THE COORONG
We left Adelaide for Goolwa and the Coorong, after a quick trip to the Gepps Cross Sunday Market to stock up on fresh fruit and veg. In hindsight we didn't see much of the Coorong - it certainly wasn't the Coorong of my childhood, with massive flocks of birds on the water. I was reminded again and again of the warnings issued on behalf of the women of Kumarangk, that the Murray will dry up if a bridge is built . We didn't cross the bridge. I haven't been to Hindmarsh Island since it was bridged.
On our way to the Coorong, we walked across a large salt pan! Honey directed me to a "bush site" where we could pitch our tent and camp for about $5. I hadn't been camping for quite a few years, and was a little nervous, but we got the tent up with no hassles whatsoever, went for a walk through the dunes, and got back in time to cook our dinner on her little butane-fueled camping stove.
Our walk was uphill and downhill and we met a red-bellied black snake which was soaking up the late afternoon sun beside the path. When I say "met" I mean the poor creature was inadvertently kicked by Honey, and screamed at by a terrified me. We looked it up later and indeed, these snakes generally slither away at provocation - thanks be to the Goddess.
I worried all night she'd been bitten and didn't know it and I'd wake up to find her dead beside me. But she was fine, and got me up in the early morning hours to go outside and see the awesome Milky Way as it careened its way above us. I didn't sleep again after seeing that sky. My mind was full of gratitude and wonder.
NELSON and GLENELG RIVER
Next day, we drove through Mt Gambier and stopped at Nelson, on the border. The caravan park was chokkers, but the lovely woman who ran the place, gave us the option of the last tiny tent site, or a spot in the "overflow". Seeing that it was lush with green grass, and hedged in for privacy on three sides, we chose the overflow. We felt very blessed.
We went paddling up the Glenelg River for an hour or so the next morning. On our way back, we heard the rich male voice, guitar and penny whistle we'd thought we had imagined the previous evening, as we walked down to the seashore. We looked to the opposite bank where a man was singing outside his combi van. The woman who hired out the canoe to us said she wished he would stay there forever for her to listen to.
SAWPIT PICNIC GROUND
We stopped at the Nelson Tourist Information Bureau to ask about a good campsite to go to next. It was very hot, though we were very lucky with the weather. It cooled off every night. Sawpit Picnic Ground looked to be a better option than the other two sites near Portland, because although it wasn't on the beach, it had water and loos.
We stayed two nights at Sawpit, because it was so lovely.
CAPE BRIDGEWATER
We swam nearly every day in the ocean. I haven't done that since I was a child. It was amazing to reconnect with that part of me. My favourite swim was when we drove down to Cape Bridgewater. This is a small town nestled in some steep hills. We bought scones at the kiosk, and went swimming after lunch. The water was cool and about shoulder high, with continual waves that we could jump and dive under to our heart's content.
PORT FAIRY
It was in Port Fairy that we spent one half-hour on a public library computer, checking our emails. Honestly, I hardly missed my computer the whole time we were away.
Our evening meal at Port Fairy was, of necessity, hot chips and salad by the beach. It was a total fire ban situation. We were entertained during breakfast at Sawpit that morning by the Firies who rocked up in their engine to put out the illegal fires at several campsites. A van full of young, male German backpackers had made a fire the night before in the concrete fireplace, and not doused it sufficiently. They were still asleep when the Firies turned on the hoses. But there were some Aussie campers at Sawpit too, who really ought to have known better.
We walked along the foreshore to the lighthouse at Port Fairy that evening. On the rocks around the lighthouse, we saw a soft, brown wallaby. It was trying to evade us, but we hadn't seen it until it was almost to the water.
WARNAMBOOL
After two nights at Sawpit, we drove past the Codrington Wind Farm and on to Warnambool, where Honey has some friends, and we stayed with them overnight. It felt odd to be in a bed in a house, but it was nice. The winds of Warnambool played havoc with the windmill outside our window that night, and at one point a weird whistle was created when the wind blew into the empty fireplace in our room, and woke us up. Warnambool is where the Great Ocean Road proper begins, but I didn't know that at the time. There was much more in store. I can't remember where the Petrified Forest was, but we stopped and looked at it, as well as the Blowhole nearby. This place will be most remembered for its flies, its impressive scenery running a close second.
PRINCETOWN and PORT CAMPBELL
On our way to Princetown, we stopped at Port Campbell, where Honey spent several summers in a row as a teenager and young adult. We looked at the Bay of Martyrs, what's left of London Bridge and the Grotto that afternoon, but saved the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge for the evening, after the tourist buses had gone home. LOCH ARD GORGE
We were there at sunset. We had the beach all to ourselves for twenty blissful minutes.
JOHANNA
Our next campsite was at Johanna. We were flummoxed by the two Johanna's - Red and Blue. It turned out these were roads that joined up at the bottom. The campsite was enormous and well populated, though not crowded. It had no water for campers, but there were toilets. Unfortunately, not too far away was a large crowd of yobbos who kept us all up with their raucous behaviour, far into the night. We didn't rev our engine as we drove out the next morning, though we thought about it. We wanted to drive up to Lavers Hill that night to see the glow worms, but the dirt and gravel Blue Johanna Road was something of a deterrent. However, Red Johanna Road was paved, and drove us smartly back up to where we needed to be - this is something for future campers to bear in mind.
We splurged that day and visited the Otway Fly Treetop Walk, for $19.50 each. We arrived at 6:00pm, and I wish we'd had a couple of hours to spend, but unfortunately, the park closed at 7:00pm. We climbed on the steel walkway, and up the tower, which was scary for me, but scarier for Honey, who doesn't like heights. The ranger picked us up as we were strolling through the trees, and transported us on his small car to the exit. But this place was also awesome, with great signage and amazing wilderness. 
It was another total fireban night, so we ate at a Roadhouse and sat around reading, waiting for the sun to go down. It still wasn't dark enough for glow worms when we reached Melba and Lavers Hill, so we had a game of Scrabble in the car. Eventually it got dark enough and off we traipsed, down a path. We spoke to a vet who works at the Warnambool Abattoir. He told us they're always on the lookout for workers, and that we should advise our students (newly arrived refugees and migrants) that if they want work, Warnambool's the place to be.
I loved the glow worms. I wonder what they look like in the light?
APOLLO BAY
Did we spend a night at Apollo Bay? I can't quite remember how it went, after that. We went swimming there, and I had the most excellent pot of Earl Grey Tea, and I know we went to Lorne the next day, so we must have stayed somewhere that night. All in all, we put up the tent and the air mattress about 7 times in 8 days. We got very efficient at it, and it never stopped being fun.
AIREYS INLET
Our last night was at a caravan park at Airey's Inlet. I know this was on Sunday night, because Honey and I had a discussion about traffic, and decided it would be better to drive up to Melbourne on Monday, rather than through the end of weekend madness. It was a good decision. We stopped and asked at the caravan park, whether there was a tent site available, despite the notice outside that told us there was no room at the inn. Lucky for us, there was one spot left, and it was very nice. Some teenagers were in the tent next to us, and gave us a long rendition of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" into the early morning hours. Listening to them - a boy/girl couple plus a male friend - Honey and I made a decision never to bicker and whinge to one another the way that girl whinged to her boyfriend.
Airey's Inlet is the place where "Round the Twist" was filmed. In the evening we walked along the top of the cliffs, because the tide was in. In the morning, we walked down along the beach and the rocks. At some points we had to wade through the water, to get to the next section. It was a lovely adventure to have at the end of our journey. BELLS BEACH
On our way to Melbourne via Geelong, we stopped at Bells Beach to watch the surfers. This photo is not at Bells Beach, but it is a good photo to represent the multiple layers and diverse views of the ocean that we were treated to on our journey up the Great Ocean Road. Highly recommended!
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