We pick up our bags from Annies Place and then hit the road. First stop is Mount Lofty - it looks out over the city of Adelaide. However, as it had been raining and the clouds were low, we didn't see a great deal!
We continued on and came into Hahndorf - a German town. It is the oldest non-British settlement in Australia and was established in 1839 by Lutheran refugees. There are over 90 19th Century buildings in the main street - quite a sight when you're driving through! We had a stroll through the town and stopped for lunch at 'The German Cake Shop'.
We drove on getting into Victor Harbor. We walked across a jetty to Granite Island. On a good day you can, apparently, see penguins but there wasn't any sun for us so no penguins. A nice island though - shame we couldn't see more of it but we needed to make tracks to get to our hostel in time.
We jump back in the car and drive to Robe. On the way the sun is setting on our right, and to our left is a rainbow. I've never seen the two at the same time. The is what makes Australia a great place to explore - you get to experience sights you could never imagine.
We check into our YHA at Robe - it is an old mansion that has been restored exactly the same as one in England. The rooms are amazing - very eccentric with all old furnishings, huge fire places and a great big library. The best hostel we've stayed in with so much character.
On Saturday we get up at a reasonable time and explore Robe. It's not exactly a big town so we are soon on our way heading for The Grampians.
On our way we stop at Mount Gambier for lunch - at a Sinkhole. This was totally unexpected. We found the steps down and went to view it.
Once we get a move on again we drove through a town called Tamington. All the houses along the main road had decorated barrels of hay and left them on their front lawns - most were christmassy themed but some were decorated differently.
We get to The Grampians late afternoon and go for a walk along the dam. The dam was built to reduce the risk of Halls Gap, the local town, of flooding. It's a huge structure.
We book into our hostel for the night and wind down, doing diaries and talking to people on Skype.
Sunday morning and we're up at 7am. We want to go out and explore The Grampians so we drive up Mount Victory Road and walk around the MacKenzie Falls. We walk 2 trails - one taking us to the top of the falls, and the other to the base. In January this year there was a significant storm that swept through the National Park, causing a great deal of damage so a few of the tracks and roads are closed for ongoing repairs.
What with it being so early and not many people around, we see a couple of Roos - one with a Joey in her pouch.
On the way back to the hostel we stop off at the Balconies - it overlooks the whole of the Grampian National Park. The early morning mist has burnt away too!
We were originally only going to have our hire car 'til Monday afternoon but we decided that we needed it longer - so once we got back to the hostel, we called up and extended the car hire to Wednesday morning. After this we get out exploring again, doing a 2 hour return walk through The Grand Canyon and up to The Pinnacle. Its a challenging walk, but well worth the views.
We have lunch in Sundial picnic area and look out at Lake View Point before getting in the car again. We spend most the afternoon driving and arrive at our YHA in Port Fairy. A nice hostel, seems very quiet but apparently fully booked. Good job we booked ahead!
We spend the evening walking around Port Fairy Harbour and Griffin Island. There's an old ship in the harbour that photographs well in a sunset!
Around the island, wandering along the path we come across a Roo that is literally right beside us.
We carry on round to the lighthouse and then on towards the beach. By the time we have walked all around the Island the sun has set and has left a magnificent purple, pink and orange misty sky.
Back to the hostel, we make dinner and get into bed.
Morning of the 28th - we're up and ready to go by 8. We drive to Tower Hill, an inactive volcano just outside Port Fairy. We climb to the top of the peak, with 360 degree views of the area. It begins to rain so we power walk to the bottom and jump back in the car.
We drive through Warrnambool and finally hit the start of The Great Ocean Road. Only a few kilometres in and we already have various spots to stop and look at. The rock formations along the coast are pretty spectacular - it is amazing what the sea does. We have a look at the Bay of Islands, Loch Ard Gorge, The Arch, The Grotto and The 12 Apostles.
Would have been better to see with Blue Sky though!
We also see London Bridge. This used to have 2 arches, however, in 1990 a large amount of the mid section fell into the sea. Luckily, no one was injured but 2 people did get stranded on the section out at sea. A helicopter rescued them but the couple didn't hang around for the press - apparently they were having an affair so wanted to remain anonymous!
We drive on to Moonlight Head to look for the anchor of Marie Gabriel. We have to drive up an unsealed road that is bloody bumpy - glad it's not my car! To get to the beach we have to walk down 366 steps - and back up once we've finished looking!
On to Apollo Bay - and we stay in the YHA again. This hostel is amazing. It's an eco hostel and is so smart. We wish we could stay longer than the one night - it's on our 'Come back list'!
Tues 29th we back track a little and visit Cape Otway as we ran out of time the day before. We went to see the Lighthouse but its pretty expensive - plus the National Park block all access to it so you have to pay even to stand near it! On our way through we come across a whole bunch of Koalas sitting in trees - photo time!
Heading back in the right direction we stop at Carlsbrook Falls for lunch and then carry on along the Great Ocean Road. This section actually runs inline with the coast and is definitely more fun. We stop at a couple of Scenic Lookouts and take pictures.
We drive past Kennett River, Wye River and Separation Creek before getting into Lorne - a pretty cool town, an upmarket beach resort.
We get on and come across the Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch - built in honour of the servicemen who built the road after WWI.
What with starting to get tired and the weather turning, we head straight for our hostel in Queenscliffe. The first shop in Queenscliffe is 'the chocolate room' and I decide that it would be good if we had a Chocolate Fondue! It didn't take long to finish that and we were soon booked into our hostel for the night.
With the weather being more settled, we have an evening stroll around the town, down the river, around the houses and to the port. We finally get back to the hostel, have dinner and back to our room.
It's our last day with the car and we're up early so we don't return it late. We leave Queenscliffe at 8.30am and join the rush hour traffic into Melbourne.
Melbourne is a busy city!! We're not used to seeing so many people and cars all in one space! We find Hertz after weaving our way around trams and people and get checked into the hostel. A well needed rest is in order so we crash out infront of the TV for the afternoon and stay there until it's time for bed.
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