I didnt get a chance to write the blog last night so i will have to delve deep to try and remember what we have been up to as there has been so much happening i dont even know what day of the week it is, what the date is or where we are right now! We have been so busy its all blurring into one!
We left mount gambier and headed to Apollo bay. It was to be the start of the ocean road but before that, we stopped in Heywood for some much needed breakfast supplies. A pastie and a cake later (at 10am) and we were back on the road. We had a brief stop in port fairy and picked up some brochures from the tourist information place. The woman inside told us about the lovely lighthouse and marina around the corner...Dad and Gaz couldnt be bothered with it so we never got to see it but i hear its lovely! Along the drive the sun started to peer though the clouds. It wasnt cold by any means but at one point i thought it was going to rain. We did the great ocean road from west to eat by which point the sun was shining and the flies were out, hitching free rides on peoples backs and head butting us in the face....continuously. The first part of the ocean road had lots of stops for scenic lookouts. The london bridge, the arch, thunder cave, loch and gorge and last but not least the apostles were all some of the stops that we made. In the end we were hoping not to see another brown tourist sign pointing in the direction of more rocks because by this point we had been 'rocked out' and the rocks were all beginning to look the same. The apostles were probably the most over rated tourist attraction, plonking a big tourist centre next to them and charging a fortune for helicopter rides over the rocks. It was heaving...japanese tourists everywhere taking photos of everything and anything.
Gaz drove the whole drive and enjoyed the meandering road which he said was much more interesting than the boring stretch from victor harbour to mount gambier. We didnt get to Apollo Bay until 6ish. We checked in at our motel just down the road from the main street and the beach. I must say, Apollo Bay was lovely. We have crossed the border from South Australia into Victoria so the time difference has changed - Victoria is half hour ahead of South Australia which my iphone managed to pick up on automatically - so clever! Apollo bay is very touristy but still has the charm of a fishing village. We took a walk down to the marina and Gaz had fun watching all the people fishing off the rocks. the water was so clear you could see shoulsi of fish in the water. Gaz was climbing on a wall so had a view out of the marina into the ocean and said he saw a huge sting ray (the biggest he has ever seen in the wild).
The restaurants in Apollo bay were very expensive so we had dinner in the pub at the end of the main street. the food was good and we were in need of a good sleep after our busy day.
The next day we had a lye in and left Apollo Bay at 9.45am. We were finishing the last stretch of the ocean road which would end in Torquay. The last part of the ocean road was still very scenic and the sea was a beautiful colour blue, reflecting in the hot summer sun. Gaz has been enjoying the driving so didnt mind doing the last stretch of the ocean road. I think the ocean road was pretty and im really glad we have done it.....but it is just a road. It was built by the victorians post world war I to encourage commercialism (i think thats what i read anyway) and it has worked. People flock in their thousands every day to see this stretch of road but i must be honest, the UK coastline is just as impressive...we just dont get the weather to enjoy it as much!
The highlight of the days trip along the ocean road was to stop at split point lighthouse - this lighthouse was the one that they used to film 'round the twist', a programme gaz and i used to watch when we were kids. Gaz didnt appreciate me blaring the theme tune as we marched up to the lighthouse, causing people to stare. We almost drove past the lighthouse because i thought the lighthouse was in Torquay, not Airey Inlet. A few pictures later and an important update to facebook to 'check in' at the lighthouse and we were back on the road and heading towards torquay. Here we stopped off and had some lunch. Mum thought it was great they had put a bowl of water down by her seat for the dogs to drink from...that was until she got up to leave, forgot it was there and stuck her foot in the dogs bowl.
We spent the night in Geelong. At first i was unsure about the place. It was a population of 250,000 people and that was from the 2006 census so it has only got bigger. The hotel was just a little way out of the centre. When we arrived, Gaz had a nap and i went for a walk with mum and dad. To my surprise, the marina was beautiful. There was a lovely long pier with a restaurant at the end and people fishing from it. There was lots of open parkland and modern art scattered around. I was very impressed, it was just a shame for the very busy road that runs parallel to the coastline. In the evening we went back to the marina to show gaz who was also impressed and sat in a restaurant overlooking the water. The service was pretty poor and we waited ages to get served but the food was good. Gaz and i even had a milkshake. i am on the ferry writting this and about to loose 3g so i will carry on the blog later! Over to phillip island for penguin parade!!!!
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