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Day 12: Sunday, February 12

We headed out of Ballarat and once again set our course on Google Maps – this time for Warrnambool on the Great Ocean Road west of Melbourne. 

Eventually we found our way to the coast at Torquay where we coffee’d up and then joined the heavy traffic on the Great Ocean Road. Very scenic! I intend to write a separate blog note on Australian road travel, but suffice it to say…I am VERY impressed! Wild beaches and the winding road kept my attention, and finally, as a fine drizzle began, we arrived at the Twelve Apostles – a series of magnificently eroded rocks along the shore. (There are no longer 12, as several have eroded away.) We found a parking spot in a tourist scene that was a bit of a zoo, even in this chilly weather. (Down to 11°C at one point today! It NEVER goes that low in our Island summer!) Luckily, we were dressed for the occasion with jeans and rain jackets. As we headed down to the viewing walkway, a sign warned tourist to stay on the path, because off it…”venomous snakes”! Okay, so now the paved centre of the pathway was REALLY crowded – nobody in the passing lanes near the grass. We finally elbowed our way down to the viewing area where hurricane force winds suddenly hit – along with shower squalls. We soldiered on a bit, took some pics, and then fought our way back through the “centre traffic” lane. We gladly got back on the road, and eventually found our way to a lovely home in Warrnambool, where we met our hosts – Brenda and Roger, their thirties-something son, Roger, and their deaf “teddy bear Pomeranian”, Mandy. (Mandy may not have a lot of snuffles left in her at age 15). Dinner was at a burger place in town. After dinner, we toured the waterfront, and then returned to our room which was beautiful. Our hosts were warm and friendly. Good intro to Airbnb, though we aren’t completely comfortable in someone else’s space!

Day 13: Monday, February 13

Today we head for a place called Callum Down, southeast of Melbourne. We will bypass Melbourne by travelling to Queenscliff, and taking a ferry to Sorrento. I decided to give the Google “voice” a more appropriate name for this country: she is now Rooby! 

Perhaps she didn’t like her new name, or perhaps my Canadian accent didn’t come through clearly. Where I meant “Go to route”, Rooby interpreted it, once again as “goat route”, (I, personally, like her style) and once again we veered off of good Aussie highways, and onto back roads with only a rare tractor, or farm truck to avoid.

At last we reach the ferry terminal at Queenscliff, and Sandy makes the mistake of stepping out of the car to watch the incoming ferry. She steps into very high winds, and watches as the ferry rocks and rolls towards the dock. I think “Uh -oh! I may be continuing this journey without my passenger!” However, she recovers her good spirits, and eventually we rock and roll our own way across to Sorrento. Rest of journey to Callum is uneventful. 

Day 14: Tuesday, February 14

Our route today was leisurely, and we toured south around Phillip Island. We walked to several beaches and promontories including Point Grant, where once again we were warned to stay on the boardwalk because of “our shy snake – the [poisonous] copperhead…no specific anti-venom”. We don’t need to be told twice! Spectacular scenes as waves crash on rocks!

We have now reached our second Airbnb. It is a room (neat, but needed some cleanup) in the back of a large shed on a rural piece of land. The owner uses the shed to make cheese and I think that the fridge odour proved his point that some had ripened in the fridge. It is not quite what we expected. It doesn’t appear to have heat, so hope that that won’t be a problem on these coolish days. (It’s about 17°C right now…and I was wrong, there is a heater – which we used in the evening.) On arrival, I asked about the chances of seeing a koala, and he told us it was pretty good. I then jokingly asked if there was anything around that Bill Bryson would have warned us about, and he said, “No…well, spiders, – lots of them,… and snakes – copperheads – but no one has been bitten.” (Yet! We have booked for two nights!) And…we must boil our drinking water, and…the bathroom is outside, though clean, and appropriate, still requires that walk outside in the dark at night…we’ll hope that the only encounters with the locals are with cuddly koalas!