Philip Island, Wilsons Prom and back to Melbourne

The day we crossed by ferry from Queenscliffe on the western side of Port Philip Bay to Sorrento on the Mornington peninsula was glorious, perfectly blue sky. We just managed to catch the noon departure with minutes to spare and the crossing took 45 minutes. Taking the ferry across the entrance to Port Philip Bay was a good route as we effectively bypassed Melbourne. We then drove up the peninsula and around Western Port till we arrived at Philip Island. Having set up camp, we went for a walk and found lots of pelicans waiting for the fishermen to clean and gut their fish.

Next morning, we were joined by Ron and Ann and we spent a very hot afternoon on Woolamai Beach on the island. The surf was very rough with a very strong undertow but we enjoyed a refreshing swim and some 'boogie' boarding. We witnessed the iconic Aussie lifesavers going into action as they rescued about eight people who had drifted out with their 'boogie' boards beyond the large breakers. The life savers had a daunting task because their inflatable dinghy was in danger of being swamped by the huge waves.

Next day, Peter and I visited the Koala Sanctuary for the Aah factor! We saw quite a few, most of them asleep of course and perched very precariously in forked branches on the trees. Some obligingly lifted their heads, shifted position and settled down again – well it was too warm a day to do much else anyway. We went into Cowes (named so because someone thought the island was rather like the Isle of Wight) and after lunch spent some quality time on Smiths beach. Got to keep the suntan topped up! In the evening we went along to the Penguin Parade. Fairy Penguins swim out to sea to catch fish for about five days and then come back to shore after sunset to regurgitate their catch for their chicks. These penguins are only about 30 cms tall and have quite a problem exiting the surf on to the beach especially when they are faced by an army of menacing seagulls and Japanese tourists with forbidden cameras!

The following day we visited Churchill Island where there was a Heritage Site with a Colonial Homestead preserved for present day tourists. We spent another afternoon on Woolamai Beach.

Next morning we drove around Western Port down to Wilsons Promontory which was once, long ago, connected to Tasmania by a land bridge. The Prom, as it is affectionately known, is a National Park and very busy over the School holiday periods, but a section of the campground is reserved for overseas travellers. We camped at Tidal River, a very picturesque spot near Norman Bay, battled again with the determined kookaburras for our dinner, but then had the delight of a wombat coming out on to the path for its evening feed and we got very close to it. We took an evening stroll down the river bed to the beach to watch (and photograph) a glorious sunset. We had had thunder showers in the afternoon, but the evening was very pleasant (at least until the mosquitoes arrived and we headed into the van!).

Next morning we dropped down to Squeaky Beach and Whisky Beach, two beautiful rocky Cornish style coves, then we drove up to Telegraph Saddle part way up Mt Oberon, but didn't have time to make the arduous climb – shame!

So we are back in Melbourne once again. We are currently staying with Ron (our best man) and Ann. We took 'Vicky' the campervan back to its home in Ringwood, and went to the Healesville Animal Sanctuary to see more of Australia's fauna. We have revisited some other favourite zaunts such as Maroondah Dam , (only 20% full), Puffing Billy the steam engine and the villages in the Dandenong Mountains culminating in a farewell lunch at The Cuckoo Restaurant in Olinda. This is an Austrian themed restaurant we remembered from the 70s. It was just the same and we were joined by Malcolm and Louise and the six of us had a lovely meal just like in the old days. Afterwards we strolled through the Sherbrook Forest and fed the crimson rosella birds. Tomorrow we will have a final look around the city of Melbourne and on Wednesday, we fly to Hong Kong for 5 nights. Then it will be back home with lots to look forward to: seeing the family again, the wedding and of course the arrival of grandchild no.3 in May and getting my honorary degree in July.

So the last blog for this trip will be from Hong Kong. Hope you have enjoyed keeping up with us so far.
Bye for now, Sheila and Peter.

Touring Oz in a Camper

As we met and married in Australia, before bringing up a family in Galleywood, we have always said that we would revisit Australia. Once we had both retired, it was the obvious trip to make. The decisions that we had to make were: duration of trip, which places to visit, where would we stay, and how would we get around. The first solution considered was to rent a car and stay in Motels. This was soon ruled out as not only would it mean three months of expensive motel bills, but it would also mean eating out for the whole duration which would also be costly. An alternative to this would be to stay in cabins in caravan parks, but there is no guarantee that they would be comfortable or clean. Another option, soon dismissed, was renting a car and staying in a tent.

So the obvious compromise was to rent a campervan which provides both transport and accommodation. This left us with the question of what type of camper to rent. It was quite easy to review the possibilities available on the internet. Especially searching www.google.com.au which restricted the search to Australian websites rather than UK ones who would add their commission on to the costs. Top of the range are the Maui, Britz, Kea and Apollo vans – all pretty new for which you pay a premium even allowing for any long term discount. Most of the companies offering car and campervan rentals in Australia seem to offer a base rate with a high insurance excess, with an additional daily cost to get the excess down to a reasonable figure. So we had to make sure that we were comparing like with like.

There are a wide range of campervans available to rent, ranging from a version of an estate car with a tent arrangement attached to the rear door, to the huge Winnebagos, the size of a coach. If you discount the two extremes, the major decisions to be made are; do you need an onboard shower and toilet, and do you need air-conditioning when the van is on site. (Most have air-conditioning when driving).

As we needed to rent the campervan for nearly three months, daily rate was a significant factor, so we opted to rent a van from one of the companies that rented out second-hand campers. Generally speaking, if you choose to have a van with a shower, then it will also have A/C and vice versa. These vans are larger than the HiTop, but don't have to be as large as the American Winnebago. There are plenty of Winnebago campers in Australia, but they are much smaller than their American cousins.

Our Hi-top Toyota Campervan which we rented from Calypso Campers from Melbourne on the Maroondah Highway, was originally a Britz van. It was first registered in 2002 and as Britz appear to run their vans for two years, it was then sold to Calypso who re-registered it in 2004 in Victoria.

The next size up from the HiTop that we rented is based on a Sprinter van and looks very comfortable for two. Apart from the WC and A/C, the main advantage over our van is that they have overhead lockers, which would make it a lot easier storing clothes. Plus the wardrobe probably takes more than two shirts. However they need a larger space in the supermarket car park. Having said that, generally parking hasn't been a problem. There are no narrow country lanes to negotiate, even the country roads that seem to go nowhere, are pretty wide, often with a gravel hard shoulder for large vehicles to pass. So, we have found our camper just about large enough. We wouldn't want anything smaller – it gets us from A to B, it has a basic kitchen and it provides us with a reasonable bed. As mentioned previously, storage is its downfall.

Fuel is half the price of UK, which is just as well because of the longer distances to be covered. For the duration of our stay in Australia two of the bigger supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths have offered fuel discount vouchers if you spend $30 in store. Like the Tesco or Sainsbury fuel promotions, these vouchers discount the fuel price by 4cents per litre. Sometimes you can get another 2cents per litre if you spend $2 or $5 in the petrol station store.

We have found, as we have travelled around Australia, that there are plenty of campsites to choose from. The price for an overnight pitch with power has been very reasonable on average. Again they are about half the price of UK or French campsites. Prior to Christmas, we had paid an average of $28.91 for our overnight stops in campsites. Since restarting our travels in the New Year the average has increased to nearly $32 per night. Not helped by one night at the Big4 Site in Anglesea on the Great Ocean Road where the price was $79.

Fortunately we joined the Big 4 Club on our first stop in Darwin and we were entitled to a 10% discount. Having spent 29 nights at Big 4 Sites we have more than recouped our $40 joining fee. Big 4 is a chain of independent sites that must meet a certain standard and also provides an onward booking service. There are two or three other chains of campsites including Top Tourists and Family Parks Association. The latter chain also provides free membership to overseas visitors for a period of two months, also giving a 10% discount. Most of the campsites have had swimming pools, albeit small and close to the road. The shower blocks and toilets have, for the most part been very clean and acceptable.

We have averaged around 250-300 kilometres per day aiming to arrive at new destination by mid afternoon so as to take in the surroundings especially if it is only for one night. It has been very interesting to meet people of all nationalities on our travels, whether they be 'Grey Nomads' (Australians who have sold their family home and permanently travel around towing a caravan) or similar people to ourselves who have reached a certain age and want to see the world while they are still fit enough to do so. Then there are the younger 'backpacker' brigade who want to see the world before being bogged down by responsibilities.

Great Ocean Road Victoria

Leaving Hall's Gap in the Grampians, we headed south again towards the Ocean Road. We drove through Victoria Valley of dense gum forests with craggy peaks to our right and forested slopes to our left. We eventually emerged to very flat pasture land as we neared the coast.

We arrived at Port Fairy - a traditional fishing port which was delightful and spent the entire afternoon on the beach. It was a very hot day (40 degrees) and the sea was crystal clear and very refreshing with low surf rolling in. It was fun riding the waves with Peter's noodle! (Editor's note: a noodle is the Australian word for woggle i.e. polystyrene tube!). In the evening we strolled around the fishing marina and had fish and chips in paper (as you do).

A cool change occurred overnight and the following day was cloudy and a mere 25 degrees as we made our way along the Ocean Road stopping to view the clay and limestone cliff formations and erosions such as Childers Cove, Sandy Cove, The Grotto and London Bridge which lost an arch in 1990. We stopped at Peterborough for the night!

Next day dawned bright and sunny again and we continued along Gt Ocean Road viewing all the sights en route – The Blow Hole, Thunder Cave, and The Loch Ard Gorge. The Loch Ard was an iron hulled ship bringing immigrants from England in1878 when it floundered here with only two people surviving. Next we saw the Twelve Apostles – gigantic limestone pillars about 65m tall, but gradually being eroded by wind and waves. We parked up for the night at Marengo Beach near Apollo Bay and went up for a walk to Paradise to search for platypus in the Barham River – but no joy.

We made a short hop the following day to Cumberland Gap. The Cumberland River is a tranquil stream that tumbles down a spectacular ferny gorge to meet Bass Strait at the foot of the Otway Ranges. We walked up the track following the river flanked by magnificent cliffs and blue gum forest, luxuriant fern glades and delightful groves of blackwood, hazel and blanket leaf. We had to cross the river several times over stepping stones but managed to keep our feet dry. We had camped here several times for bushwalks in the 70s, so it was nice to return and retrace our steps. That evening, we joined our neighbours, a family from Warrnambool and sat round their campfire with a few 'tinnies' (beers)! Meanwhile a kangaroo came up to our campervan opposite and was grazing quite happily.

Next morning we left Cumberland Gap and called in at Lorne – a nice coastal town where we bought the weekend paper and had a coffee. Then we visited the Erskine Falls which entailed 415 steps down and then we had to come up again (no need for the gym today). On the road we saw a huge echidna, so I escorted it over the road safely in case it got flattened by a car. We had a picnic lunch at Airey's Inlet beneath the lighthouse and ended the day camping at Anglesea where we spent a lovely afternoon sunbathing on the beach. At the end of the Ocean Road we reached Barwon Heads and Queenscliff where we crossed port Philip Bay at the Heads by ferry to Sorrento.

Our final week will be spent at Philip Island to see fairy penguins and koalas and the Wilson's promontory for a final couple of days bushwalking before staying with our friends Ron and Ann at Mooroolbark, Melbourne. It is forecast to be another hot week!

Inland Victoria

A New Year and we found ourselves on the road again. Our first stop was to visit Marion and Frank in Yarrambat. Marion was a teaching colleague and a very good friend during our stay in Australia in the 70s. They have a lovely 20 acre property to the north of Melbourne with a mob of kangaroos which roam on to their land. It was good to catch up with them.

The next day, we went with Marion and Frank to see their daughter Sandra who was our bridesmaid and was holidaying with her family on her houseboat on Lake Eildon. Peter and I began our honeymoon at Eildon. To get to the houseboat we were picked up by speedboat which was a very exhilarating ride. It was great to see Sandra again after all this time and we enjoyed a lovely lunch on the houseboat. There was a cool wind and we were surprised to see the lake very low in water, in fact it is running at less than 20 percent full. We have noticed that Victoria is really suffering from lack of rain. Several times we have passed dried up lakes and water holes. We haven't seen many sheep, the farmers tend to be farming cattle with very little grazing fodder.

From Eildon, we drove up to the Victorian Alps via Glenrowan, which is famous for Ned Kelly – the notorious bushranger and stayed for two nights at Porepunkah. Tobacco used to be grown in the valley but this has given way to vineyards and fruit growing. Naturally, we called in for a sample of wines. We drove up the narrow twisty road, viewing Mount Bogong (2000m) on the way to the ski area of Falls Creek. It was quite cold and windy at the top and obviously no snow at this time of the year. On our return to Porepunkah we stopped at the pretty villages of Bogong and Mt. Beauty which were very alpine in design. Next morning, we went up to Mount Buffalo, again twisting and turning up the mountain through a vast variety of wildflowers and different gum trees. This area was ravaged by bushfires a couple of years ago and it was interesting to see how the new growth has appeared due to lignotubers underground that sprout after the fires. Also the eucalypt seeds settle in the ground after burning. The air was very fragrant with the eucalypt scent. Once at the summit we were rewarded with breathtaking views across a vast landscape of more tree covered mountains and valleys. Then we had to climb 'The Horn' to get an even better view. On the return trip down to the valley, we stopped at Lake Catani and Peter did a fry up of bacon and eggs.

Back on the road next day, we set off for Rutherglen via Beechworth – famous for its bakery. We now found ourselves in the wine producing area again and called in at two vineyards (as one does!) to sample and buy some of their wine. We arrived at Yarrawonga on the shores of Lake Mulwala, where my parents had managed a hotel/botel/motel in 1971 only to find the site has been replaced with lakeside apartments worth 1 million dollars! We hastily booked a very nice campsite right on the banks of the River Murray and spent a pleasant evening watching the sun go down with a tasty bottle of Shiraz!

From Yarrawonga we continued north-west along the Murray valley to Echuca, which means 'meeting of the waters' and where the Murray is joined by the Goulburn and Campaspe rivers. Steam driven paddle steamers used to ply between Echuca and the outback sheep stations back in Victorian times until the railways began. We had a ride on a paddle steamer and I gained my steerage licence by steering the ship for a little while! Again we were camped on the banks of the river and after dark, I was lucky enough to coax a possum down from the tree and hand feed him with some bread. Next stop was Swan Hill where we visited the Pioneer Settlement where I had once taken pupils from Melbourne for an educational visit.

Heading South again, we came to Ballarat the centre of the Victorian Goldrush in the 1800s and spent a pleasant day at Sovereign Hill, stepping back in time visiting the goldfields. We went down a gold mine, fruitlessly panned for alluvial gold, saw a gold nugget being formed from molten gold and chatted to a Victorian schoolmaster (who was also a trooper firing muskets in the afternoon). We then went to the spot called the Eureka Stockade where there had been a battle between the gold miners and the government regarding miners' licence fees. This was all very well produced. En route from Ballarat to the Grampians, we had a close encounter with a kangaroo that leapt out into the road in front of us. We braked and he was also narrowly missed by a car coming towards us. Peter reckoned the Skippy had used up 8 of his 9 lives!

Today Monday 12th Jan, we are in the Grampian mountains and we have been bush walking, just like the 'old days'. From Halls Gap we went up to the Wonderland car park and climbed up through the Grand Canyon, Silent Street to The Pinnacle. It was a very hot day, 30 degrees plus, with a perfectly blue sky. The walk was arduous and steep in parts (we had to climb steel ladders at certain places) but the view from the Pinnacle made it all worthwhile. We could see a long way across the State and the nearby mountains were very craggy. Three and half hours later, we returned to the van and made our way to the Mackenzie Falls lookout – another hour's walk through dense gum and fern forest with kangaroo tail plants. Then it was back to camp for a much needed swim and Happy hour! Next stop – back to Ocean Road.

Christmas in Melbourne

Happy New Year everyone!

Before arriving at Melbourne on Christmas Eve, we crossed the state border into Victoria at Mallacoota, which is a beautiful area on a large inlet, where we had a waterside camp pitch and watched the pelicans feeding while we had our breakfast. Our route continued round the coast towards Melbourne passing Lakes Entrance and South Gippsland. Our last stop before Melbourne was at a little place called Woodside Beach. The campsite was virtually empty, but was going to be full on Boxing Day as in Australia most people have Christmas Day at home, then set off on the summer holiday.

We arrived at Louise and Malcolm's house on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. Louise and Malcolm, Ann and Ron are good friends of ours through our Youth Hostelling Days in the 70s when we lived in Melbourne.

Christmas Day dawned bright and warm and we all enjoyed an excellent dinner with their family and Ann and Ron at their beautiful home in Beaumaris. In true Australian style we began with barbecued prawns followed by fillet of beef with vegetables accompanied by vintage Aussie vino. Later, we took a stroll down to the beach where we had a paddle in the sea! On Boxing Day, Malcolm gave us the Grand Tour of the Port and city sights, the highlight of which (for me) had to be driving a lap of the F1 Grand Prix circuit at Albert Park.

We have since explored the city further, revisiting places that we knew and admiring the changes which have taken place over the last 30 years, particularly Federation Square, the new focal point of Melbourne and where tourists were sitting in the sun watching the Cricket test match v S Africa on a large outdoor screen.

We were pleased to have the opportunity to visit an ex-teaching colleague and his wife who made us very welcome and we walked around a Nature Reserve which he had helped to establish. We continued on to stay overnight with Ann and Ron (the best man at our wedding). Next day we set out in search of kangaroos and koalas and were pleased to find both as well as a kookaburra in the countryside around the Yarra Creek near Warrandyte.

Back to Beaumaris, we spent a day rediscovering the Mornington Peninsula round the east side of Port Philip Bay and so to New Year's Eve. After an afternoon visiting a couple of art galleries and the War Memorial and gardens, we met up with Malcolm and Louise and had a quick peek inside the Casino, very lavish, before going to the north bank of the river Yarra to watch a splendid firework display. On the way back to the station we passed the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground and return home to see in the New Year watching the midnight fireworks on TV.

New Year's Day saw us on the road again and we had a very nostalgic trip down memory lane visiting the places of work and various homes we had lived in during our time in the 70s.