Great Ocean Road Day 1
Trip Start
May 07, 2005
1
81
117
Trip End
Ongoing
Loading Map
Otway,
Australia
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Day 1
We rented a camper in Melbourne to drive along the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide. We found some relocation deal where it cost us $1 per day plus they gave us $100 for gas. The catch is that we only had three days to deliver it. We opted to keep it for two extra days at the normal cost so we wouldn't be so rushed.
The camper was great. It was a big 4WD Toyota thing that had been retrofitted with storage bins, a refrigerator, and a pop up tent on the roof. It was meant for serious bush driving and had a huge gas tank (plus a small spare) and a large water tank. It's battery was big enough to run the lights and refrigerator all night. They also supplied us with all sorts of camping gear -- dishes, another tent, a propane stove, sleeping bags, etc.
The place was super busy and we had to wait over an hour to get the camper so we took that opportunity to buy supplies and think about our route. Then we set off. It took a bit to get used to driving and shifting on the left side of the road especially in a big car but we got it.
The first stop was the info center in Lorne. We wanted to see the waterfall and we learned that the surfing competition was going on so the town was packed. We also learned that Grampion National Park had burned down. At first the info lady told us that it would be a good Australian experience to see a burned forest but when we told her we only had five days to get to Adelaide she recommended we just stick to the Ocean Road.
The waterfall was beautiful.
Typical View
I had never seen a large waterfall before. It had recently started to rain for the first time in a long time and as we watched the waterfall grew larger. We had an enjoyable time munching on rock melon (cantaloupe) in our ponchos watching the waterfall. Then we hit the road again.We stopped for an early dinner in some town and had fish and chips. We were still experiencing sticker-shock after being used to Thailand and tried to eat as cheaply as possible. The fish and chips was wonderful, the best we had had.
We decided to camp in Otway National Park at Bimbi Park. It turns out it was a good decision. Our campsite was under a gum tree with a male koala who howled from time to time. Koalas sound like wild pigs and nothing like cute teddy bears. It would have been scary had we not been warned by the camp staff. There were also kookaburas singing/chirping/laughing. If we didn't have earplugs sleep would have been difficult but got good sleep considering we were in a tent on top of a car.
The kookabura call makes sense of a song I leared as a kid:
Kookabura sittin' in the old gum tree-ee
Merry, merry king of the bush is he-ee (or Eatin' all the gumdrops he can see-ee)
Laugh kookabura, laugh kookabura
Gay your life must be (or Life is such a dream)
