Melbourne to Adelaide - Victoria

Melbourne to Lorne – 76km

The crossing was very calm with hardly any swell. We were off the ferry by 6-30am and cycled up into Melbourne. As the clocks had gone back, at least it was light. Because the first section to Geelong was flat and through industrial suburbs we decided to take the train. Arriving at Southern Cross station, we found that the train was cancelled due to weekend maintenance works and had been replaced by a bus. There is no guarantee that buses will take bikes, but as there were not many people on board it didn't present any problem.

The bus arrived in Geelong at 9-15am and we cycled down to the beach area and treated ourselves to eggs Benedict, fresh orange juice and coffee. From there we followed the bike route to join the Surf Coast Highway to Torquay. The road was straight and very busy, but had a wide shoulder.

After Torquay the road finally starts to follow the coast, over high bluffs and cliffs with lovely views over the beaches where there were crowds of surfers. At Anglesea we sat in the warm sunshine to eat our lunch and, for the first time for several weeks, it was warm enough to melt the chocolate on our biscuits.

Shortly we came to the start of the Great Ocean Road, the building of which is commemorated by an archway. The present archway is the fourth, the previous ones having been destroyed by fire, storm and road widening. The road was constructed with pick and shovel, by soldiers returning from World War 1 and so is the World's biggest war memorial.

Before we reached Lorne, as we climbed out of Grass Creek, Karen spotted an injured bird at the side of the road, next to the crash barrier. It was a Tawny Frogmouth and seemed to be stunned or possibly poisoned. Although it was quite calm it had a vicious looking beak that it wasn't afraid to keep showing us. To stop it being run over, Karen wrapped it in her towel to pick it up and placed it carefully in the grass over the barrier.

Lorne

The camp site was by the side of the river with lots of ducks with their ducklings and cockatoos. As the sun set it created a pink reflection on the clouds and we looked forward to a peaceful night's sleep.





Now we were only 3 weeks away from our planned departure from Australia we had to sort out our visa problem. Because we had left it so late to get our visas we could only apply for the 3 month visitor online. The web site assured us we could apply for an 3 month extension to this. When we logged on we found there was a charge of $255 each to do this. As we only needed to extend by 3 days this was a bit steep. We rang the helpline to see if there was a day count for the 3 months, as entering on the 15^th February meant that we were actually spending only 92 days in Australia. They were typically unhelpful so in the end it was cheaper and less risky to just bring our Singapore flights forward three days.

Lorne to Apollo Bay – 47km

The peace of the previous evening was broken by a group of four girls in the adjacent tent, laughing, shouting and swearing until the early hours of the morning. There were lots of grumpy campers this morning and we were probably not the only ones to complain when we left.

The road from Lorne hugged the coast all the way, rising and falling as it went over bluffs and descended into river valleys. The sun was shining and there were lots of motor bikes, classic cars and camper vans enjoying the ride. This was the Great Ocean Road that we had been expecting and it didn't disappoint us. Travelling west on a bike means that you have the best possible view of the sea as you travel.

After a coffee stop at Kennet River, we climbed once again to the highest cliffs in Victoria at Mount Defiance lookout. We chatted to three motor cyclists from the USA and were really interested in the tiny camera that one of them had mounted on his helmet. This was also the first time that we saw a particular caravan with “Ann and Alan Ch. 18” written on the back in large letters.

The road then dropped back down to the ocean for the gently rolling, final 10km into Apollo Bay, but first we stopped for lunch, sitting on the beach and paddling in the rock pools.

Apollo Bay is a pleasant seaside town, with expensive holiday homes, bars and restaurants along its promenade. After shopping, we headed to our camp site at the recreational reserve just outside of town. It was cheaper than the town centre sites and basic. The camp kitchen was an open barbecue area and wasn't very clean, but it did have an open fire. We met John, a young Australian guy who seemed to be into building development, sports coaching and all sorts of other things. It was difficult to tell how much of his banter was real and how much was make believe.

John bought some wood and we got the fire going. Later we were joined by a group of German and Swiss travellers. As John had a guitar, each of us took a turn at trying to string together a tune or two.

Apollo Bay to Lavers Hill – 47km

Due to a clear sky, the night was very cold and we struggled to drag ourselves out of our cosy beds. The tent was covered with a heavy dew outside and condensation inside. By 9-00am the sun was up and it wasn't long before everything dried out. We knew that we were in for some long climbs today, but nevertheless, we set off in good spirits.

Immediately, the road out of Apollo Bay started to climb North West, away from the coast and continued for the next ten kilometres over the Cape Otway headland. Even though we were told there were koalas in the wild on the headland, we decided against the 7km detour to the Otway Lighthouse.

The descent was steeper and shorter and eventually the road curved south west along the side of the broad, marshy Aire Valley back towards the coast. Time for the second hill climb of the day, but before that we stopped with the other tourists to take in the views from the cliffs to Glenaire Beach. Over the last two days we had been playing leap frog with 'Ann and Alan' in their caravan and we met them again. This time he came and chatted with us about our ride.

We girded our loins and got back into the saddle for a steady climb, varying between 1^st and 3rd gears. After 20 minutes we stopped for lunch, fending off the marauding mozzies as we ate. The climb continued up and up for another 10km before we finally reached the outskirts of Lavers Hill with the choice of three cafes to tempt us. The one promoting Devonshire cream teas won out but they were out of scones.

Tea and cakes have the miraculous ability to transform tired and dejected cyclists into energy laden athletes ready for another 30km. But not today! The camp-site was just 1km further down at the Roadhouse Tavern. It had seen better days and appeared to be undergoing a half hearted renovation of sorts. Unfortunately there was not a food shop in town so we were forced to dine at the Tavern. It was surprisingly good food and the owner only charged us $10 for the camping.

Lavers Hill to Port Campbell – 60km

It was quite clear and dry when we got up in the morning, but before breakfast was finished the clouds had rolled in and the rain started. The scene was set.

We had expected an easy descent from Lavers Hill at 590m, but the road continued through rolling countryside for several kilometres. There was a turn off signposted to Moonlight Heads along an unsealed road. On the map it looked like this road continued along the coast, before rejoining the main road just before Princetown. We decided to give it a try. After about 3km, most of it downhill, we asked some tourists coming in the opposite direction and it appeared the road was a dead end. Dejectedly we climbed back up the steep rough hill back to the main road, where we met our motorcycling friends again.

Once on the sealed road there was an exciting long and twisting descent through the gum forest. With a wave, the motorcyclists passed us on the way down. The road flattened out for the next few kilometres As we rounded a bend there were the bikers again, in a lay-by. As we passed them Steve commented “Hey, you guys have more rest stops than we do”. It turned out that one of them had hit a wallaby, which lay dead at the roadside. They passed us once more, but that was the last time that we would see them.

At the next settlement, Princetown, we rode up the hill into town which was just having its road resurfaced. Energised by this refreshment we continued on to Gibson's Steps, a viewpoint over the bay containing two rocky pinnacles called Gog and Magog. There is a flight of steps down to the beach and crowds of tourists all puffing and panting their way up the narrow stairs.

The Twelve Apostles

Just beyond this is one of the most iconic sights of the Great Ocean Road, the Twelve Apostles. There is a huge car park and visitor centre and coach loads of sightseers but it is a stunning natural feature. Unfortunately there are now only seven rock stacks left of the original twelve, the others having collapsed into the sea.

Loch Ard Gorge

The road continues along the coast past several other fascinating wave sculptured features such as Loch Ard Gorge, Thunder Cave and The Grotto.

 The weather was deteriorating and it started to rain quite heavily so we gave then a quick scan and pushed on to Port Campbell. We were wet and cold so booked into a small backpackers on the harbour. There was an open fireplace and a huge pile of red gum, so with a large fire and the whole place to ourselves we had a relaxing evening.

Port Campbell to Kilarney – 85km

Port Campbell

It poured with rain for most of the night but the day dawned dry and windy. The road climbs back to the top of the cliffs as it leaves Port Campbell and then there are a succession of famous landmarks.

London Bridge

The Arch

Bay of Martyrs

Bay of Islands

 Stopping and taking photographs at each one took quite a long time so by lunchtime very little progress had been made. But we had seen The Arch, London Bridge, Bay of Martyrs and Bay of Islands, all with huge waves breaking and a lot of sea mist. At the Bay of Islands lookout we met Ann and Allan for the last time as they were heading north.

From there the road leaves the coast, turning inland and passing through quite boring, flat pasture. With the wind was strong and westerly, most of the time we were riding into it. The traffic was quite heavy and this section was not enjoyable. There were no lay-bys or picnic areas so to escape the cold strong wind we ended up eating our lunch in a bus shelter at the side of the road.

At Warnambool we stopped to shop for food and popped into McDonald’s to check e-mail. There was a message from Ben asking if we would be able to go to their wedding on September 7^th. Two sons wed in four months!

By now it was getting to dusk, the weather was dull and drizzling and there was still about 20km to Kilarney so the high vis jackets and lights were needed. The camp-site at Kilarney was a little way from the main road, at the side of the beach. It was one of the cheapest since Melbourne.

Kilarney to Portland – 89km

There was not much change in the weather today, still cold with a strong head wind and threat of rain. It was about 10km to Port Fairy, a lovely historic port town with restored old buildings where we had coffee. After that it seemed a long, long slog. The head wind slowed progress to a miserably slow speed and again it was away from the coast, through farmland and plantations.

At lunchtime we found a small volunteer fire station shed in a clearing at the side of the road and sat in a brief sunny spell, sheltered from the wind. Soon after that it started drizzling and then pouring. There was no point in sheltering and there was still a long way to go.

Arriving in the little town of Narrawong we saw a cycle path on the opposite side of the road. As we paused to try and cross the road a woman came out of her house and offered us a warm by her fire and a cup of tea. How could we refuse.

Warmed and slightly drier there was just the last 15km to Portland to complete and again the dusk was fast approaching as we navigated our way through some long country lanes to find Dave and Kerry's house, our Couch surfing hosts. By the time we arrived there was just about time to introduce ourselves before they had to dash off to their Easter Thursday church service. When they returned we had a lovely meal and a good sleep in a very comfy bed.

The next day we had a lie-in till 9am, pure luxury. Kerry and Dave took us on a tour of the local landmarks, including Cape Bridgewater, Portland harbour and Cape Nelson.

 Portland has a large wood chip factory, exported in large ships to Japan, and a huge aluminium smelting factory. There was a fishing competition being held so lots of people were fishing around the harbour. There is a recently renovated tramway running along the edge of the harbour.

There was a small nature reserve with emus and a couple of white kangaroos.

In the afternoon Steve had a little nap while Karen worked on the blog. In the morning the weather was still unsettled so we loaded all our gear into the back of Dave's car and he drove us to Nelson, 55km further along the coast. We went on a gravel road along the Gleneig Valley where there are lots of beautiful small camping areas in the forest, beside the broad, meandering Gleneig River