Month: February 2018

Wednesday 7th February ,2018

Yesterday evening we arrived at a decent time at our B&B, Merton Manor, run by Pamela and Ivan Beechey in Warrnambool ( such a difficult name to pronounce!!). Pamela made us feel very welcome and showed us to our suite with a private lounge a jacuzzi in the bathroom. As we hadn’t eaten yet, we made our way back to town – Warrnambool is very historical with a maritime village and  trading port dating back to the late 1800’s and is situated at the heart of the notorious Shipwreck Coast. After visiting Flagstaff Hill, we ended back in town at an Italian Restaurant and had a good plate of pasta! By the time we arrived back at the B&B we were ready to soak into the jacuzzi and get ready for bed!

Following morning, we were up on time for a 9 am breakfast – the lady of the manor really looked after all the guests – there were 6 of us at the classical breakfast table and we were the last ones to join!  Then off we went to continue our coastal trip along the Great Ocean Road. 

Our drive today was as  follows:

Port Campbell – a laid back coastal town with a lovely, sandy, sheltered and safe beach

Loch Ard Gorge – a gorgeous U-shaped canyon with high cliffs and and deep blue sea. One of the more famous and notorious shipwrecks took place here when in 1878, an iron-hulled clipper foundered on its last night of its voyage from England and where only 2 passengers survived this shipwreck. Further along woe came across the razorback rock and island archway which were fascinating.

Twelve Apostles – this is the most enduring image for most visitors to the Great Ocean Road and actually we were swarmed with Asian tourists who were busy taking pictures and not taking into consideration that others would also like to take pictures……Apparently there were never twelve rocks jutting out the sea and off the mainland but it seemed that some wise guy thought it a better name back in the 1960’s and it would attract more tourists – the previous name was Sow and Piglets!!! These limestone rocks are quite dynamic as they are changeable due to the erosion from wind and waves.

Cape Otway Lightstation – We had a really long way to drive to get to the light station  – well nearly 10km of winding and hairpin bends through a dense forest. By that time we were both peckish but I was determined that once we had gotten this far then I wanted to see the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia! It was built in 1848 by more than 40 stone masons without mortar or cement. It was interesting to walk around and I could feel how for thousands of immigrants , Cape Otway Lighthouse was their first sight of land after many months and sea. They, of course were the lucky ones as a great many lives were lost in shipwrecks off Cape Otway which led to the building of this lighthouse.

After we made our way back to the Great Ocean Road, we continued driving till we got to Apollo Bay and we thought we would stop here for a meal. This was a pretty beach and we were told that there was a very good restaurant up the hill towards Colac with great food and views. As this was on our way back to Warrnambool, we thought it would be great to have a meal here – in the meantime it was just after 17.30 and when we got to the restaurant – Chris’ Beacon Point – we were disappointed to learn that the restaurant was fully booked. Well our next place was Colac which was more than an hour’s drive through the Otway National Park and forest. By the time we reached Colac, I had had enough of hairpin bends and driving up and down hilltops – and I was ravenous!!! We ended up at an Italian restaurant in Colac and although very noisy with kids, the food was good!

Our last leg of our homeward bound drive was on the A1 which was just over an hour and much as I wanted to keep awake, I kept dozing off and felt somewhat guilty that Gerry was doing all the driving on his own. It was around 23.00 by the time we got back to our B&B …….. dead tired!!

 

Tuesday 6^th February 2018

 

It was a bright sunny morning and temperatures were just great 24 degrees – that’s the right temperature to go exploring the Limestone Coastline and heading into the Great Ocean Road. Our cottage at The Barn is very pleasant and our breakfast – we just made it on time – was also healthy and good, so the start of our day was perfect!

We had packed our gear and were ready to leave by 10 a.m. It was going to be a good travelling day along the last part of the Limestone Coastline of South Australia and entering the Great Ocean Road in the State of Victoria – with a time difference of half an hour. The state of Victoria is 30 minutes earlier than the state of South Australia!!

Our final destination point for today was Warrnambool where we would be staying at a B&B, however the trip would be along the coastline so it took longer than anticipated and anyway it was a sightseeing trip starting off with our first stop in Port MacDonnell, then onto Nelson and finally to Cape Bridgewater before crossing borders into the state of Victoria.

Nelson is a pretty quiet village which lies at the mouth of Glenelg River and it is here we spotted the beautiful lone pelican who stood first on the side of the ramp and then decided to go fishing….. Then after three quarters of an hour we arrived at Cape Bridgewater – according to the receptionist at The Barn, we were not to miss visiting this stunning little village.  What was interesting to see here was of course the petrified forest and the blow holes – well the petrified forest is not really a tree forest but due to the rock formation, it looks like  stumps cut down to different sizes. At Cape Nelson, we visited the lighthouse which dates back to the 1880’s and has witnessed many dramas on the seas.  The white and red tower and the long stone wall are the features that give the Cape Nelson Lighthouse a whole character of its own and interesting enough, we found out that you can make reservations to stay over at the lighthouse master’s quarters – well that is if you are planning to go hiking in the vicinities.

Monday, 5th February, 2018

That early rising is still in my system after having been out to the Red Centre! I was up at 4.30 and as everyone is fast asleep at that time, my internet connection was great to down load the pictures onto my blog. So I finished my blog about our 3 day Uluru safari and posted it and then went back to bed and slept for a couple of hours! We woke up round about 8 am to the sound of my alarm – not Cat Stevens but New Age music which I get every morning!!

Anyway while Gerry got coffee and tea ready, I sorted out the laundry room which was just a few doors down from our room, however I needed 1 dollar coins which I exchanged at the reception – yes Monday is laundry day. Once that was sorted, we went to the main building to have our breakfast. This place – The Barn – is an oasis compared to where we were the last 5 days!!! Beautiful roses, lavender and emerald green lawns!!

While the laundry was going on and in between loads ( only one washing machine and one dryer), I explored the beautiful grounds of our accommodation – The Barn – roses and lavender blossoming, gazebo with cream coloured roses climbing around it, tennis courts and luscious green lawns!

 

When our laundry was finished it was close to midday so we packed our stuff into the car to do some sightseeing in the neighbourhood – well not exactly neighbourhood as we drove back to Robe – some 80 minutes away from Mount Gambier where we were staying. We were very careful as to not hit any passing kangaroos –we saw a couple dead on the roadside – but luckily we didn’t see any today.

The coastline we were driving is known as the Limestone Coastline with vineyards along the way, rugged coastline changing with pure white sandy beaches and little towns dotting the scenery. There were many settlers arriving in these areas back in mid 1800’s and unfortunately alos many shipwrecks, where after sailing for a few months, the settlers met with ill fate just off the coast line – hence part of the coastline is also name Shipwreck Trail.

Our first stop was at Beachport, with sweeping sandy beaches on one side and rugged rocky cliffs on the other. Originally back in the 1830’s Beachport’s settlers were a whaling community but now Beachport is a safe haven for crayfish fishing. Because of its shallow waters, a very long jetty was built some 120 years ago and is considered as the longest jetty in South Australia – 772 meters long!

 

After having lunch at Beachport – again fish and chips and potato wedges with salad – we were back on the road and this time driving along the coast and vineyards, we arrived in Robe – a seaside town and fishing port located in the Limestone Coast of South Australia. The town’s distinctive combination of historical buildings, ocean, fishing fleets, lakes and dense bush was great to see. There were quite some waves in the sea which was a magnificent colour but great to watch!

We drove out of the little town to explore the surroundings The rock formation which is very similar to Malta’s – limestone – is just spectacular but you really need to watch where you are walking. We walked up to the obelisk – Cape Dombey Obelisk – built in 1852 and used to navigate the entrance into the bay and to store rocket life saving equipment – the rockets were fired with survival baskets to distressed ships offshore and bring back survivors ashore and hence saving lots of lives. As the Obelisk was built on the edge of a limestone cliff that is crumbling away with erosion, it won’t be long before this building crashes down into the sea!  Anyway when we looked over the cliff side at the other end , we spotted sea lions playing around in the sea. It was great to watch! But the phots are not that good as the sea lions kept doing somersaults under water.

Another point of interest close to the cliff edge was the old gaol house – or rather the ruins of the goal house built in 1860 but quite a few prisoners made their way out from here as the walls were not reinforced – later strengthened with old boiler plates. However, this gaol house stopped functioning by 1881 and fell into disrepair until it was restored to its current state in 1995.

 

 

 

After all our sightseeing, it was time to get back to Mount Gambier where we were staying as we had made reservations at the Barn to have dinner there. We now drove back long the highway but still it took us 1.5hrs to get back. So it was a quick shower and then to the restaurant – filled with loads of corporate people who were in town for a conference – have really wiped out this past memory of my working life……… Anyway besides waiting too long for our meal – Gerry had rump steak and I had salmon, the food was not that great………. Well tomorrow is another day……. Travelling to our next stay – a bed and breakfast, Merton Manor in Warrnambool on the Great Ocean Road.

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, 4th February 2018

I guess we are used to getting up early – only this time it was 6 am and we had a good night’s sleep in a proper bed and used proper bathrooms…….. going basic is good fun but I still like my luxuries ……… 

Anyway, it was good getting up early as I could continue writing in my blog – and there was so much to write and my mental notes had to be put down on paper ( or actually in the blog ) with the help of the many photos we had taken. So worked till about 9 am and then we got ready and had breakfast and checked out at 10. Our taxi pick up to the airport was at 11 am so we relaxed in the lobby as it was already too hot to go outdoors – this was a day where we would be spending in airco-ed surroundings – ac in bedroom, ac in lobby, ac in tact, ac at the airport and then on the plane.

Our flight to Adelaide was at 12.35 and it went on time – we were lucky to be sitting together in one row so we had the seat between us empty. This time I was able to take some pictures once we were crossing the Red Centre and also the many salt lakes in the middle of Australia. The bigger one is called Torrens Salt Lake.

This salt lake is more than 250km long and we could easily spot out of the plane -completely different as to what we had seen when we stopped at the Red sand dune to view both Mount Connor and Torrens Salt Lake. Besides this huge lake, we could see many other salt lakes of different sizes – this is the leftovers of the sea that once split Australia into two parts some 350 million years ago!

We filled up the car in Adelaide and keyed in our destination onto our GPS and started our 445 km drive at 16.45.

Driving down, we crossed the Murray River, Australia’s longest river and we saw many wineries on the way. When it was my turn to drive the road narrowed down to just two lanes and know take over stretches. However speed limit was 110 and that kept us going at a good average – luckily it was Sunday evening and though there were some heavy lorries on the road, traffic was good. We even had a pick up truck in front of us transporting two bulls. I quickly overtook this pickup truck!!

By the time we reached our hotel – The Barn – it was already 21.30 and it was dark and we just had an encounter with a kangaroo before entering town! I just called out “Kangaroo” and Gerry stopped the car on time. Kangaroo just looked at us and then hopped across the road and continued looking at us. By the time I had my camera out to take a picture kangaroo decided to hop back into the fields….. At the hotel we were told that kangaroos come out at night to look for water as it’s quite dry and yes they do make it into town as well.

Well we were glad to settle in and sort out our stuff – we had loads of washing to be done – and tomorrow is Monday – a perfect laundry day!

 

 

Thursday, 1st February 2018 – till Saturday 3rd February 2018

What an early start!  We were going to be picked up at 6.am by our 4WD truck to start our adventure to the Red Centre of Australia and learn more of the Aboriginal culture of this country. It was still dark when we were outside our motel  and sharp on time, a big 4WD drove down our street – we were the first pick ups for the trip. Dean introduced himself and seemed to be a very typical outback type of a man –  a well weathered Aussie cowboy hat, blue shirt and jeans and well tramped Aussie cowboy boots …… and a long beard!

 Our 3 day trip Uluru started off by picking up the next group – a Danish mum with 2 small boys who were still fast asleep and so we left Alice Springs through the Gap and picked up the Stuart Highway. After some repetitive scenery, I fell asleep as can be seen in the photo group below and only woke up when we had our first stop at the Camel Farm.

Camels  were first brought to Australia in 1840 and then again in 1860 first from Tenerife and then India and Pakistan and used for building the Telegraph and railway system from Darwin to Adelaide. Much later when cars and trucks were being used there was no need for camels any longer and most were set free – hence wild camels roaming around the centre of Australia. There are  still some camel farms mainly for camel milk and also for camel trips in the desert.

 

 

Back on the road again and this was one long grey asphalt with red sand on both sides till we reached Erldunda Roadhouse – very special place here as here  is the mark of the centre of the Red Centre of Australia. By that time we were more awake  and could continue enjoying the views

 

 

Our next stop was at our camp site – some 440 km away from Alice Springs and four hours’ drive.  We were glad to arrive at camp and we could choose our tent cabin for the night before having lunch. While we were having lunch Dean went to pick up some more guests who were joining our group and in total we were 11 of us including 4 children.

After lunch we were complete to start our first trip to Uluru – first a visit to the cultural centre to get an introduction to the Anangu Culture and desert environment. The Uluru Rock  is a great sacred place to the traditional owners – and we are asked  to respect their wishes and not climb their sacred Uluru – but walk at the base – by April 2019 no one will be able to climb the rock as it will be prohibited by law. Our afternoon at Uluru was very interesting and informative..

After having visited Uluru, we drove to Yulara (according to Dean, this was town!) – there were other groups from the same organisers and certainly so many young back packers! This whole trip, exploring the stunning landscapes, the local Aboriginal cultures and the unique pioneering history of Central Australia is certainly not to be missed when visiting Australia. I know Gerry has offered up the coastline for a few days but I am sure he also appreciates this massive interior also known as the Red Centre.

Towards sunset, Dean drove us to a spot where other tourists were also gathered to watch the sunset over Uluru. It was such a lovely gathering – every guide had his/her group and pitched a table with drinks and nibbles including bubbly Pinot Noir for the adults and fruit juices for the kids. It was all very amicable! However the sunset was not as it should have been – clouds deterred the colour effects on the rock. But Dean took care of us – we had sparkling Pinot Noir wine and snacks whilst we watched the colours changing.

 

 

 

 

Came back to Camp to find that dinner was ready for us – Pasta Bolognaise……… with kangaroo meat! Wasn’t too sure to eat it or not – Luckily the vegetable sauce was separate so I could go vegetarian but then I just wanted to have a taste and I must say it tasted rather good – but then that’s because it’s minced – no way I would eat a kangaroo steak especially as not so long ago, I was petting one of these sweet natured animals ……

It was such a shame – it had started raining and our camp fire was soon out and we had dinner indoors – it rained all night! No one slept in a swag but rather in our camp tents

 

 

The following morning our roll call was at 4.30 with music – Cat Steven’s Morning has broken….(just in case you cannot remember the song just press on the link) followed by other songs getting louder. We really slept well in our tent cabin which had proper beds and a step higher than the ground.  We were going to drive back to Uluru to watch the sunrise and the effect on the great rock.   Dean had toasted bread and also cereal and coffee ready for us. All of us were really sleepy heads especially the kids! Anyway we all did what we were told to do and Dean drove us away. Again some disappointment as the clouds hindered the sunrise. Straight after we left for Kata Tjuta, 40 km further away.

Kata Tjuta or as previously known as the Olgas has some 36 domes and when we arrived there, Dean took us on a hike of about 7.5km along the  Valley of the Winds and taking just over 4 hours. This was quite an achievement for both of us as we were the oldest of the group and kept the pace going over lose rocks but the views were breathtaking. Climbing up and down the pathways, we could constantly hear the wind blowing and hence the appropriate name for this walk. However the last part was to climb a steep rock wall and then also come back down again and when I saw this, my common sense told me that I could climb the rock wall but I would never get down it again as it would mean putting a lot of pressure on my hip which was recovering from the hip replacement surgery 6 months ago! However Gerry, with Dean’s help did climb up the rock wall while I relaxed next to a small waterfall and cool creek full of tadpoles.

We then drove back to base camp after dropping off the Danish mum and 2 boys as well as a middle aged couple at the Uluru Airport. Here once again, the women prepared the salads and the men barbecued burgers and sausages – real outback meals! Dean then explained we were leaving this camp to drive to Kings Creek Station where we would be spending our second night right in the middle of the bush – but luckily or us in tent cabins, open air showers and curtained flushing toilets. He also warned us that we would need to stop on the way to gather firewood so that we could cook dinner in the evening. Apparently he had a very good place where to get wood, however we were not the only group there! Still we had enough and so made our way back at the camp

 

 

The drive to Kings Creek Station took some three hours however we stopped  for firewood and then at a gas station to fill up our 4WD ( we also bought some white wine to go with our evening meal).    

After a few hours we arrived at our new camp site at Kings Creek Station. On the way we had also stopped at a  red sanded dune not far from Curtin Springs Farm to admire the Fuluru (Fool Uluru) or rather Mount Connor and next to a great expanse of a salt lake with a hard crust but if you were to walk on it you would sink in slowly. We also had a brief encounter with the dragon lizard – a spiky lizard that eats only ants and drinks water through capillary system – the dragon lizard would stand in a puddle of water and the water creeps up its legs and into his neck and he only has to stick out his tongue to capture the drops of water – ingenious……..

Finally at Kings Creek Station, we certainly needed the 4WD to get to our camp as it was only a dirt road to where our camp was situated – in the middle of the bush! Robert immediately started the fire with the firewood we had gathered. It took quite some time to get the fire going as it had rained a few nights and the wood was quite wet. At this camp we met up with Megan, a Dutch girl from Rotterdam who was working her way in Australia but was starting at Deloitte in Melbourne next month, she helped with the cooking as did Robert and of course they were a couple – she an accountant just finished university and he a carpenter!

 

 

By the time we were settling in at Kings Creek Station, it was nearly sunset and Dean suggested we take in the views of the George Gill Range opposite the camp grounds. This was spectacular – especially as we had missed the sunset at Uluru. By the time we walked back to our camp, dinner was cooking on the open campfire ashes. Dean is a really outdoor man and showed us what he had prepared – with the help of Megan and Robert who did all the cutting and chopping!

The menu for that evening was a chicken casserole, baked potatoes, boiled rice and freshly baked bread all to be prepared on the charcoaled wood. There was plenty of food for the six of us – The other family travelling with us was also Danish who had taken a 9month sabbatical.

After an excellent dinner, we finally had a good shower and were ready for bed – and fell asleep straight away – never heard anything till next morning at 4.30 when we were woken up to Cat Stevens “ Morning has Broken”. Once again it was an early start and this time we were off to the Kings Canyon for an early hike – 

Gerry and I did the South Wall Return walk, which began with a demanding climb up to the south wall of Kings Canyon and offering stunning views of the park’s geological features. This was a 4.8 km hike, which took us up to 3 hours (but then we were taking a lot of pictures of the fantastic views). The rest of the group walked The Kings Canyon Rim walk under Dean’s guidance. We did not do this as the steep climb to the top is called the Heart Attack Steps – some 500 steps climbing steeply to the top. This was a 6km loop taking some 3-4 hours. Anyway at the end of our hike I was so glad to soak my feet in the cool water of the creek which was overflowing due to the heavy rainfalls in the last few days.

 What an achievement! As Gerry keeps on saying certainly his children won’t believe him that he’s done so much hiking  – this was such an exhilarating experience even though our muscles ached afterwards and certainly for me coming back down the canyon wall, my legs trembled quite a bit……..but we arrived  back at base without any major problems – we were glad that the others were still hiking so we could catch our breath and feel somewhat fit again…..

 The rest of the group joined us within an hour and also for them especially the kids the hike was strenuous but they too were compensated with beautiful views. Dean started up the truck so that it would be somewhat cooler with the airco on – it was just gone 11 am and it was 36 degrees!!  On our way again, Dean had told us that he was going to take a short cut through a dirt road – a 100 km red sand road which cut down our turn time to Alice Springs by an hour.  I could only think of the Dakar races – only sand around us and the bush and the bumpy road – no way we could sleep again……. We made it to Alice Springs by 16.30 and we stopped at the Welcome monument to take our last pictures – of course I needed to take a picture of Dean and his 4WD truck – we had driven some 1.500km in 3 days and spent some 10 hours hiking some 20km in the Red Centre of Australia.

In my mind  I have awarded both Gerry and myself a gold medal!!