Victoria

Saturday 29th March – Carie and Tim had signed up to run in a big race in Melbourne on Sunday so the plan was to head back up to the city today with Tracy and I heading back to Sale Monday after collecting our shipped belongings at the airport, leaving Carie. We'd then return Wednesday with the camper and pick Carie up before driving southwest to the Great Ocean Road. The big Chevrolet truck we're renting from Don is ideal for hauling a 5th wheel as we'd be doing most of the trip but not for negotiating Melbourne traffic... but we made it to Industry Backpackers (well recommended) where we found suitable parking overnight. Tracy even managed to find all day parking Sunday after looking for a while the next morning. Like most cities parking is an issue, especially so in a large truck with extended bed.

Sunday 30th March – The race day dawned overcast and we were up early to walk the 2km into the centre of the city. The race was interesting, they close the inner city motorway and run the course through a tunnel , along one carriageway and over the city's major bridge before meandering back to the city park. Tim was pretty happy with his time in preparation for the Canberra Marathon in two weeks while Carie was glad to survive as an injury had hit her preparation. Tracy met up with us at the finish and we took a walk into town for a quick look and a stop in the pub before retreating to the backpackers for a well earned rest. Full of plans to do things in the afternoon we manage only to sum up the energy to visit the extensive Queen Victoria Market for a while and watch a bit of Aussie Rules Football in the evening, other than that we are beat.

Monday 31st March – So much for our plans. We are up early to drive to the airport and arrive at the shipping office soon after it opens. The receptionist can't find our shipment on the computer so she finds her manager. He tells us that it has not been processed, but a bit more investigation reveals it arrived over the weekend (despite being sent to await our arrival by several days). He suggests we go to a nearby diner for breakfast while he works on the paperwork and sure enough the documents are ready to take to customs by 11am. We drive a few km, and are processed fairly smoothly through customs... so then we move on to Quarantine. Australia is very strict on what can be brought into the country so everything needs to be checked by the quarantine people: we have already had fun coming in with our bags in Perth getting quizzed over everything from Ibuprofen to honey. The paperwork is OK but we need to have our shipment inspected... and the next appointment available is tomorrow. We are not happy but there is nothing we can do so we'll get the stuff on our return.

We drive back down to Sale at this point and begin to get everything together with the truck and 5th wheel. Don hasn't used it in a while so we need to restock but everything seems to work and Ada lends us a lot of the kitchen items we need. Next we need to get a bit of practice driving so we take a couple of spins around the country roads.

Tuesday 1st April – After our experience with Aussie bureaucracy we are nervous about our next encounter... getting the 5th wheel inspected for its re-registration certification. However this goes smoothly and we are soon able to get out and about to get our lives set up here (banking, mobile phones, RACV [local equivalent to AA/ AAA]) and shop for essentials. Looks like we might finally get this adventure on the road.

Wednesday 2nd April – We are up very early to a spectacular sunrise and never has the old saying about “red sky in the morning, sailors take warning” more true. We are still delayed in getting away and it takes a while to get gas and on the road... so we are already tight for time when the weather starts to deteriorate. The sky ahead is a very unnatural colour while the wind starts to whip around, in complete contrast to the near perfect weather we've enjoyed so far in the country.

By the time we near Melbourne the weather is awful with howling winds and we have to rush on to the airport beyond the city leaving Carie to dodge flying debris for a while longer at our appointed meeting place (we didn't dare the city streets in our new rig). Tracy drops Tim off at the shipping office just in time for the appointment while she heads back to get Carie... but no sign of the inspectors. Tim waits in the shipping warehouse amidst crashing and banging, hearing from a trucker picking up a load that it's a good thing that we are not taking the western bridge which is getting dangerous, but not seeing any inspectors. Finally he calls the inspection office and after some investigation it turns out that the inspectors have gone to the company's other warehouse. Tracy and Carie have made it back safely and go off to eat while Tim meets the inspectors who are very apologetic and more importantly allow our goods through with no fuss (despite our having spent some time cleaning bikes, boots and tent in NZ we heard many stories of inspectors sending even apparently clean items to be recleaned at a considerable fee). The shipped items are quickly stowed and our journey continues.

The weather is not improving and we drive south and west towards Geelong seeing signage being demolished and large tree branches parted from the trunk. Luckily our rig is stable and the traffic keeps moving, but conditions deteriorate further when the rain (or more accurately the falling mud) arrives. It is with great relief that we finally reach Anglesea and decide to base ourselves here in a pleasant seaside campground... by now the wind has dropped but the falling mud continues until late afternoon, finally clearing to leave a beautiful sunset.

Thursday 3rd April - Today we'll travel down the spectacular Great Ocean Road, so we are up early as it'll be slow going. The surf is still pounding the coast, yesterday's storm is now a large depression over Tasmania and still generating a surge. We begin driving west and while the road is almost carved from the rock in places it is wide and well made. A few stops for pictures before we cut inland briefly to Erskine Falls, set in beautiful eucalypt forest and impressive with the recent rain. We pass through Lorne with a brief stop in the rain and continue to Kennett River, home to an accessible Koala colony on a back road. Several bears are happy to do what they do best for us... sit sleepily in trees and munch slowly on the eucalyptus leaves.

At Apollo Bay we find a fish store to provide local produce for our dinner, and a lookout above the town provides spectacular views of a wide area of coast. By now the somewhat grey weather has become a mix of light rain showers and sunny intervals so several rainbows appear during the remainder of the day, and by the time we get back to Anglesea the evening is fine. The journey home is uneventful with a brief stop at the memorial to the road builders, but we detour in Anglesea to find the golf course where reports say a colony of kangaroos live. Sure enough, in the evening light there are hundreds feeding which gives us great opportunities for pictures.

Friday 4th April - Time to backtrack to Melbourne so Carie can fly out tomorrow. The weather is still somewhat overcast so after stopping for a walk at Point Addis featuring both scenery and an interpretive trail about Aboriginal life (a British convict escaped and lived with a local tribe for 32 years, recording his memories later after reintegration into settler society). We make our way back to a campsite located close to Melbourne airport and enjoy a relaxing evening with fish and chips.

Saturday 5th April - We get Carie safely on her plane, despite a few complications as her original flight was canceled. Little to report about the rest of the day, though Tim who is building up to the Canberra marathon by running most days has time for a long run around the local suburbs.

Sunday 6th April - The weather dawns clear at last so we decide to have another look at Melbourne. Mostly we enjoy the fine conditions to walk around but we also take Carie's suggestion to visit the old Gaol. This includes a well preserved cell block in the traditional British Victorian style (including gallows), a trial reenactment in the old court next door and a look at the old City Watch House where they pretend to book you for a night in the cells. Good fun and good value.

Monday 7th April - We have to head back to Sale to have our 5th wheel brakes looked at so decide to drive via the south coast and Wilson's Prom, the southernmost point in the country and a relatively undeveloped wildlife reserve. Much of it is accessible only by foot but you can camp deep in the park at Tidal River. It is a slow journey but we find a good spot for the camper late afternoon at the large campground and have time for an evening stroll on the beach. We also get our first sighting of a wombat and see a wide variety of birds in this heavily wooded area.

Tuesday 8th April - A gorgeous day so we get the bikes out to stretch our legs. There are not many route options for road bikes as the only sealed road is from the entrance to Tidal River. However it is pretty quiet, hilly enough for exercise and has several spur roads down to beautiful empty beaches. We ride about 12km (7 miles) back towards the park gate and then return slowly via the beaches, enjoying plenty of good scenery but no animals.

In the afternoon we continue the fitness theme by climbing the hill overlooking the campground, mainly on a well made forest road through eucalypt forest with spectacular views over much of the promontory from the bare top. When we get back to the campground near sunset the birds are out in force, especially Rosellas and a friendly Kookaburra.

Wednesday 9th April - We are up early so we can get back to Sale for the campers appointment in the garage, which lets us see several emu in the dawn light en route back to the camp gate. From here the journey becomes pretty dull, we've driven much of it before and the main tourist attractions are the huge power stations.

With the camper dropped off we head for some shopping and the laundrette (laundramat) before visiting one of Sale's attractions, the old port area with it's restored swing bridge. Then back to the garage to meet Don who is returning from Tasmania after traveling with Canadian friends there. For the evening we visit a nearby town for a good multinational meal with Don's guests, a group of other Australian friends and a Norwegian exchange student.

Thursday 10th April - With the camper brakes serviced we now have a long ride ahead of us to Canberra, a route that will take us into the Great Dividing Range for the first time. These hills run from Victoria up the whole east coast to Cairns, at times crowding close to the sea, at other times standing inland with a wide flat coastal plane. They are not as dramatic as New Zealand's mountains (this is a very old landmass with extensive weathering, the highest point is about 2200m, 7100ft) but have a very diverse climate from arid to rainforest. The road into the hills is good but the truck has to work hard with the constant ups and downs. We stop at Bombala soon after crossing from Victoria into New South Wales with the promise of a platypus reserve, and are lucky enough to see one of these unusual creatures swimming in the creek. We finally arrive in Canberra and after finding the campground take a little while to level the camper on a sloping site.