Melbourne in 41C....sweltering hot

Landed in Melbourne in extreme heat....41C! Found my hotel and settled in. Headed out for dinner then back to the room. Too hot to be outside....at 1 am it was still 26C!

January 19
Didn’t sleep too well. I think my brain was planning my drive on the Great Ocean Road....campgrounds, where to stop, what to see. Had a quick bowl or oatmeal and checked out. Waited for my Uber pick up....did I tell you how much I love Uber?

Got to the depot to pick up van only to find out my van was HUGE! My kids said it reminds them of a baby beluga.

I tried to get a small van cause i wasn’t very confident driving it but there wasn’t any choice. It was this one or none. So I put on my big girls panties, got in the drivers seat and drove away. It really isn’t that difficult to drive, I just need to plan where I park and remember that I cannot go into any underground parking. The unit is new and I got upgraded. I have a TomTom (GPS) with extra wifiI feel like a Queen, a nomadic Queen!

With my heart in my stomach, I punched in my first destination into my GPS and off I went to explore Torquay. Torquay is Victoria's surfing and beach worship capital. The home of Bells Beach and birthplace of iconic brands Rip Curl and Quicksilver. Visit over Easter and see the world's best surfers compete in the mighty Rip Curl Pro and the official start of the Great Ocean Road.

The famous Bells Beach

Stopped in to a few beaches along the way

Split Point LighthouWe


One of the houses and a cafe on that street

The Memorial Arch is a tribute to the World War One servicemen who built the Great Ocean Road. The present arch is the third built to replace the second one destroyed in the Ash Wednesday bushfires of February 1983. The timber log archway with cement and stone supports on each side spans the Great Ocean Road. A plaque unveiled on the arch in 1939 commemorated those who served in World War One.

Got to Lorne and headed to Erskine Falls and Teddy’s Lookout

It was so warm, I stopped at the beach for a dip...a quick dip because the beach was so full and busy!

I was told by one if the wonderful ladies at the Information Centre in Lorne that if I walked behind the caravan park in Kennett River I would see koalas in the trees. I did!

Skenes River was my final destination for the night. Once I got set up I met my neighbours.... Pete and Jenny from Melbourne. They escaped the city because of the heat. They were so friendly and kind. We spent the evening watching and listening to two car full of Asians arrive. They had the owner and manager running looking for extensions cords. They finally settled down around midnight.

January 20
Had a slower than usual start this morning. I was all packed and ready to head out when I noticed that someone had taken my nice long extension cord and replaced it with a short one. I searched out the manager because of last nights excitement with extension cords. The owner handed me my extension cord...I proceeded to tell him that he had no right touching anything that was attached to my van. The cord did not belong to him. After a few curse words between the two of us I left....with my cord!

Pete and Jenny were so helpful in trying to help me locate it. They gave me their phone number (and email) ju set in case I needed anything while n Australia.

I found a community market in Apollo Bay. They sold everything...but seeing the macrame reminding me of my beautiful sister in law, Pam, that I miss very much.


Apollo Bay beach

Made my way to Cape Otway but I was too cheap to pay to go to the lighthouse. So I walked a bit on the Great Ocean Walk then had lunch in the parking lot. But the main attraction is the opportunity of seeing koalas. There were so many.....

So next stop was Maits Rest. Maits Rest is located in the heart of the beautiful Otway Ranges near Apollo Bay. It takes you through the temperate rainforest and exposes some of the region’s most spectacular scenery.

The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of the Port Campbell National Park. Their proximity to one another has made the site a popular tourist attraction. There are eight Apostles left, the ninth having collapsed dramatically in July 2005. I took “Gibson Steps” to the beach to see the cliffs.

Soooo many people!

Last stop of the day. Loch Ard Gorge is named after the clipper ship Loch Ard, which ran aground on nearby Muttonbird Island on 1 June 1878 approaching the end of a three-month journey from England to Melbourne. Of the fifty-four passengers and crew, only two survived. The arch of the nearby Island Archway collapsed in June 2009. The feature now appears as two unconnected rock pillars.[2] They have since been officially named Tom and Eva after the two teenage survivors of the Loch Ard shipwreck.

Settled in at Port Campbell for the night.