The Red Centre - Part 5

Day 39, 26th May – The Airport (9391km – 9432km)

This morning I braved the Melbourne traffic and chauffeured my fair lady to Tullamarine Airport. For a brief moment I thought I had taken the wrong expressway which would have earnt the ire of she who must be obeyed. Thankfully, we ended up at the airport well in advance of the departure time which is a rarity for me. Oh, Alice is leaving me for a trip to Hobart to spend time with the girlfriends.

I was back at the caravan park an hour before Alice was due to take off. After some quick jobs around the relocatable home I donned the walking shoes and went in search of the No11 tram for a trip into the CBD. I loaded up the myki card at a corner store and boarded my tram for the 30 minute trip to Collins Street. The journey into town was interesting and as we travelled down Brunswick Street I was amazed by the number of different ethnic themed restaurants and shops. When I alighted at Collins Street I approached one of the red shirted Melbourne Greeters. He gave me some excellent tips on what to do around the City so with a map in hand I set off on my own mini tour of the CBD’s arcades and lanes. The round trip is about 2.5km and takes in the café society of Degraves Street and some great arcades. The Block Arcade was named after the fashionable Collins Street block between Elizabeth and Swanston Streets where 19th century Melburnians liked to promenade or do “the block”. I was really impressed by the mosaic floors that filled the arcade from front to rear. The Royal Arcade is Australia’s oldest shopping arcade and kicked off in 1869. The other area that impressed me was Niagara lane. This area housed old warehouses and above the cobbled stone lane you can see the old barrel hoists.

Time was marching on and as I was strolling down the Capitol Arcade I spotted an Indian café promising an all you can eat vegetarian lunch for $6.50. I could not resist and ended up having two helpings of what was a rather good lentil curry. With my belly full I moved onto the impressive site of Federation Square and Flinders station. It is great to have such a large open space in the heart of a major City. The Yarra River is just behind the square and you get a great view of the heritage style Princes Bridge. With my sightseeing over I headed back to Collins Street to await my transportation home. Within a few minutes I was on the number eleven heading back to Preston and the 15 minute walk to the van. My only complaint with the tram system was the stop spacing. It is a stop, start system that never reaches a top speed. Nevertheless it is still a great way to travel.

Back at the park I started talking to my neighbours. It turned out that one was from Brisbane and the other from Bundaberg. We all had the same complaint, nice park but at $49 a night a little expensive. My last task for the day was to head off to Woolies and purchase a few supplies for my forthcoming bachelor days.

Day 40, 27th May – Melbourne to Lake Colac (9432km – 9609km)

Well today is my first full day without Alice…. Who the heck is Alice! I will miss her after being with her 24/7 for the last 39 days. I took my time getting ready this morning as I want to avoid the peak hour traffic and I only have to travel about 200km. With the time showing 9:30am the trusty Triton towed the van out of the park and headed for busy Bell Street. I managed to catch most of the red lights before hitting the Tullamarine Expressway and then the Calder Freeway. With the big 18 wheelers flying past me what felt like every few seconds I was white knuckling the steering wheel whilst trying to stay calm and listen to the instructions from the Nav Bitch. She directed me onto the Western Ring Road M80 for about 20km and then onto the M1 Princes Freeway towards Colac. Just when you think she is doing a good job she directed me off the freeway. I thought it must be a shorter more scenic route but it turned out to be the old Princes Highway and ended up in a dead end. A U-turn was in order and with the Nav B…  shouting “recalculating” in my ear I made it back to the freeway. In the end she did get me to my destination Meredith Park which is a free camp site beside Lake Colac.

The lake itself is suitable for boating and sailing but for me it is a simple touch of paradise. I have a nice grassy area shaded by huge fir trees, fireplace and an uninterrupted view of the lake. There are also toilets, fresh water, picnic tables and television reception. The latter was a pleasant surprise as the reception at Coburg was quite poor. With 54 channels to choose from it won’t be hard to guess what I will be watching. State of Origin of course and hopefully with my presence in Victoria the mighty maroons will be triumphant. If not I will have to take solace with a bottle of red.

Day 41, 28th May – Lake Colac to Johanna Beach (9609km – 9697km)

Just goes to show you how much attention I have been paying to the football as it wasn’t until full time that I realized that the game was being played in Sydney. Overall I think Qld was the better side but we will need to improve on that effort as NSW cannot possibly play that bad again.

This morning I am in no hurry to get going as it is under 100km to Johanna Beach which is about 50km west of Apollo Bay on The Great Ocean Road. At around 10:00am I moved on from Lake Colac which has been an excellent location to spend the night. The weather is at the best ordinary and as I motored out of Colac the drizzle began. Road conditions along with the weather dictate that my speed is a modest 70kmph. It is a long and winding road which travels over the Otway ranges and through the national park. The road is bordered by huge forests of Eucalypt which makes it feel like you are driving through a tunnel. By the time I reached Gellibrand which is a beautiful little country town the weather had improved. At Lavers Hill where they claim that the forest meets the sea it was still another 16km to the water.

At noon I pulled into the Johanna Beach campground but unfortunately my camps guide is incorrect and a permit with the appropriate payment to the Victorian Government is required. There is a telephone number and a website that you can contact to carry out this erroneous task but alas there is no reception. As you all know I am happy to be relieved of my hard earned moolah or should I say Alice’s if it is at all possible. There are presently no other campers here so under duress I set up camp for the night. It is a fantastic location and I can imagine that sites would be at a premium in summer. I was enjoying the solitude but that was interrupted by strong rain and another van from Queensland who thought this was a free camping site.

The rain has really set in and I’m sorry that I set up such an elaborate camp. In between squalls I made a dash for the beach and was rewarded with a great view of the Southern Ocean. The whitecaps of the waves gave a good indication on how strong the wind is. It is definitely not swimming or even fishing weather. The campground is located on The Great Ocean walk and I was amazed when I saw about 20 school aged hikers with huge backpacks on emerge out of the mist. I heard the leader tell them it was only another 10 minutes walk to their overnight camp. If the weather does not improve it will be a miserable night and tomorrow, well it should be cancelled.

Around 4:30pm another van with Queensland plates snuck in for a night of free camping. The rain just keeps bucketing down and I’m glad that I prepared my Chili Con Carne earlier this afternoon. A couple of beers, a glass of wine, maybe a movie and I will be ready for bed.

Day 42, 29th May – Day Tripper (9697km – 9923km)

The weather is still quite foul with lots of icy wind and rain. In the end I jumped into the Triton and headed west towards the 12 Apostles. Driving out along the Blue Johanna Road I was fortunate to see wallabies, kangaroos and quite a few crimson rosellas. There isn’t a lot of traffic about so I just meandered along and pulled into small villages like Lower Gellibrand and Princetown. The latter has a camping reserve which is based on a first come basis. Given the weather it was just about empty and you would have required an aqua-van as the place is like a big lake. It is definitely not a wet weather camp.

Just a couple of kilometers from the Big 12 there is a scenic lookout called Gibson’s Stairs. There were not many visitors so I decided to take the steps which have been ingeniously set into the cliff face. There was a Muslim family on the beach who were busily taking selfies and not keeping a good eye on the swells. One second there was plenty of beach and then a big breaker pushed a large swell right up to the base of the cliff. I was fine but for the Muslims it was nearly a tragedy. They were all soaked and Mum only just managed to hold onto a screaming little one as the surge retreated back down the beach. In the end it was a comedy and typical of some men the only concern they had was not for the child but the poor old mobile phone that also copped a drenching.

There were plenty of visitors at the 12 Apostles but everyone was moving quickly in an effort to escape the wind and intermittent showers. In my big lumber jacket I looked like a reject from a Rivers Clearance Warehouse but I was warm enough. I took the required photographs of I don’t know many Apostles and headed back to the car. I suppose they will be around for a few more years yet. It was marching onto lunch time so I did an about face and drove off towards Lavers Hill. I spotted a café with a few cars outside and decided that was enough evidence to stop for a bite to eat. The coffee was good and strong and the vegetable pastie was delicious.

From here I decide to do a circuit through the Great Otway National Park which would bring me out east of Apollo Bay and then travel back to the camp via The Great Ocean Road. My first stop was not a national park but a roadside stall selling free range eggs. Yes, I did pay for them. Once into the national park I headed for Triplet Falls. This is a fantastic walk through cool temperate rainforest. There are towering Mountain Ash and some must be close to 100 metres tall. The track is well maintained and follows the crystal clear creek for a good portion. Giant tree ferns line either side of the path. The fronds that were heavy with water from the constant precipitation overhung the path. It felt like they were my guard of honour and the thunderous sound of the waterfall was the band leading me onwards. The waterfall is not high but due to the recent rain there was an abundance of water cascading down the various levels.

Close to the falls there is a commercial enterprise for the Otway Tree Walk and zip-lining. At $125 I decided not to zip but I did cough up $25 for a tree top walk. It was about 2:30 pm and there was no-one else lining up for the walk. The round trip is about 3.5km and takes about one hour. The tree top walk construction is about 650 metres in length. There is also a large tower that you can climb which gets you up close and personal to some of the big Mountain Ash trees as well as the Myrtle Beech Trees. There is also a cantilever section that has a fair amount of spring in it especially when you bounce on it. After leaving the serenity of the rainforest I warmed myself up by just about standing in the café fireplace.

Time was marching on and there were still a few kilometres to travel before my journey was over. Just after leaving the village of Beech Forest I noticed a sign advising that trailers and caravans should not proceed. Normally I just ignore warnings like this and plough onwards. Luckily, I did not have the van with me because the road soon narrowed and there were plenty of blind corners with tight turns. This went for about 25km and I was glad that I did not encounter any other traffic. The drive through the forest was quite scenic. The only sounds I heard came from the music of the bush and some hits of the 70’s. Around 4:30pm I pulled over at Apollo Bay for a quick rest. The bay is somewhat protected and the waves that were rolling into the shore were perfect for surfers. It was like a good Moffat Beach surf break.

I eventually arrived back at the van just before dark. I had just enough time and light to sit out under the annex and enjoy a nice cold Coopers Stout. Dinner tonight is pumpkin soup and leftover Chili Con Carne.

Day 43, 30th May – Cape Otway Lightstation (9923km – 10032km)

The wind blew all night and brought the cold with it. Even though I was rugged up to the nines it just seeped through me which meant I had a broken sleep. A hearty breakfast put me in a good frame of mind so I decided some more touring is in order. It is also an excuse to dodge any rangers who maybe skulking about in search of camping fees.

There wasn’t much traffic heading in my direction so I was able to drive at a leisurely pace and enjoy the scenery. Cape Otway is the southernmost point of The Great Ocean road and it is also where the Bass Strait meets the Southern Ocean. King Island is a mere 90km south and the stretch of water was so hazardous that the lighthouse was built in 1848. There was a $19.50 entry fee and thanks to Alice I was able to afford the admission. On the grounds there is a telegraph station that was built in 1859 to house Australia’s first submarine telegraph cable, which linked Tasmania with the mainland. It failed and the building became a Lloyd’s Signal Station, signaling passing ships and telegraphing the details to Melbourne. For those who like it cold and windy the head lightkeepers’s house with four double bedrooms is now available for rent. There is also a World War II radar bunker and lookout which is an ideal place to snap a photo of the lighthouse. You can also climb the stairs of the lighthouse and take in the magnificent views. Today however it is a cold and grey day with the wind howling and whipping up the waves. On days like this you can understand why they needed the light.

After a hearty lunch at the lighthouse café I hit the road again, this time in search of Koalas. The drive back to the main road is about 12km and you travel through large strands of eucalypt forest. Along one section of road I spotted one of the furry creatures nestled high in a gum tree. Of course it was sleeping and as a result not easy to photograph. I looked around the area and saw at least another

ten koalas. A lot of the trees have been stripped of leaves as there is apparently an over population of them. They are literally eating themselves out of house and home and as a result there is talk of culling the numbers through sterilization.

My next stop was at Maits Rest rainforest walk. This stop is right on the main road and was named after an old ranger from the early 1900’s who used to rest here with his horse whilst on patrol. The usual suspects of mountain ash, tree ferns and myrtle beech abound in this cool temperate rainforest. It isn’t as good as Triplet Falls but due to its easy access receives a big thumbs up.

My last stop for the day was at Aire River East campground which lies within the national park. The ground is right beside the river and there is a jetty that allows you to launch a canoe without any trouble. There are also toilets and water but once again you have to book your site with the Victorian Parks department. A sand track suitable only for 4x4 vehicles leads down to the beach.

Back at the campground I managed to get time for some well needed stretching exercises. I complemented this with some more stout, oven roasted Atlantic Salmon marinated in a chili lime sauce which was washed down with the remnants of last night’s red wine.

Day 44, 31st May – Nowhere Man (10032km)

Today I have decided to hang around the camp and possibly go for a short walk along the beach. By mid-morning the weather had turned completely foul. The rain squalls were more frequent and the wind decided to do a 180 degree turn with increased intensity. It was lucky that I hadn’t gone out as the van which was now directly in the path of the wind was copping a real buffeting. During a break in the rain I managed to take the annex down and hitch the truck up. I basically moved the van to the opposite side of the campground and now have the door out of the wind. It seems to be working but if the wind changes direction again I will be up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

I decided to fire up the Cobb Cooker and have some oven roasted mince and chorizo meatballs for dinner. It took a bit of effort to light the fire starters but eventually I got everything going. Inside the van it was bitterly cold so I had the bright idea to bring the Cobb inside. Not only did it cook a delicious meal but it warmed the van up for a few hours. You just have to love those heatbeads.