Saturday 21 July 2012

Melbourne - Lakes Entrance Victoria

21 July 2012 - Spent last evening with Wendy and Narelle  Stapleton - schoolmates from Woomera like 46 years ago and we haven't seen each other since. Had a wonderful catch up and if your ears were burning you know why lol We went to a restaurant in Williamstown and I ate half a cow covered in 3 gallons of pepper sauce.  I really enjoyed the evening and thank you again for the good time and the bed for the night.  Narelle took me to the beach in the morning for a bit of a walk around and some sight seeing. The ship below is moored at Williamstown and it was suggested that Wendy do a Cher impersonation but it was late and we couldn't "turn back time"...groan.



I set off late morning heading for Lakes Entrance. It was quite sunny and warm and extremely pleasant but got grayer as the day progressed - no rain though. Passed through Traralgon and Bairnsdale but the highway by passed a lot of the towns. All beautiful green farming country but only one "must have" photo opportunity.


Nice little drumstick on that
Didn't get in to Lakes Entrace till after 5 and it was already getting dark so will explore tomorrow.

Total Roadkill #35            Mileage # 330.7

Thursday 19 July 2012

Apollo Bay Victoria to Melbourne Victoria

20 July 2012 - Stayed at the YHA Eco Hostel at Apollo Bay - very nice - slept well. It's pouring with rain and very foggy so I won't be doing much sightseeing. Headed off towards Lorne and Torquay on winding tight roads. All beautiful and picturesque in spite of the bad weather. I was in Melbourne by about 1 pm so have stopped at a food strip and eaten and am updating this blog in the carpark - the wonders of modern technology hehehe. Spending tonight with Wendy and Narelle Stapleton - from old school days in Woomera about 300 years ago and I am sure none of us have changed a bit ......or at least not me lol   Yeah...right!!

There was a lot of nice spots along the stretch of the Great Ocean road I travelled today..Cape Patton was one of the best that was actually visible in the foggy conditions.




No roadkill to add to the total...too wet....guess they all stayed in their burrows etc. Mileage today is 195.9 km  Roadkill total 29

Mt Gambier SA to Apollo Bay Vic via the Great Ocean Road

19 July 2012 - left Mt Gambier about 9 ish after a freezing cold night without much sleep. First stop was Portland Victoria....not a particularly appealing town.
Portland Vic
Next passed through Codrington Wind Farm - never heard any of the whooshing noise that people say make them ill but I could have cloth ears :)
Codrington Wind Farmn
Then it was on to Port Fairy - very pretty and I would have liked to spent a bit more time there. It appears and Irish Jesus moors His boat there lol

Port Fairy
Next stop was the Bay of Islands - I thought this was the best sight of the day - much better than the Apostles.
Bay of Islands
Next on to the Bay of Martyrs - also impressive. As you can see the weather was delightful.

Bay of Martyrs Victoria

We could have used some of these signs (in reverse) when driving in USA - coming out of car parks was a dangerous time.


You pretty much have the picture now - the day was spent getting in and out of the car
 and nearly getting blown away. Quite tired now. The last part of today's travel was through some mountains on very winding roads and even though I was driving I started to get travel sick. This is something I usually save up for when I'm a passenger and until I reached my teens I  used to share my affliction with everyone else in the car - when it happens it happens - sorry guys.  When I looked at my petrol gauge and saw that I was on Empty I felt r-e-a-l-l-y sick. No towns for miles and miles and it was  late and I was getting worried. Finally I came to a one- shop town and luckily they had a bowser....$1.86 a bloody litre. I got $20 worth and continued on...swearing loudly (once I was out of earshot)

I saw a herd of emus and a flock of  alpacas and a row of sheep and a family of cows but the two things I never saw were the ones they kept warning me about lol


I did see a lot of dead roos....one enormous one....thought it was a damn bear lol. It was black......fresh and bloody ....yuk. 15 new roadkills today

Apllo Bay looks beautiful ....will explore tomorrow. Staying at the YHA Eco Hostel - very similar to the one I stayed in in Iceland. Very very nice and only $30 per night.
12 Apostles - actually there's 9 - 3 ran away. This picture would not go into the right spot so it can bloody stay here

Total roadkills #29    Mileage today # 386.8

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Mount Gambier , South Australia

18 July 2012 -  Woke to a very cold morning  - 4 C and very soggy out from lots of rain. Went to Telstra first up because I couldn't get my I Phone to show up on my laptop so I could use the wi-fi. Last night I "stole" some wi-fi from an unsecured connection nearby but it was very very slow and kept dropping out, Took forever to do my blog. A little geeky guy at Telstra pressed this and that and got it to work in no time. I consider myself fairly computer savvy but he made me look like the dill he assumed I was lol.  Anyway all good now and working great.

Then I went to the Blue Lake which today was "Fifty Shades of Grey"...mwahahaha. I walked around the edge of the crater which was 3.8 km. Got mostly around before it rained  again and the coffee and cookies at the end were scrumptious. To my non-Aussie friends the Blue Lake is a water catchment in an extinct volcano which is the main water supply for the regional city of Mount Gambier.
Blue Lake


I also went to the Umpherston Sinkhole. Mt G has got many limestone caves under it and this was one that collapsed (a long time ago) and the big hole is now a beautiful garden. I don't want to live here in Mt G - wouldn't sleep nights waiting to be swallowed up by a collapsed cave :(  Also saw the Cave Gardens - another big hole but pretty garden and waterfall

Umpherston Sinkhole

By the time I finished Blue Laking and sink holing  the weather was so bad - bucket loads of rain then hail - I thought I might just give up and go to the movies. Just then the sun came out and the afternoon looked promising so I took off for a drive to Port MacDonnell. - magnificent coastline and rough seas - loved it. I drove aimlessly around and relied on miss smarty pants GPS to get me home but she took me on a wild goose chase along unpaved roads with bloody big potholes that nearly swallowed my little (now very dirty) car. Forgot to have lunch so will go out soon to the pub for an early dinner.
Port MacDonnell

Wahhh....so dirty..bloody GPS mole

I've booked into a hostel in Apollo Bay for tomorrow night and so tomorrow I travel the Great Ocean Road.
Looking forward to it.

Total Road kill # 14             Today's mileage - 120.8 km

Victor Harbor to Robe to Beachport to Mt Gambier

17 July 2012 - Reluctantly set off on my trip. The reluctance was fear generated because I was going solo but once I got going all was good. The  drive today went really well - not much traffic at all . Through Strathalbyn down to the Wellington ferry it was beautiful - all green grass and blue skies. HOWEVER - once I hit Meningie the rain started and the wind blew and the fog appeared and it got soooo coooold. Had one nasty close shave with a grey nomad towing a caravan. We were the only two vehicles on the road which was long and straight with a 110 kph speed limit. My friend was doing 90 so as I drew level with his tow bar as I overtook, he started floating out over the white line forcing me off into the dirt. Was quite scary and the old ticker did a double beat for a while. I shouldn't make comments about grey nomads because if I didn't dye my hair I would be one too lol

The road trip musical accompaniment to my really bad singing was Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton and it was quite clear that it was just as well I was alone.

 On this journey I've decided not to count VW Bugs - I'm going to take a leaf out of Lee's book and count roadkill. There were some dead things I couldn't even recognise - one thing looked like E.T. when he was sick (but no heart light lol)  Roadkill = 12         Distance   468.3 Kms

Beachport Jetty - I didn't even want to get out the car - pouring down lol
Wombat Country - maybe this is what the mysterious road kill was

Monday 16 July 2012

16 July 2012 - Well the car is just about packed and there may be room in there for me . I might buy a "bubble" tent along the way....we'll see how cold the nights get first lol. May be motels and hostels all the way. I've updated my RAA to "super dooper" and checked my ambulance cover applies in all states and bought a map. I have a GPS as well so hopefully won't get too lost. Gordon McGnome has been packed and ready to go for two days now. Pity he can't help with the driving - his legs are too short and he can't drive a manual.


By the time I packed my Computer and Kindle and Bluetooth and I phone  and Camera and Binoculars I needed another bag just to store all the plugs and chargers in lol.

Well - I hope to be up early and hit the road first thing. Day one I plan to go to Strathalbyn - Wellington - Robe - Mt Gambier but may stop along the way. I really haven't seen much down that way and I hear that Beachport and Robe are really worth seeing so who knows where I will end up.

Sunday 15 July 2012

Road Trip !!! Yay!!!!!

15 July 2012 - Well, in Victor Harbor it is cold and wet and continuing to rain. I decided it might be a good time to go visit Lee in Brisbane as my operation isn't till September 11 th. So far - in the space of one day - the trip to Briz has grown from a quick fly or train trip up and back sometime in August to a road trip starting the day after tomorrow  to Mt Gambier - then the Coast road and up the east coast. Bit scared but very excited as this will be a solo trip. No Lee to navigate!! Ah well - it's another adventure and I will keep this blog updated for those who are interested.
My Chariot awaits

Victor Harbor

March 2012 - Have been living in Victor Harbor, South Australia,  for the last few months and loving it.  Loving the scenery the slow way of life and the long walks around Granite Island and the Bluff. I've seen whales and penguins and dolphins and various seabirds - all beautiful and exciting to see. I've been working as a taxi driver ( yet another new career) but am currently waiting for an operation for a double inguinal hernia. This was a gift from that nasty bug I got in New York - all that coughing popped a few bits that should be unpoppable. Also the virus left me very very very tired and after 6 months home am only just feeling that I'm getting on top of it.