Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road has rightly been famed as one of the worlds most scenic drives.  I expected a beautiful meandering coast road and of course the famous 12 appostles, but was surprised to find great diversity with rich rainforest, pastoral land, wildlife and many incredible and remote rock formations out to sea. 

The 250 kilometers road sets out at Wanambool, where we stopped into the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village - a recreation of an 1850's seaside town.  It was bitterly cold and slightly raining – we were the only people there and it seemed like a ghost town.  The kids were able to climb through the sailing ships and wander the coble stone streets. 

Then we embarked on the Great Ocean Road.  The many different rock formations are awe inspring.  My favourite was the 'The Grotto', you could walk down a rustic stair case to the foot of a cave and watch the waves crashing in.  It was great for the kids to be here and see all this.  When they are older the erosion and continual change of the lanscape may mean that these rock formation will may only have a few lasting memoirs.  Only last year the rocks arch of famous 'Island Archway' had sucomb to the elements and fallen into the sea.  As they stand now, there are only 11 of the 12 apostles remaining, (one falling in 2005) and many years prior the 'London Bridge' had also party callapsed.  Even I felt amazed to see it all now.  Some of the rock titles now need description plaques because they no longer resemble their original namesake shapes.

At the 12 apostles we watched two little fairy penguins as they sat on the ledge of one of the apostles looking out to sea.  Meanwhile, Amy drops her precious Lamb through the lookout fence, almost plumbetting 45 meters to the wild sea below if it was not caught by a small ledge just within arms reach.  Phew.   One of many close calls with Lambie on our adventures. 

We camp midway in Otway National Park national park.  It was my birthday so we tucked the kids into bed and indulged in wine and goodies from our time in the Barossa Valley.  The campsite was a muddy bog, and we were inspired by a group of brave campers nearby who were walking the Great Ocean Road - it takes six days, the last few for them had been in the rain.
 

The next morning we had the company of a Koala in the tree outside our camp feeding her baby leaves while we enjoyed our toast and coffee.   On the road down to Cape Otway we saw more Koala’s in the trees.  It was the first time I had seen Koala’s in their natural habitat. 

On another first – we climbed to the top of Cape Otway lighthouse, the oldest surviving lighthouse in Australia perched on the top of towering cliffs.   Cape Otway is the most southerly point of our trip and it felt symbolic to climb the lighthouse there.  I wanted to stand along time and soak up the view, but a strong freezing wind was blowing - and the kids were a little scared, so the moment didn't last long.

It was a precarious adventure with three little twinkle stars.  Joshua was far too brave darting up the very narrow winding stair case and steep ladder.  Amy needed to be carried while Sam was petrified and froze a few times on the stairs.  We thought coming down to send Josh first, seeing he could climb on his own, but his little three year old adventure spirit meant he reached the bottom and just came back up again.  Leaving all three of us still stuck at the top – no progress made.   When finally all five of us where on solid ground we retreated from the chaotic escapade with devonshire tea at the lighthouse cottage. 

The Great Ocean Road then winds through coastal farmland and greenhlls.   From Apollo bay the road hugs the shore with narrow winding roads, and a vista around every bend.  After about 250km's of beauty we arrive in Geelong.   It was another magnificent part of OZ!

We are excited about the next chapter of our trip which is all about visting family and friends on the road to coming home.

The Grotto

Wine, Fine Food, and City Lights

Many of lifes great pleasures surround food, making the BarossaValley a picturesque and decadent adventure.   There are a series of small historic villages clustered around beautiful vineyards and farmland.   With my birthday only a week away we had a wonderful excuse to sample all that was on offer and choose our favourites to store away for a little party. 

The Barossa had a strong European influence, which I was soon to learn is common for the Adeleide region of South Australia.  The Germans were amoungst the first to settle in the Barossa area in the 1840's, escaping religious persecution in their homeland.  The tenacity and hardwork of these pioneers is inspiring.  We went to visit a tree which was the home of Johann Friedrich Herbig.  Very poor he lived in the tree with his wife and two of his sixteen children.  With great vision and hard work, he went on to be one the most influential men in his region.  One of many amazing stories.

I was suprised how much we enjoyed the Barossa with three litte twinkle stars.  Lovely scenic drives and some great family friendly wineries.  For those wineries too fancy, I would stay in the car with the kids, watching a dvd on he laptop, while John sampled the fare.  Then John sent me off to enjoy a cooking class at Maggie Beers studio kitchen.   Totally motivated to cook up a masterpeice on on the two working burners of my caravan stove!

We have come to expect amazing chance encounters on our trip.  We ran into a great old friend from Newcastle (Dan Cox) at Maggie Beer's farm who happened to drop into her store in a completely different part of the country at the same time we were.  I am sure God just has an amazing sense of humour lining these things up.

Then it was on to Adeleide, a unique city surrounded by parks and mountains.    Driving over the hills was a magestic entry to Adeleide.  One evening after having dinner with friends just out of town (the inspiring Matt and Kathi Weever), we drove over the hills at night and saw the spectacular city in the valley below covered in lights. 

We stayed very close to the centre of town, so John could ride his bike into the city, and took the children in on a bus, which was a great adventure for them.  We didn't find the city as family friendly as others we have been too.  There was not much for the preschool age in the museum or libraries.  And we were stalked by security in the art gallery after Amy climbed up on an 'artwork' which seemed to her like a great chair to sit on.

Our gorgeous Amy had her 2nd birthday in Handhorf to see the fairies at Misty Hollow.  Handhorf is Australia's oldest surviving german settlement.  Streets lined with shady trees, german cottages, cafe's, bakeries, and german food stores mostly run by the decendents of the original settlers.  For lunch we enjoyed a platter of german sausages!

While in South Australia John made connections with the Flow FM radio who have started playing Johns latest album 'Falling Awake' across their nework, reaching  the Yarra Ranges, Murrundindi, Barossa, Yorke Peninsula, Limestone Coast, Coober Pedy, Tennant Creek, Jabiru and the list goes on.   So greatful for such an amazing opportunity.

From here we journey south to the Great Ocean Road. 

Conquering the 'Nullabor' and breathing in the 'Eyre'

At 1,200 km's the Nullabor is vast and long.  The word means ‘treeless plain’ but betwen the nothingness there are a few adventures to be had.  Although our cars DVD player has broken, we made it across with our sanity intact.  I spent the time passing back food, colouring pencils, food, odd toys, and more food, while listening to Sam ask yet again 'How many more minutes will we get there'.

The first adventures was to visit the 19^th century ruins at Eucla, a town buried by sand.  Remains of the sandstone telegraph station built in 1877 are still there, half buried, and the kids had a wonderful time running around pretending to rescue all the people. 

Second exciting stop off was my first roadhouse shower.  The weather was too cold to strip down outside for our camp shower, but I was surprised to find that 3 dollars buys you 15 minutes of fabulous hot running water!   It is actually the longest shower I can ever remember having. 

Crossing the South Australian Boarder was a highlight.  Although again, I said farewell to my fruit and vege’s.  Some of which needed to be farewelled.  It is an odd experience, going through your fridge and pantry with a stranger checking for signs of life.   You find a rotting carrot, a half eaten orange, and something else unidentifiable so best really to hand it over. 

Final stop off was the Great Australian Bite to see the amazing cliffs drop into the oceans.  At head of Bight there are about 20 whales that live close to shore.  It is fabulous to see them rolling around, spurting water, and singing deep songs to each other.

When finally the Nullabor was conquered at ($2 a litre of petrol)  and we retreated down the Eyre Peninsula for a week, staying in little sleepy coastal villages.  While the Nullabor was a dry outback landscape, the Eyre Peninsula is rich green farmland, with hills rolling into the sea.  Here the sheep have the best view – reminded me of New Zealand.

Streaky Bay was a little haven where you could buy a very large block of coastal land for $80,000 or less.  Lots of development in the region with mining opportunities makes it a tempting investment opportunity.   Wonder if the banks here will lend money to a couple of travelling muso’s.

Just a little further south of Streaky Bay live Australia’s largest Sea Lion colony.  They looked like giant slugs laying on the beach.  Suddenly, one of them would come to life, waddle around to play with one of his friends.  They were affectionate creatures and liked to rub their noses together and cuddle each other with their flippers.  It really was a magnificent site.

Heading down the peninsula we stopped off at Murphy’s Haystacks …. yet another magnificent rock formation, but the kids just don’t seem to get tired of climbing all over them.  We just stand in awe of the age of our earth and it’s magnificent creation. 

 

At Lipson Cove we found a fabulous camp area on the beach, sourrounded by farms, the ruins of an old jetty, lots to explore on the beach, and a conservation island about 30m offshore.  One morning I took a walk on the beach to watch the sunrise (in my dressing gown).  There were thousands of birds on the island, lining up in formation and taking off in groups, soaring over my head.  It was stunning.   In the water below a dolphin was swimming back on forth.  The glow of sunrise was three sixty, with orange over the ocean in front of me, and pink in the sky on the green hills behind.    Then I returned to the caravan for the chaos of morning breakfast with the kids.

Last four days were spent at Mt Remarkable national park at the southern end of the flinders rangers.  John is missing gorges and mountains, so we are detouring there on our way to the Barossa.   Mmmmm…. Barossa, can’t wait.

John declares this his favourite type of holiday spot.  I remind him that we are on about the same latitude as back home in Newcastle, where we also have Gum tress, mountains and rocky creeks .  All this travel and he will still love to spend his time right where we live - good to know.

We have a map on the wall of our caravan where we have marked out our route, which also has pictures of Australian landmarks.   When Joshua saw the drawing of parliament house in Canberra he asked, ‘Mummy, is that a circus’.  I guess the shape of the roof and the flag on top does look a bit like a Big Top.   The political irony of his comment has kept us laughing for days.   

Meanwhile with the kids only carrying on the trip basic toys, and Amy not having a stroller for her dolls, she is carrying them around in a roasting pan.  Looking forward when we get home, and the kids enjoy resdiscovering their entourage of toys.  Thinking about home a bit more now.  But next up looking forward to the Barossa Valley, Adeleide and the Great Ocean Road, all in the next 2 weeks.

Ahh... The CITY!

Perth would have to be Australia’s most liveable capital city.  Small, clean and majestic with all the state capital trade marks - a cluster of iconic tower blocks, historic buildings, state museums, art galleries, and botanical gardens.   We had a chance to drive through the city at night and see the romance of the lights (not something you often get to do with three little twinkle stars in tow).  Definitely a place I will look forward to coming back to one day.   

We had sent John’s CD ahead to the radio station about a month earlier, and they happened to start playing it on air the very day we arrived!  Surely a sign that we are on the right path.  While in town John went to the station to prerecord an interview which will air in the next week or so.  He had a great time talking about the album and about being a song writer – living his dream.   

With the rain greeting us in Perth we spent the first few days in the library, museums, Scitech, and art gallery and DFO.  (Not sure that DFO actually fits the cultural category but still fun).   The highlight was the Perth Contemporary Art Centre where we all became part of an art work, dressing up in zebra pattern costumes of different colours, inside a giant blown up jumping cave, also decked out in zebra.   

The Perth Zoo was great value, and a fabulous experience for our little family – Elephants, crazy Orangatans, Tigers, Lions, Zebra’s, Rhino’s, Reptiles and all the Aussie favourites too. The rain managed to hold out for most of the day.

Finally with sunshine we hit the botanical gardens, with large parks for the kids to play and run.  Our brave Joshua injured his foot while attempting to go down a very tall firemans pole.  Poor little guy didn’t walk for three days, and limped for the rest of the week.  Amy was not happy to be sharing her stroller.

The highlight of our time in Perth was two days spent in Fremantle.   Tall ships lined the port, and yachts moored on the river.  The town was buzzing with art, music, markets and historic buildings.  It had a feel that reminded me of many European cities merged with Aussie coastal beauty.  John made some cash playing at the market bar there, so we enjoyed lived it up for a few days - a coffee on Cappuccino strip, Malaysian for lunch at the Shanghai Inn, where Sam learn to use chop sticks, fish and chips for dinner at Cicerello’s on the wharf.   I enjoyed a cooking class at the markets – some Kid free time. 

John visitied the Maritime Museum to see the plaque that Dirk Hartog left on Hartog island in 1616, along with shipwrecks from the Batavia and other amazing historic stories.  Tales of heroic survival beside  stories of great human suffering.  In the 1600’s Dutch explorers would come and chart the area looking for ships that had been lost in search of the spices found in South East Asia.   It is amazing actually that the west coast don’t speak Dutch, but the reports the early captains brought back were unfavourable – they always landed out of season and never really encountered WA’s resources or beauty. 

Eventually we had to leave the urban thrill of city life (or we would go broke!)   So we head inland and the take scenic wheatbelt drive on the way to Esperance.  It took us past Wave Rock, which looks like a giant wave about to crash into the surrounding bush.  The shape of the rock was carved out by water thousands of years ago.  It stands 15 meters high and stretches 100 meters wide.

Esperence is named after the French who were shipwrecked there in 1972.  The coastline is stunning.   We camped out of town at Cape Le Grand National Park and enjoyed a view of wild coastal scenery, rugged rocky peaks and crystal blue water.   The sand on the beach was so fine and white it was like salt when it was dry.  It also held it’s shape well.  The kids thought it was like snow, and we shaped it into balls and had sand ball fights and made a sand snowman. 

A side note for fellow travellers when the camp site sign says solar showers, don’t expect them to be even remotely warm in the middle of winter.

Time to leave Western Australia (goodbye 'DOME' coffee).  We are now at last heading east and our lap of the map is coming full circle.  Next stop, the Nullabor and South Australia.   

From bare feet to gumboots

Our chase of the infinite summer has come to an end, with the cold weather setting in, but we managed to catch a few last sunshine adventures….

Having missed the Great Barrier Reef because it was a bit costly to put us all on a boat to sail out to the reef islands, and we didn’t think the kids were up for it, we were excited to find ‘Ningaloo Reef’ on the opposite side of the country in WA.   This time the coral and marine life start just metres off the mainland.   It cost us only a few dollars for access to the national park to enjoy a day of snorkelling in safe tropical waters.  Once I became confident with the goggle and snorkel, it felt like I was floating across the reef.  The coral looked like giant cauliflower, or strange under water flower bouquets.  The fish were electric with colour and mesmerising to watch scurry around the reef.  

Heading further south to Coral Bay we took the boys Kayaking over the reef.   Late in the afternoon you could also hand feed fish in knee deep water.   They seemed enormous with shimmering blue scales.  One of them bit my hand while I was feeding him, later I found out they are called 'snapper' - and i totally understand why - his teeth left puncture marks and drew blood.   

I expected the WA coastline to be magnificent, and it is.  With the weather a little inclement it really creates a dramatic atmosphere.   The most amazing blow holes I have ever seen are just north of Carnarvon at Quobba.  This part of the coast has king waves and is famous to surfers around the world.   Too rough for us to enjoy a swim, although Josh went in – fully clothed, and was quickly dumped by a wave.  We camped here on the beach a few nights with a lighthouse on the headland and enjoyed a roaring campfire.  Seeing the lighthouse on at night left a big impression on Amy, who now talks about lighthouses often in her daily chatter. 

Shark Bay is world heritage listed and home to the famous dolphin bay of Monkey Mia.   We camped on the beach again, and went to Monkey Mia during the day to watch the dolphins play.  It was fabulous for the kids to see the dolphins in their own environment and get up so close.  John and Sam had the chance to hand feed them.  The feeding program is carefully controlled, only feeding the female dolphins – they are continually breastfeeding or pregnant so I can totally understand why they can do with the extra food.  They give them just a small portion of their daily nutrition requirement, so they continue to hunt for themselves, and teach their calves to hunt.   They breastfeed every 20 minutes!  Exhausting thought for anyone who has had a baby.

John has had his heart set on seeing ‘Natures Window’ in Kalbarri.   He had seen a picture in a magazine of a small family there, who were travelling OZ.  This photo had inspired the idea that it was time for us to go on the same adventure.  So of course we had our photo taken there too.

Geraldton signalled a return to civilisation –Bunnings and a real Target (not the country target kind).   We also enjoyed a catch up with a long time friend Alicia Conner and met her new husband. They are shortly moving to the remote town of Derby at the tip of WA.  We wish them the best on the next league of their life adventure. 

The Pinnacles are a massive collection of limestone rocks peeking though desert sand, it was like another world.  You are free to walk amongst them, and we decided with the three little kids the best way to enjoy the moment was a game of hide and seek.  A great memory.

It has been such a diverse two weeks - we have seen shipwrecks, wild emus, a skink, a thorny devil, shell crabs, star fish, coral reefs, blowholes, dolphins and amazing wildflowers.  Now sweaty days have turned cold and wet, arid ranges have turned into green rolling hills, bare feet have been replaced by gumboots, and picnics in the sun have been replaced with hot lunches in the caravan. 

Finally arrived in Perth now.  So ready to hit a city again!  They are already playing Johns music here on the radio, he has a radio interview scheduled for Friday, and is playing later that night.  Good things ahead.