Kennett River, Victoria

Tuesday February 21st saw us wake up to a beautiful morning. What a difference a day makes! Have a look at these lovely shots as we waited for the ferry to arrive. We arrived early at the ferry without any traffic problems so had a bit of time to kill before boarding.

The Ferry trip itself was relatively smooth and without incident. Once we unloaded in Queenscliff we took a winding route along the coast eventually joining up with the main highway into Torquay. From there we continued along the coast joining the Great Ocean Road. It was amazing how busy the roads got with tour buses and tourist traffic as soon as we passed through the Memorial gate at the East end of the Great Ocean Road. We continued on through Lorne which was very busy before arriving at Kennett River around lunch time. Kennett River is a very small community with not much more than the caravan park and a general store. The caravan park was a Top Tourist with nice wide sites. The amenity block was dated but kept relatively clean. I'll give 3 Stars. This is a great little caravan park right across the road from a lovely sandy beach. One of the few non rocky ones we saw along the Great Ocean Road. The weather was a lot better here as well so Rans and I had a swim on the first couple of days. The only downside to the caravan park was the water pressure which was abysmal. We had to use our pump in conjunction with the water feed to get any amount of pressure.

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Once we had some lunch we took a short drive to explore the immediate area. First stop was Carisbrook Falls just South of Kennett River. The walk in was fairly short but did involve a fair amount of climbing up & down. There was water flowing over the falls but would be a great deal more it looks like after a heavy rain.

We returned to the car headed back through the caravan park to the Grey River Road. A gravel road that winds up the hill to the Grey River Picnic Reserve. We had many stops along the way as there were numerous Koala sightings. It was great to see so many of them in their natural habitat. Lots of pictures as you will see. The picnic area itself was on a lovely river/creek bed with beautiful rainforest vegetation. Unfortunately the walking trail and the picnic area were quite overgrown so we didn't explore very far. Lots more Koala sightings on the return trip as well a large quantities of colourful parrots in the park.

 Wednesday morning we joined the Ransleys for a day trip to explore the sights South of Kennett River. Our first stop was Apollo Bay where we drove up to Marriners Lookout. A short walk/climb led us to the top of a hill overlooking Apollo Bay and the surrounding area. A marvellous 270 degree view!

From there we took a short drive around town and down to the foreshore area. Looks like a lovely place to stay and wasn't nearly as busy as Lorne.

Back on the Great Ocean Road heading South we stopped at Maits Rest. A beautiful short walk of about 1Km winding through fern gardens and huge moss covered trees. Very enjoyable walk with good paths and boardwalk that is a must see from our perspective. Lots of pictures again of which a few are below.

We then headed West before turning South towards Cape Otway. This turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments of our trip so far and one I would recommend most people skip on their way through the Great Ocean Road. The road was sealed but was narrow and not very good. Lots of cars pulled up wherever because of Koala sightings. Great that there are so many of these lovely creatures here but not great that there are no decent places to pull off the road to enjoy them safely. Once we reached Cape Otway we discovered that you can't see anything without paying $19.50/person to get inside the gates. This included the café, the grounds and the lighthouse. A total ripoff as any other lighthouse location we have been at you could walk the grounds at no charge and only pay an admission if you wanted a guided tour of the lighthouse. We took a short walk to the only free lookout which again was a joke; with a 6 foot section of trees trimmed slightly so you could peer through at the coast and lighthouse in the distance.

While we were there we observed 90 percent of the people arriving in the parking lot, leaving without paying to get in. The few we met on the walk to the lookout all shared our frustration and were disgusted with the experience. Such a shame when compared against Wilsons Promontory and the more spectacular locations along the Great Ocean Road like the 12 Apostles which are all free.

We returned to the Great Ocean Road heading West, then North to Lavers Hill. We turned off the Great Ocean Road here heading North East towards Beech Forest. The road was very good and we made good time before turning South towards Triplet Falls. This road wasn't suitable for caravans but was fine in a car. We enjoyed our picnic lunch here before heading out on some walks.

Our first walk was to the Little Aire Falls. This was a fairly challenging 4.5Km return walk with lots of climbing up and down in both directions. There was beautiful rainforest vegetation and huge Sequoia Redwoods and Mountain Ash along the walk. At the end we were treated to a nice platform view down at the falls.

Once we retraced our steps we took the shorter but still challenging circuit walk to Triplet Falls. More of the same glorious huge trees, ferns, and moss along another undulating walkway. As the name describes there were a series of 3 falls with the top one being the best from a photography point of view. There was a few remnant pieces of old forestry equipment along the return leg to the carpark. We were fairly tired by the time we made it back to the Ransleys car.

From here we made the return trip to the caravan park via Beech Forest and Skenes Creek. The section East of Beech Forest was a very narrow and winding, forestry road. No room to pass another vehicle in large sections of this stretch and no visibility around the corners made it a stressful return trip. Luckily we didn't encounter any logging trucks and only one car travelling in the opposite direction.

Great day of exploring and total walks of some 14Km which left us very tired. We all had a fairly early night!

Thursday morning we enjoyed a bit of a sleep in before heading off in the Jeep for a day trip exploring North of Kennett River. We made the return trip to Lorne where we first ventured up to Teddy's Lookout. The route we took through town would be one of the steepest roads we have ever been on. We couldn't see the road over the hood of the Jeep in a few sections. Once at the top a short walk took us out to a lookout which gave a great view of the Great Ocean Road. We were lucky enough to have another close encounter with a Koala in a tree adjacent to the lookout.

We descended the hill by a different route which was considerably less steep before taking the road out to Erskine Falls. The car park was quite full when we arrived but we still took both walks to the upper and lower Falls viewpoints. The lower falls walk was short but challenging as it consisted of some 250 steps. The view of the falls was very good but photo opportunities were challenging due to the number of other tourists. Beautiful green creek bed was a nice cool location though. We returned up the steps to take the short walk to the upper view point. This was a much easier walk but I don't think it was as good a viewpoint.

We decided to continue our trip North to Airley's Inlet. We enjoyed a good walk around the lighthouse precinct and out to a couple of great lookouts. There were some very interesting rock formations in the area which were visible from the lookouts.

We also took a drive further along the beach road where we got some good views back at the lighthouse area.

We then turned back South stopping at the Memorial Arch which is the beginning of the Great Ocean Road. Interesting to find out that the road was built as a project by returning service man to integrate them back into the economy. Too bad our current batch of politicians don't have this sort of foresight and compassion towards are current military veterans.

Our final stop was in Lorne where we enjoyed a walk around the downtown and a lovely lunch. We returned to the caravan park where we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and prepared for the next leg of our journey.

Rosebud, Victoria

Sunday February 19th, 2017 saw up early to avoid incoming rain while we packed up. We pulled out as the rain started to fall heavily. We headed back through Wonthaggi before heading Northwest around Western Port Bay. We then headed South on the Mornington Peninsula arriving at Rosebud around 11AM. We checked into the Rosebud Foreshore Reserve which is huge. Has several section stretching out for a number of kilometres along Port Phillip Bay. Luckily we arrived at the area that housed the office. I would recommend checking your location if you book prior to arriving.

The sites we got were a good size and backed onto the foreshore. Amenity blocks were located in each section but minimal size for the number of sites. Relatively clean so I'll give 3 Stars. There were a number of brightly coloured Shacks backing onto the water and Sandra got a flock of Swans flying by.

The girls did some washing once we got setup. After lunch we took a drive down to Sorrento along the coast. There are literally kilometres of caravan sites along the foreshore which are surprisingly still quite busy. We would hate to be here during holiday season. We took a quick drive thru historic Sorrento before heading out towards Point Nepean National Park. Sorrento was very busy and commercial and not someplace we will be looking to return to anytime soon. Point Nepean Park looked interesting but given it was cold, wet, and windy we really didn't get to enjoy much of it. We did find another version of the London Bridge however which was quite nice even with storm clouds in the background. We did a quick shop at Woolworths before returning to the caravan park.

Monday morning the weather was still not great. We spent most of the morning catching up with computer/housework. After lunch the sun was peaking out so we headed out to explore the Eastern coast of the Mornington Peninsula. We headed South through Boneo before arriving at Cape Schanck. We took in a few beach lookouts before heading out towards the lighthouse.

Once there we enjoyed an adventuresome walk down the boardwalk to Pulpit Rock. The wind was blowing a gale and we struggled not to get blown off into the ocean. It was a beautiful location and would have been wonderful on a warm, calm day. That being said we got some good laughs and enjoyed the sights.

From there we took a drive to Flinders where the countryside was rolling hills and large farmlands. Was definitely more to our liking than the commercial Port Phillips Bay coastline. We then cut North across the Peninsula through more rural areas to Arthur's Seat. This is a peak looking West over the Mornington Peninsula and Port Phillips Bay. There is a gondola service from here back down to the West coast. There was some good views from here but would have been freezing on the gondola as they were open and the wind was howling. We enjoyed a winding ride back down the hill before heading home to the caravans.

Cape Paterson, Victoria

Friday February 17th saw us bid farewell to Shallow Inlet and Wilson's Promontory. A wonderful visit but definitely a place to be enjoyed best with good weather! We are finding that is the exception rather than the norm in the Victorian summer.

Another short travel day but road conditions were again challenging. Rough, narrow, winding roads seem to be the norm in this part of Victoria. We arrived before lunch at the Cape Paterson Caravan Park. The park has 3 separate areas and the one we were assigned to was more of a beach reserve designed primarily for campers in a bush setting. We were allocated a nice large area for our two vans but access was a bit tricky. We did however have power and a water tap that we could just reach with our hose. The amenity block was quite modern and kept fairly clean. I'll give 3.5 Stars. Staff was friendly and helpful.

The girls got straight into several loads of laundry which kept them busy for a good part of the day. Rain was threatening most of the day so drying clothes was a challenge. After lunch we took a drive into Wonthaggi which appears to be the regional shopping centre. Has Woolworths, Coles, Dan Murphys, Bunnings, Big W etc. Spent a few hours in town replenishing our supplies. Luckily the sun came out while we were out so we eventually got all our laundry dry. We did a short walk down to the beach in the late afternoon. The beach is quite rocky so you would need to be careful swimming. Too cold for a swim during our visit.

  

Saturday morning we all hopped in the Jeep for a day trip to Phillip Island. Weather was once again less than ideal with rain most of the way. Our first stop once we crossed on to the island was Fisherman's Point at Rhyll. The weather had cleared a bit and we had a walk out to the wharf.

From there we carried on to the Cowes Jetty. Had a nice morning tea at the park there and watched a Princess Cruise ship heading for a landing at Rhyll.

We filled up with diesel before heading to Phillip Island National Park. Unfortunately by the time we arrived there the rain was falling and the wind was blowing. We had a quick stop to get a picture of the Nobbies and a couple of Cape Barron Geese. The rain was still falling as we drove by the famous motorcycle racecourse.

Our final stop on the island was at Smiths Beach which was cold and wet but popular with the surfers. Actually we had one more stop at a fresh seafood place which was supposedly direct from the fisherman. With the King Prawns at $89/Kilo we decided to give them a miss. Instead we stopped at Woolworths in Wonthaggi and bought them for $22/Kilo. We like to support local business but sometimes they are just a ripoff.

We arrived home to have a late lunch at the caravans. We had a bit of a break before heading into Inverloch for a visit with a couple of Adam and Kate's friends, Chris and Ash. We had a lovely visit over a cold drink and cup of tea. We took the coastal road back towards Cape Paterson. We had a few scenic stops along the way at Eagles Nest and a few beaches.

Was getting windy and wet by the time we returned to the campsite. We had a couple of afternoon drinks before packing up as much as we could for leaving the next day.