Entries about vic

The pictures tell most of the story...

Ok, you get the idea, there are more in the photo gallery...

We've covered alot of ground this week but the road has been spectacular and mother nature extreme. We landed at a free camp in Johanna and the temperature reached 40 degrees. By the time we hit Killarney the wind pushed 35 knots and the temperature dropped to under 20 degrees! The surf along the Great Ocean Road is huge due to the continental shelf and there have been a few occasions a freshly waxed surfboard has stayed dry (other than a few tear drops)...

Port Campbell is the closest town to the 12 Apostles heading south. We spent a few days here which was enough time to chill, have a paddle and take the kayak for a spin...

As we were leaving Port Campbell we met a spaniard who had been cycling from Darwin through central Australia. In the 6 months he had gone through 5 inner tubes and countless punctures. Johns (Juan) english was good enough to work out that he went through one more tube than planned and needed to get to a large town. We were happy to take him to Warnambool which was only 40kms away but meant the world to John. We stopped in at London Bridge on the way - you can see what a staple of rice and pasta and cycling 100 miles per day will do; John was lean when he started and he's lost another 8kgs!

Time for a wildlife theme... Endangered plovers have been spotted on a few of the beaches which is pleasing to see. The first shot shows how well camouflaged they are amongst the seaweed. Can you see them?

We have never seen so many finches and wrens, especially Blue wrens. I couldn't resist adding one for my Nan, her favorite bird

We have learnt so much about traveling Australia in such a short period of time, thanks mostly to all the grey nomads who are willing to share their stories (whether you ask or not). We have really enjoyed their company.

We next hit the limestone coast bound for South Australia.

After a slow morning on Mystery Bay and meeting other young nomads from Perth (heading in the opposite direction) it was time to continue further south. Our plan was to get to Bermagui but we got as far as Wallaga Lake, a gem of a place for kiting, up there (dare I say) with Old Bar! The inlet is waist deep at middle tide and you can ride out to the mouth to hit the waves. The NE wind was up 25 knots, perfect to get a good session out of the system!

Next stop was Merimbula, another inlet town protected on the south side from the NE winds.

We took the kayak, surf board and dive gear down to the river and made our way out to the ocean. The views were spectacular...



We could have stayed all afternoon but it was time to hit the road again, this time leaving NSW & heading into VIC. First stop, Lake Tyres. 4 hours from Melbourne and what felt like a lifetime from civalisation (for Jen anyway). We found an interesting "free camp" site in our camping guide book. 16kms down a dirt track and "interesting" turned into "Wolf Creek scary". But... by 7pm with the sun threatening to set we decided to stay. Thankfully the only creeper overnight was a huntsman the size of a taranchula!

By Friday afternoon we hit sunny Albert Park, Melbourne to spend time with good friends Mick and Chelsea Tobin. We jumped on our new bikes and followed Mick as he showed us around... Tobin Tours thoroughly recommended

Jen suggested we take a break and as luck would have it, in front of a women's beach volleyball match...


A little boys time was spent learning to kitesurf on St Kilda beach. Mick was a natural...

It will be hard to leave Mick and Chelsea, thanks for the memories guys!

The slight rush through east coast VIC is to get to Queenscliff, Cottage By the Sea by Monday. After this we will take more time to coast around starting with the Great Ocean Road