Great Ocean Road

Friday February 3

Geelong is a lively little city and we've found an apartment for the night that is a short stroll from Eastern Beach.  We take an evening walk along the promenade to look for something to eat.  After viewing the restaurant prices we decide once again to go with the affordable fish & chips takeaway.  We are constantly astounded at the cost of dining out in Australia - particularly in the cities. 

In St. Kilda we paid $19.00 for a hamburger & chips at a sidewalk café.  Maybe the cost of a restaurant burger wherever you are is similar to minimum wage - and in NSW the minimum wage is a staggering $18.75/hour.  We are finding that the cost of living is much higher here than back home.  Gas is typically $1.40/litre and it's difficult to find accommodation (even budget accommodation) for less than $100 per night.  But, we save money by using our kitchenette, buying produce from the local markets (which is less expensive than grocery store produce) and walking to beaches, parks and stores.  Plus, the wine is cheaper here!!!

Saturday February 4

We spend the morning at Eastern Beach which is a fantastic place for kids.  There is an amazing playground, a swimming pool, wading pool and a shark-free enclosure for beach swimming (all free for public use).  We park ourselves under a big umbrella next to the pool and spend the morning swimming and lazing around and end with a lunchtime picnic.

Rusty playing in the pool at Eastern Beach, Geelong

We start along the Great Ocean Road after lunch with the agenda to do about 150 km to Apollo Bay (it is a very windy road so it's supposed to take about 3 hours to get there).  We plan to drive and stop at viewpoints while the children are sleeping, then stop and do a hike into a huge waterfall or some other such roadside attraction once they wake up.

First stop - Bell's Beach.  This is a famous surf beach featured in Point Break - and equivalent to the North Shore, Hawaii.  We are hoping to see some serious waves - and the lunatics that surf them.  The kids are sleeping so we leave the A/C going (sorry Earth) and jump out of the car to take a quick look at the action.   There is a viewpoint overlooking the beach for just that purpose.  No action really - the waves are pretty mellow and there are a few surfers but no green room.  When we walk back to the car I notice that water is pouring out from the radiator area.  My stomach sinks as I loudly point it out to Clark - luckily a local Aussie overhears my shriek and reassures us that if it's clear then it's just from the A/C being left on - phew.  We don't know stuff about A/C overuse in Canada - we leave the car idling to keep it warm not cold (sorry again Earth).

The kids sleep all the way to Apollo Bay so we pass by all of the cool stuff the brochure tells us to check out along the Great Ocean Road - including the waterfall.  We semi-wonder why we are even doing this drive.  Lets just add an extra 600 km to our trip and pack in/and out of three different motels in three nights to get a good view of the ocean here and there - hmmmm.

Sunday February 5

Audrey is seven months old today (since today is yesterday in Canada) and is eating like a pro.  She is a carnivore and ham is her prey!  There is nothing our child won't do for a piece of ham.  She has two teeth on the bottom now and is cutting two more on top.  I think those teeth must push through every night at about 2:00 am as she lets out a bloodcurdling scream and requires some serious rocking to get back to sleep.  She's mastered the art of sitting up (lots of surface area to work with) and is working towards balancing on all fours.  Things are quite easy for us now with her lack of mobility and we are not looking forward to the crawling stage.  But she is determined to get there sooner rather than later...sigh…

We drive a little ways up the Great Ocean Road and stop at a gorgeous rainforest to go for a short hike before we carry on with our drive.  The trees are unbelievably tall (the interpretive sign says over 100 m) with massive root systems and everywhere we look it is just lush and green.  The ferns grow as trees here!  Rusty turns into a little botanist and seriously inspects the leaves on all the different plants.  It is her second favorite thing to do on the rainforest walk (pulling my hair while I carry her is number one!!!)

Our future botanist

Hi-Ho...Hi-Ho

Blue Steel

Fern Tree

Now was that a Cyathea australis or a Dicksonia antarctica

Now where did Rusty go?

The afternoon finds us holed up in a motel room in Port Campbell to wait out the rain.  The girls were sleeping as we drove by the Twelve Apostles (probably the most photographed viewscape of the Great Ocean Road drive) and the pounding rain added another reason for us to just pass on by.  We continue to wonder whether this drive is worth it.  The rain continues into the evening and we decide to return to the Twelve Apostles & Loch Ard Gorge the next morning - keeping our fingers crossed for better weather.

Monday February 6

It is a gorgeous day today and the views are well worth the effort.  Probably one of the most breathtaking coastlines I have ever seen.  We spend the morning following the footpaths along Loch Ard Gorge - reading stories of the shipwreck that occurred there - and meandering from one incredible view to another.  This landscape really emphasizes the power of the ocean.

Watching the waves pound against these rocks is spectacular!!!  After we've had our fill we head back to Geelong and are finally grateful for the girls sleeping through an entire drive!!