Lorne (16/12/11 - 18/12/11)

A very windy, scenic 40kms west of Apollo Bay is Lorne and our next stop.  Simon is happy as he hasn't had to fuel the car up for over a week.

Another beautiful town, which the yuppies seem to love.  Spent some time at a local waterfall, Erskine Falls - stunning, despite the 300 odd steps down and back up again.  Especially when Ben had decided he'd seen enough of the waterfall 30 seconds after arriving!!  

While we were checking out some of the local mansions, Ben said he spotted a koala on the road.  Must say we thought he was stretching the truth.  But he wasn't, there crossing the road was a koala.  It ran into someone's yard.  Then we spotted a huge male koala starting to climb a tree.  We were within metres.  A neighbour informed us that the 2 males had been fighting over a female koala.  More photos - we can't get enough of these beautiful creatures.

Last tourist stop before heading back to camp for a G&T (even Simon is drinking them now!) was Teddy Lookout.  Beautiful view.

Our last day in Lorne was spent doing very little.  Walk into town, play at park, lunch at bakery, stroll along the beach and writing this blog!!

Tomorrow we head to Barwon Heads....we think!

Apollo Bay (14/12/11 - 16/12/11)

Further west along the Great Ocean Road to Apollo Bay.  Poor Simon, so hilly and windy.  Apollo Bay is a much bigger town than Port Campbell and there is so much accommodation.  It was busy... Great caravan park with ocean views (thanks Libby and Colin for the recommendation).  We met another WA family who we discovered live around the corner from Mum and Dad (small world!).  Plus Enzo, Shaye, Zara and Sienna from Adelaide.  The kids had great fun together and we all enjoyed a few drinks and dinner at Enzo and Shaye's campsite.  Thanks guys for a great night.

The Otway National Park was beautiful.  First stop Otway Lighthouse, which is the oldest mainland Australian lighthouse to have operated continuously and the first telecommunication link with Tasmania.  The lighthouse was great, but the highlight was definitely the road into the lighthouse.  The trees were alive with koalas - there were literally hundreds of them.  We eventually gave up counting.  We were lucky enough to see a mum and its baby - gorgeous.  How lucky we were to see so many koalas in the wild.  A definite highlight.

Next stop the Triplet Falls - beautiful waterfall and a lovely walk in the rainforrest.

Apollo Bay Caravan Park

Port Campbell (13/12/11 - 14/12/11)

From Port Campbell we visited the Bay of Islands, Bay of Martyrs, the Grotto, London Bridge, the Arch and finally the 12 Apostles.  WOW!!!  What amazing rock formations and scenery.  We loved them all, but the 12 Apostles were definitely a favourite (even though there are no longer 12).  Went back to the 12 Apostles for sunset and to see the little penguins that supposedly come onto the beach each night at sunset.  We waited and waited and waited and got colder and colder and colder....finally 2 penguins came ashore.  Bit less that the 1000 that we were told come in each night WITHOUT fail!  Bit disappointing but at least we saw 2!  Simon LOVED taking photos and even got out the tripod.

Had a great walk the next morning - across the river to a bush track up the hill.  Unfortunately the river was a bit deeper than we thought so Donna had the task of getting wet to get the kids across.  Great view from the lookout though, so all worth it.

The kids loved watching some crazy European backpackers jumping off the jetty into the freezing water and swimming to shore.  Crazy!

The Grotto

London Bridge

The Arch

The 12 Apostles (well 2 of them)

(and more)

Warrnambool (13/12/11)

50kms down the road and we arrived at Warrnambool, a big town of 34,000 people.  We found what the kids think is one of the best and biggest playgrounds of our holiday.  It was huge - heaps of separate little parks for about half a kilometre, with bridges and lakes, huge slides, a maze and the biggest attraction - the flying foxes (for the kids and adults!)  Had lunch and a huge play here.

Went to the Breakwater, a huge concrete wall that protects the harbour from the wild ocean.  The ocean was so rough!  Loved watching the waves crash onto the wall again and again...and occasionally splash over the wall.  Thankfully we didn't get wet!

Thought we would stay here, but once again we changed our mind and went onto Port Campbell, which Nic and Mike had recommended to us.  Great recommendation guys - we loved it.  A beautiful, quaint little town, where the river meets the ocean.  Fantastic caravan park.

Breakwater

And the big one!

Port Fairy (13/12/11)

We had intended to stay in Port Fairy, 30kms from Portland.  However, we got going early and when we stopped in Port Fairy it was freezing!!  We found another great park, which kept the kids entertained for a while.  Nice walk along the marina, past some beautiful homes up to the bridge that joins the 2 sides of Port Fairy.  After some hot drinks to warm ourselves up and morning tea, it was back in the car, headed for Warrnambool.

Bye SA, hello Victoria... Portland (11/12/11 - 13/12/11)

Today we said goodbye to SA.  We absolutely loved SA - so diverse and so many beautiful places.  Too hard to pick a favourite.

1st stop in Victoria - Portland.  A gorgeous coastal town with a population of around 11,000.  Beautiful foreshore, some really nice shops, parks and koalas!  We saw our 1st koala in the wild in Portland - up a tree in the caravan park.  Such a treat - the kids were very excited.  Our 2nd sighting was at the Botanic Gardens.

Simon got RBT'd - came up zero of course!  The policeman gave us a great recommendation - definitely go to Bridgewater Bay, 18kms away.  WOW!  So beautiful.  The protected beach was awesome - the nicest beach we have seen outside of WA (WA still has the best beaches!).  Plus we had it all to ourselves, not another person to be seen.  Too cold for swimming unfortunately, but the kids had a ball.

Checked out the blowholes and petrified forrest.  So cold!!!!!  On to Cape Nelson and their lighthouse.

Bridgewater Bay Beach

Cape Nelson Lighthouse

Our 1st koala sighting!

Portland Foreshore - it is all about the parks!

Portland Foreshore

Mount Gambier (9/12/11 - 11/12/11)

We loved Mount Gambier, such a beautiful spot.  Great caravan park right on the edge of the beautiful Blue Lake (extinct volcano & Mt Gambier's water supply).  A gorgeous town, with a similar population to Albany.  It has some amazing gardens, including the Sunken Gardens.  The kids loved the big playground that overlooked Valley Lake.

Sunken Gardens

Valley Lake

The great playground!

Blue Lake

Wilderness Park

Robe (8/12/11 - 9/12/11)

We left Adelaide on 8th December headed for Mount Gambier.  We did a free camp along the way at Robe, a beautiful coastal town.  Donna had been updating the blog in the car on the way and had almost finished when we arrived, to discover we had very little range.  As you can see from the photo, we went to extreme measures to get the blog written for you all!!

Adelaide and beyond.... (3/12/11 - 8/12/11)

We left Loxton with the intention of heading to Mannum or Murray Bridge, but once again we had a change of plans and decided to head to Adelaide.  We decided we would set up at a nice park and do day trips from here.  We passed through Mannum, which was a beautiful place.  Booked into the BIG4 Adelaide Shores park in West Beach - kid heaven.  We were right next to the park, games room, bouncy pillow, pool, etc and it was a beautiful park.  Plus lots of other kids.  Happy kids, happy us!

We met a wonderful couple, Judy and Tony who live in the Barossa Valley.  They were our neighbours for 3 days and we were treated to hot muffins 2 days in a row!  Thanks Judy and Tony.

From Adelaide we did a day trip down to Victor Harbour, Port Elliot and Goolwa, all lovely spots.  The kids loved the horse drawn tram across to Granite Island in Victor Harbour.  They even got to hold the horse's reins on the way back.  We could have spent more time down there so in hindsight should have stayed down there.

Another day trip to the Barossa via the Adelaide Hills.  1st stop - Hahndorf, a gorgeous European style town, where we enjoyed wandering down the main street.  Next stop, chocolate and cheese factories.  Yummy!   Next stop, the Big Rocking Horse and it is HUGE!  Donna and the kids enjoyed climbing to the top, despite some very steep ladders.  Then we wandered around the animal enclosure which had goats, alpacas, chickens, sheep, ducks and duckling and peacocks.  There was one goat who spent the entire time we were there standing on a tree branch!  Further on to the Barossa Reservoir or Whispering Wall, a 140m concrete reservoir which allows you to hear someone talking from the other end.  The kids loved it and it brought back memories for Donna who remembers visiting the same place 29 years ago! From here we went into the heart of the Barossa and stopped at Jacobs Creek and Seppeltsfield Wineries.  Simon and Donna even managed to get in a bit of wine tasting!  Last stop, Maree and Ian Rothe's house (more rellies) in Tanunda.  We spent 2 lovely hours with Maree and Ian in their new home overlooking vineyards.  Thank you Maree and Ian for a great afternoon.

After a jam packed day we drove back to Adelaide and to Anna (Simon's cousin) and Martin's home for tea.  Unfortunately we didn't get to see Caityln and Martin only briefly, but thank you Anna and Tim for a delicious tea and great catch up.  Home for a well earned sleep!

Our last day in Adelaide we spent at Glenelg, which we loved - gorgeous beach, great walk tracks, amazing homes and a great relaxed feel.  A relaxing afternoon at the caravan park.

Hanhdorf main street

Hanhdorf

Hahndorf

Chloe, Ben & Donna at the top of the BIG Rocking Horse

Barossa Reservoir - Whispering Wall

Jacob's Creek Winery

Seppeltsfield Winery

Glenelg

Glenelg