Merry Christmas

Family reunion

We have arrived in Perth, on the West Coast of Australia, which is the home of Craig's brother, Tom. This will be our base for the next two months. After a long trip through Korea and Singapore, Craig's mom and his kids have arrived. We cooked some sausages on the barbie for dinner then headed down to the beach, where almost everyone frolicked in the Indian Ocean. We are looking forward to a relaxing Christmas in the sun.

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Melbourne

We rode into town in our white campa van and headed straight for the Apollo office. Amazingly, we negotiated the way quite easily. There was one wrong turn, but it was easily rectified with a stop at a petrol station. Within 30 minutes, we had returned the campa and were on our way to the Holiday Inn by the airport. That evening Craig had a night off from bbq duty. We merely took the elevator to the ground floor and sauntered into the restaurant. It was very strange not being in the campa van that night (no humming fridge to lull us to sleep), but Lynda was thrilled to have a toilet that was less than 500 metres from our bed. What luxury!

Our plan was to get up early on Saturday, head into town, see the city and fly to Perth on Sunday. Not a lot of time, but enough to give us a glimpse of what was there. So the next morning we walked over to the airport terminal and hopped onto the Skybus. Twenty minutes later we were in the heart of the CBD (Central Business District) looking for a reasonably priced place to eat. Notice that we do not say "cheap" place to eat. There are no $5.99 breakast specials in this country. Eating out is very expensive regardless of where you go. As we walked along, we passed a backpacker hotel. Since backpackers are notoriously thrifty, Craig popped in and asked for a recommendation. Sure enough there was a place right around the corner. "Great!" we thought. $32 later (hmm?) we had two coffees and two average sized meals. At least we didn't have to worry about leaving a tip.

It was very busy downtown that day, what with all the tourists, Christmas shoppers, and protestors. Yes, we happened to end up right in the middle of the Walk Against Warming as they congregated at the State Library. It was an impressive turnout with 40,000 participants. We didn't stick around for the march. Instead we jumped on the City Circle (free) tourist tram and saw some of the sites.

The best part of the day was taking another tram out to St. Kilda Beach to see our Whitsunday, sailing friends, Ben and Susie. While Susie was at a baby shower being held in her honour, Lynda and the guys hung out. Later that afternoon, we met up with Susie and went down to Elwood Park for a bbq with some of their friends. We had our bbq in the middle of Sunday's triathalon site, surrounded by gates, banners, and transition areas. Lynda was disappointed that we were leaving town and wouldn't be able to see it. We were there until well after dark when the mosquitoes drove everyone away.

Back on the Skybus. Back to the hotel. Back to the packing. We were sad to see the end of this phase of our trip, but excited about the prospects of seeing Jenna, Kristin, Peggy and Tom in Perth.

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The Great Ocean Road

Several years ago we read an article in the Globe and Mail newspaper about a hiking trip called the Great Ocean Walk. This was prior to our West Coast Trail adventure, but we were definitely interested in what we read. As the planning for the Australia portion of this trip progressed, we knew it wasn't logistically possible for us to complete the Great Ocean Walk, so we decided to join the masses and follow the Great Ocean Road instead. It would be the last segment of our campa van journey before we returned the vehicle in Melbourne. We knew that we did not want to rush through it so we allotted ourselves six days and set out from Dan and Lisa's house on Sunday morning.
The first notable comment we could make is that the Great Ocean Road is the only place in Australia where we have seen so many road signs that direct people to drive on the left. As we passed tour bus after campa van after rental car, we realized why these signs are necessary. Hordes of tourists who fly into Melbourne rent a vehicle and set out on the Great Ocean Road. It is a classic long and winding road. Not as bad as the road to Hana on Maui (says Lynda) but she wouldn't have wanted to be sitting in the back seat as Craig negotiated all the twists and turns in the road. Granted, there are many sights where you only have the option of parking and walking out to see the view, but the coastline and the scenery are spectacular. For all those people who do it from Melbourne in one day, you don't know what you are missing. Craig particularly enjoyed this portion of the trip as some days he was only driving for one hour, and taking pickies a lot of the rest of the time.
Here are some highlights:
Day 1 Port FairyWe arrived in this quaint, little beach town on a sunny day. After attending John and Kelley's annual Christmas party via Skype, we spent some time exploring. We had a snack at a chique, little beachside cafe called Tide and Time, went beachcombing, walked along the river admiring the boats and did some window shopping. Based on the number of holiday rentals, we can safely say that Port Fairy is a popular destination.
Day 2 Port CampbellThis is the closest town to the famous limestone stacks known as the 12 Apostles. These stacks were created through the erosion of limestone cliffs that has taken place over the last 10-20 million years. There are currently only nine remaining. Our first encounter with the 12 Apostles was on a cloudy evening. We hoped we might see a partial sunset, but our main purpose in going was to see the Fairy penguins which come onto the beach after sunset. (Actually, we should refer to them as Little penguins since someone decided that Fairy penguins is politically incorrect.) We waited in the cold for a long time, and just before dark, groups of penguins started to emerge from the water. They are only about 30 cm tall and very cute. We also saw our first echidna in this area. It plodded along, oblivious to our presence, and continued to use its sharp claws and snout to sift through the dirt looking for insects.
Day 3 Johanna Beach
We spent the morning walking around the Loch Ard gorge. It was named after a British sailing vessel that ran aground and sank in 1878. The Loch Ard was one of over 200 ships that suffered the same fate, earning the rugged coastline the name "The Shipwreck Coast." That night we "free camped" beside Johanna Beach in Cape Otway National Park. We went to sleep listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.
Day 4 Apollo BayOur morning began with a trip to the Cape Otway lighthouse, the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia. It became operational in 1848 and was finally decommissioned in 1994. It's location is crucial because it is situated in the 90 km gap between Cape Otway and King Island. Navigating this strait was said to be as difficult as "threading the eye of a needle." Unfortunately for us, movie production on the grounds was just finishing up. Not only did we miss seeing any stars, but we were also unable to climb the stairs to the top of the lighthouse. Later that day, we arrived in Apollo Bay. The sun was shining and we headed for the beach. Craig was back in the water on his boogie board and Lynda was sitting on the beach reading her book. For both of us, life is good. Day 5 AngleseaWe had planned to do some hiking around Wye River and stay the night, but it was pouring rain. We kept driving along Australia's version of the Sea to Sky highway until we found the sun. After pausing for coffee in Lorne (pronounced Lawn) we stopped for the night in Anglesea. The rest of our day centred around getting organized for the return of the campa van. Lynda's usual hour and a half laundry job quadrupled in time after numerous problems (the first dryer wasn't heating up, the second dryer wasn't accepting coins and the third dryer turned out to be a washer.)
So here we are. The sun is setting on this portion of our trip. Last stop: Melbourne.

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Portland

We must apologize for our recent lack of postings. We have spent a delightful week with Lynda's rellies, Dan, Lisa and Jen, on their thirteen acre farm just outside of Portland, Victoria. This side trip took us away from caravan parks and tourist attractions and allowed us to be in a home and live a country life. We have enjoyed a variety of experiences. We attended and helped out at Jen's Gymkhana. Craig found himself in charge of an Aussie barbeque at the concession stand. A bit of a scary proposition, but there was a doctor close at hand and to date, we have not heard of anyone coming down with food poisoning. We enjoyed watching Jen manouevre Possum through the different events, and we were impressed with how well she rides. We also helped Lisa's friends make sausages from scratch with their own beef. It was fun, especially taste testing the various recipes. Another highlight was the May family cattle drive. Lisa and Jen saddled up their horses, Tex and Possum, and herded the cows from the front paddock to the back paddock. Dan, Craig and Lynda provided ground support. It all went off without a hitch, probably because the cows were delighted with their new food source. It wasn't all fun and games for Craig. He and Dan got out the shovels and cleared the storm water system. It would have gone much quicker if there hadn't been the matter of the freshly punctured water line in that same ditch. No worries mate. Lisa made a quick trip to town, got the necessary parts, and we only had to flush the toilet with a bucket for a few hours. While all this was going on outside, Lynda enlisted Jen's help and they made cheesecake (from scratch) to have with dinner that night. Garden fresh vegetables, homegrown beef and strawberry chessecake. What more could one want? Finally, we must mention the wildlife encounters. We found koalas a hundred metres from the house in trees over the driveway, Jen impressed us by catching the same Blue Tongue lizard twice over the week, and we spent hours watching the many species of marine life in Dan's salt water reef tank. It is surprising what appears from one minute to the next and the difference between day and night is huge. Then there was Pancho, the adorable, family dog, who was both cute and cuddly. All in all, we are very grateful to our gracious hosts. We had a wonderful time getting to know them and will miss them tremendously.

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The Grampian Mountains

A short, two hour drive from Portland took us across miles and miles of flat grasslands covered with sheep to the Grampian Mountains.The Grampians are known for their steep rock cliffs, unique plant species and Aboriginal rock art. These mountains seem highly out of place in this landscape. We spent three days driving and hiking to spectacular viewpoints. The first night we camped at the remote Smith Mill campground. It was a scenic spot, but there wasn't much there except for picnic tables, fire pits and outhouses. Craig reverted to Boy Scout mode and cooked our lamb dinner over an open fire. We were excited about the possibilities for wildlife viewing. Sadly, it was not until the next morning when we were leaving that we saw one lonely kangaroo on the side of the road. After our second day of outdoor adventure, we stayed just outside of Halls Gap at the caravan park beside the Bellfield Dam. It turned out the wildlife was plentiful. It seems the kangaroos, emus and feral deer love the easy pickings of the fresh green grass shoots, much to our delight and the dismay of the campground manager. On day three we hiked to the top of Mt. William. Admittedly, we drove 10 km to the carpark and walked the final 2 km to the 1168 metre summit, but the final ascent was very steep and the wind was blowing us about. Craig was not deterred and went off the path to get the best camera angles. It is evident now that he is going to be researching cameras when we get home as our little digital is becoming inadequate. We spent the rest of the day driving to the other side of the park to view Aboriginal rock art. We saw a variety of objects, including hand prints, stick figures and animal tracks. Although no one knows the exact age of the paintings, Aboriginal people have been camping in these shelters for the last 22,000 years, so anything is possible. Yet again, our time here was inadequate. We could easily have spent a lot more time trekking and exploring the area.

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Barossa Valley

The Barossa Valley is quite different from the lush, green Hunter Valley. As you drive to the Barossa, you pass through farm country. Hay field after hay field. The closer you get, the more swaths of green you encounter. We spent three relaxing days here. We sampled at some of the bigger wineries, such as Wolf Blass and Penfolds, where we knew the quality of the product we were trying, but we also found a hidden gem. It reminded us of our coffee plantation tour in Mareeba. Villa Tinto is a family run, boutique winery. We had our tasting with the owner Dianne, who also happens to be a teacher. Needless to say, there was a lot of chatter between the tastings. We also found the Raven's Parlour bookstore in Tanunda. Craig waited very patiently while Lynda checked out the selection and received recommendations from Colleen. Finally with her new book and a newsletter of book reviews in hand, Lynda left the store a happy camper.

Time was ticking and we had to head south. More farm land and a couple of tacky sculptures and we were on our way to the south coast and back to Victoria. After many hours on the road, our trip took us to Kingston, the home of the Big Lobster. We were happy to stop for the night and set up camp. The air was oppressively hot. This concerned us because history told us that a storm was approaching, but it was much worse than we expected. It began with the wind blowing so violently that we had to take down our tarp. Uh oh! There goes our water barrier. Then the rain came. Buckets of rain. Even though all the doors and windows were closed, water was streaming into the van. We scrambled to sop it up before all of our bedding was soaked. Then there was thunder, lightning and hail. Now we were huddled in the van like hermits. Luckily, we were in a powered site and we could use the microwave to re-heat leftovers for dinner. It was a very long evening!

Off to Portland to visit more rellies and hopefully, better weather.

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