The Ocean Road is Really Great!

Apollo Bay & Anglesea 30th March - 6th April

The Great Ocean Road was a lot more 'curly' than I recall. I didn't particularly like all the hills & tight bends that felt like went on for ever! We already know Gary is a just about a saint but he outdid himself coping with me saying "slow down, slow down" while at the next bend saying "hurry up & get us away from these hills, but slow down" all while manoeuvring the car & caravan. We were eventually rewarded by some of the most spectacular ocean & clifftop views you could imagine. You can't help but say "wow" when you see it.
We stopped at 12 Apostles visitors centre (there are now only 9 1/2 Apostles left but I guess that doesn't have the same ring to it).  After looking at the Apostles we had some lunch in the van. There is something quite satisfying about making & eating a fresh ham cheese & tomato sandwich & cup of tea in our own little home on wheels in a visitor centre car park.

We arrived at Apollo Bay & were directed to our site which was right at the end of the caravan park on a bit of a cliff on the edge of the sea. It was pretty cool looking out our door & watching the surfers & hearing the waves crashing. One morning there was a car parked there with a border collie dog (we found out later her name was Sugar) sitting next to the car. She didn't take her eyes off the group of surfers. One time a surfer caught a huge wave & off he surfed. Sugar watched & then ran down the bank through the bushes. Next minute, up she comes again, back on guard duty but she did come over to me so I could give her a pat.

Next day we went in to the town & walked along the shore. Still a bit cool to get our feet wet but was still nice to walk along the beach. Apollo Bay is also a fishing village so we had fish & chips on the wharf. We also discovered a Victorian delicacy called the 'South Melbourne Dim Sim' we had seen them advertised in the Warrnambool fish & chip shop but didn't take much notice. When I saw them again in Apollo Bay I asked what they were. The lady explained to me that they originated at the South Melbourne market & are now famous across Victoria. Of course we had to try them & they were very nice. About the size of a cricket ball & very tasty.

We decided to change our plan to stay a minimum of a week in each town & hug the coast all the way up to Queensland after already exhausting our minimal winter wardrobe. We stayed in Apollo Bay for two days before heading off to Anglesea for 3 days.
Angelsea was lovely & very close to the other popular seaside towns of Lorne & Torquay. Angelsea caravan park is huge! It was still school holidays in Victoria so was packed with families.
We went to Torquay & on the way called in to Bells Beach where the Rip Curl Pro surfing championships were on. We walked down a path as far as we could go before having to pay the entry fee. We could see a few surfers practicing but that was about it. Box ticked!
Spent the rest of the day in Torquay just wandering around the many surf clearance shops but not actually buying anything which felt pretty good!
Gary found a 'craft beer' place he wanted to try. While he sat sampling a 'paddle' of beer I went to the loo. On the way back my nephew Ben & friend Jess were sitting there having just finished lunch! Small world hey? Stopped & chatted for a bit & then went back 'home'.

We went to Lorne to see Erskine Falls & go toTeddy's Lookout. It seems they haven't had a lot of rain lately as the 'falls' were more of a dribble which was a bit dissapointing. Teddy's Lookout however didn't dissapoint. Just a short drive through some suburban streets brings you out to an amazing lookout over a very impressive section of the Great Ocean Road. From here you can see the road carved into the side of a pretty huge cliff edge.

The next day Gary wanted to take me on a river cruise. Anglesea caravan park is situated in between the sea & a river. On the river they have paddle boats & little motor boats. It was pretty cool putt putting along the river.

Next stop, Melbourne ...........