Finally pulled up stumps from our riverside camp in the relie's backyard in Warrnambool, we headed along Australia's beautiful "Great Ocean Road". This stunning stretch of coast spans from Warrnambool to Lorne and just beyond to Torquay. We zigzagged between the coastal road and some amazing trails on the back hills of the Otway Range.
Before further details of the road, the boat reno that Matt and his Uncle Bill did at the end of our stay deserves a mention as they did an amazing job turning a has-been duck boat into a stunning replica of its old self. They sanded, steamed, varnished, and painted it back to life for the upcoming car show that Bill already had his 1950s Standard ready for.
The highlighted map of our Great Ocean Road stretch looks like a roller coast ride as we would face the hoards of tourists on tiny roads enough to see the highlights of the Grotto and the 12 Apostles but then venture
to the quieter highlands. There's so much beauty on offer in the area but the tranquillity of the the fire trails and country roads is much more palpable at this time of year.
We arrived in Melbourne just in time to spend a night with my good friend, Megsy, and her growing brood with 2 month old Zach joining his big brother Finn in the festival family. So Matt caught up with his childhood friend as I stayed with Megsy and we both enjoyed, I mean endured, our first night apart in 12 months.
Back together and with a forecast heatwave about to hit Melbourne, we decided to hop the ferry to Tasmania the next day! Luckily we scored the only day of the week with vehicle space and treated ourselves to a cabin for the 9 hour journey - it even had a shower!
Clean and reinvigorated for bush travel, we have relished in what Tassie has to offer - beautiful free camping with noone around, campfires again (fire ban on the mainland since 1 Dec), fresh fish, cherry season, and friendly people!
Only a week in to our stay and we've ventured up the north east segment and down the coast with similar plans as the Great Ocean Road where we zigzag from coast to inland. South Croppies Point was beautiful and Matt caught us dinner on our hilltop rocky ledge. We also got to see the Firies clear our path from a fallen tree near the Bay of Fires, and enjoy the white sands of Wineglass Bay in the Freycinet National Park.
Stay tuned, Tassie has allot more to come!
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