More fun in Victoria

EmmyLou


Castlemaine Wall


On the Road to Ballarat


Sovereign Hill Candles


Sovereign Hill Soldiers

I had to look back to see when I wrote last and where we had been so I could bring you up to date. But first, drum roll please, we have officially been on the road now for 61 days. I find that amazing. In some ways it feels like forever, and other ways we have only just begun. Traveling is hard work. We are now trying to stay in one place for at least two nights, it is much easier than setting up and taking down each day, and give us more time to explore the local area.

After a lovely rest day in Port Fairy we traveled down the Great Ocean Road to Port Campbell, a great base to see the Twelve Apostles, the sandstone monuments just off the coast. We saw them last year and we wanted to see them again, with better cameras. (This is where Steve’s cameras died last year). We were driving along, and saw a sign for the entrance for the park of the Twelve Apostles. Now I don’t know how we missed this last year, but we did. The Visitors center is boring, but you take the boardwalk along the cliff and there you have a great view of the rock formations. Maybe what we thought what we saw last year were the Apostles, but really weren’t. Who knows, but we have now traveled the Great Ocean Road in both directions, east and west.

After leaving Port Campbell, we drove east through the Otway National Park, stopping at the Otway Fly, a 25m tree top walk, with a 45m spiral lookout tower. It was really cool, as well as cool and drizzling. This is the second tree top walk we have done, it was much larger than the one we went to on Tamborine Mtn. As we walked through the ancient fern gully, they had a dinosaur display that was very interesting. Reminded us of Jurrasic park. The walk was very interesting, and at each level a description was given at what you should see it that level of the forest. After leaving the Fly, we drove down the steepest, curviest, windiest, narrowest public road we have been on yet. They called it a two-lane road to be carefully shared with logging trucks. We called it a 1 1/2-lane road, hoping like hell we don’t see a logging truck. But after 14K we hit a bigger road, just as curvy and windy but wider. After driving these two roads, then the Great Ocean Road from Apollo Bay to Lorne, we decided we had had enough, were just too dizzy, so that was where we spent the night. Got an interesting room, which was good because the heavens opened up that night.

Off the next morning to finish the Great Ocean Road, to Geelong to do some shopping, then up to Ballarat in the goldfield region for a few days. As day trips we went to Sovereign Hill, a recreation of the original mining settlement in Ballarat, much like Williamsburg although much smaller but more interactive, it is really well done. The next day to Daylesford, a renowned spa town because of its spring waters. Even if you aren’t interested in the spas, the town is very hip, loaded with cafes, shops and art galleries. Then we packed up and drove a very non-direct route weaving thru Mt Macedon, Hanging Rock, Heathcote and onward to Bendigo.

Bendigo is another gold town, and one that is still mining. The original pit was closed because of the water level, but now they have gone under and around the original pit and are still mining the gold. It is an interesting city, not what we expected, it has a very European flair, with its dark stone building, large fountain in the roundabout, a tram running down the center and we felt as though we could be in Paris. As a day trip we drove down to Castlemaine. It seems as though we are so far away from everything in theses towns but we are only an hour to two hours out of Melbourne, so that might be why some of these towns are so trendy, they get the weekenders. We went to a really good farmers market here. Not as big as what we were used to in Byron, but not bad considering its size. There were two microbreweries with their been, a couple of vineyards with their wine, two cheesemakers, a few olive growers, a couple of people selling plants and two vegetable growers, grass fed beef, pork and chicken were also offered. We stocked up for the week.

Now we are in Echuca, on the Murray River. Again, not what we expected, but much better. The river is full for the first time in ten years, the historic paddleboats are going up and down the river. Today is just going to be a lazy day, relaxing and enjoying the moment. Tomorrow we are going up to the Barmah State Park, on the Kingfisher cruise. It has been highly recommended by the locals, even the woman who cut Steve’s hair! After that, maybe up to Hume Lake to see it full. The weather is finally starting to get warm, yeah, back into shorts!