So we waved goodbye to Melbourne, packed up the Jeep, put the pedal to the metal and headed for the Great Ocean Road. Driving the Great Ocean Road was a major catalyst for buying a car in the first place and I had huge expectations for the experience.   As we turned the first coastal corners and the cliffs started to rise around as I couldn’t help but feel a little underwhelmed.  I’d hoped for so much more and everything seemed a little . . . grey.And then all of a sudden the sun broke through the clouds a few miles down the coast, and a glorious picturesque scene began to unfold.  What was just a coastal road slowly became a scene from a postcard.   We got to stop at Bell’s Beach which is where the Point Break was filmed – no 50ft waves for us though. That night we camped al fresco (and probably slightly illegally) in a national park just off from the sea.  Setting up the tents in the dark, we chatted about what the view might look like in the morning, and whether the official campground we’d been looking for was just round the corner.

The next day we visited the 3 waterfalls in the park and then rejoined the coastal road.  The weather was perfect and as we pulled up to the 12 Apostles, a major attraction on the road, all of my expectations for the trip were met.  The Apostles are a series of monoliths that crop up out of the sea, monuments to the power of the elements that carved them out of the mainland.  The sunset was beautiful and we camped nearby so that we could get up early the next morning to watch the sun return.

There are no words that can describe how amazing sun rise was.  We climbed out onto an outcrop and watched as the sky evolved in front of us.  At one point the sky appeared to be on fire, hovering just above the ocean.  The photos we took don’t do complete justice to the scene that we witnessed but they are stunning in their own right (If I do say so myself).

As well as the Apostles we visited Loch Ard, the bay where the 2 survivors of a shipwreck were washed ashore, and London Bridge. London Bridge is a natural bridge formation which used to have 2 arches, but the arch that connected it to the mainland collapsed a few years ago, leaving 2 tourists stranded until they were rescued by helicopter. Luckily no one was standing on the arch that collapsed at the time!

We left the great ocean road and headed on to Adelaide in South Australia, leaving behind the state of Victoria.  After a day in the city we headed back to our campsite where we noticed on someone’s TV that the Federer game, which we thought had finished hours ago, was still being played. After peering through the chain fence for 10 minutes into our own campsite we were invited by Sissy (the owner of the TV) to come and sit with her family to watch the final set.  We happily accepted and chatted with them for the next hour before heading off to our own patch for dinner and bed.  I however spilt half the pasta on the floor whilst draining it so it was more of a snack than dinner.  A McDonalds milkshake soon filled the void.

Adelaide behind us we drove the long, straight road up to Coober Pedy.  Coober Pedy is an opal mining town and is correctly described as looking like the end of the world.  A couple of films such as Mad Mac and Pricilla Queen of the Desert were filmed here for that very reason.  To escape from the harsh weather conditions, the minors of Coober Pedy built their homes and businesses underground in the sandstone rock.  Enter our accommodation – an underground hostel!  6.5 metres under the surface, our dorm beds sat in a cool man made maze of caves.  Although spacious, I’m not sure the claustrophobics among you (mum) would have enjoyed the experience.  We also visited the Old Timer’s Mine to learn more about the town and the mining process.  A very surreal town, and a very surreal experience.

Over the last 6 Days we’ve covered 2800 Km or 1750 miles. As I’m writing this we’re on an even straighter road up to Alice Springs.  Over the next 3 or 4 days we’ll be visiting Kings Canyon and Uluru (Ayer’s Rock).   More to come soon!

Jamie

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