It’s quite a heading for a Blog but it describes what we got up to after leaving our friends who live on the Mornington Peninsular.
There’s a very useful ferry going across the bay from Sorrento to Queenscliff, Searoad ferries which saves quite a lot of time if you’re heading for The Great Ocean Road. The trip across takes about forty minutes and if you’re lucky as we were you might even see some dolphins.
View from Great Ocean RoadLarge stone ‘butes’ rising up out of the ocean.
The views along Great Ocean Road are spectacular. The southern ocean can be very wild and it certainly wasn’t calm when we were there. Our first stop for the night was a motel right on the coastal road but before that we had a date with a few koalas …
Kennett River has a large koala population along with King parrots and kookaburras. We didn’t have time to walk up to the Grey River reserve which we were told is a great place to picnic, my sights or that of my camera was focussed on koalas. We weren’t alone at Kennett River of course in fact there were lots of people all eager to see koalas. Suddenly the shout went up as someone spotted one. You couldn’t say this iconic animal posed for the crowd below in fact he seemed rather disdainful of us and very sleepy. I couldn’t see there was much action and anyway there were too many blinking photographers so I wandered off to another lot of eucalyptus trees to see if I could spot a little more excitement.
One koala by Kennet River
Honestly I nearly dropped my camera! There he or she was …a splendid koala and I had this magnificent creature all to myself. Did I keep quiet? You bet I did. Not only was he happy to pose for me (I’m saying he was a ‘he’), but he decided to show off his acrobatic skills by leaping around. You can probably see that I did quite well to capture his antics. I might have got a few more shots but all too soon I was surrounded by keen photographers shrieking and whooping with delight …time to leave them to it. What a shame that my koala decided to give them the ‘bum’s rush’ and scamper off!
A much livlier koala by Kennet RiverKoala putting on a show for me!Koala doing his flying act and finishing by hanging on for grim death!
Seeing koalas and having King parrots land on your head was quite enough excitement for one day. It had been a fairly long drive to Apollo Bay as we’d stopped several times to look at the view and so we were tired when we arrived at our motel.
Our motel room at Seafarer’s Getaway had a superb view of the beach and the ocean but unfortunately the sea was too rough to have a swim. We missed the best of the sunset that evening as we’d gone into the town to have a meal but I managed to get this picture when we got back.
Sunset over Apollo Bay.
Day two on The Great Ocean Road and our first stop, just fifteen miles away from Apollo Bay was at Mait’s Rest Rainforest. Surprisingly there was hardly anyone else around as we walked along the board walk. Mait’s Rest doesn’t feature much as one of the attractions along Great Coast Road which in a way is a pity however we loved the solitude. If you’re anywhere near do go, it’s fabulous. Giant myrtle beeches tower through the ever-constant mist which hangs over the rainforest and the array of ferns is wonderful. Such an atmospheric place which I’ve tried to capture in these pictures.
Start of our walk through this primeval rainforestAmazing ferns in this primeval forest.Had to be done!
This had been a magical morning but now it was time to get back to the car, put the heater on to warm up and head towards the Twelve Apostles. These great stacks rise up from the Southern ocean so what with the promise of a dramatic skyline, stunning effects on the rocks at sunset I knew we were in for a treat. Here’s just one picture for starters, more to follow in my next Blog.
Everything we’d read about the drive south from Sydney along the coastal route was true. The scenery is breathtaking! Although we’d enjoyed our stay in Sydney it was good to escape from the city. If only our roads at home were as quiet as this. Plenty of places to pull in off The Princes Highway and admire the view although we knew we had a fair few miles to cover and a couple of places to visit en route.
You can’t help but admire this feat of engineering – Sea Cliff Bridge.
Illawarra Fly is famous for its treetop walk and zipline adventure through the tree tops. Maybe it was because the views weren’t great as it was quite misty that we were underwhelmed by our visit there. Perhaps if we’d done the zipline we would have been more impressed? So it was on to the next tourist spot, Fitzroy Falls.
Part of the tree top walk taken from one of the lookout towers at Illawara Fly.
Fitzroy Falls is actually the name of the village which was founded in the early 19th century. Today according to Wikipedia 218 people live there. You’ll see from the plaque below that the good old Europeans began moving the indigenous Aboriginal people out from the area in 1816. This was a very spiritual place for the Aborigines, a fact lost to those early settlers.
We enjoyed our walk through the forest and especially the views which were spectacular including the falls where the water plunges down over 80 metres. The Visitor Centre acknowledges the Aboriginal history of the region and sells locally made souvenirs. We both felt that this tourist attraction was well worth the visit.
After a short drive we arrived at Vincentia, Jervis Bay for our overnight stay. After booking into our hotel for the night, Dolphin Shores we drove into town for a beer. Fabulous evening with a golden light lighting up the Bay; it was so good sitting out on the pub veranda, that I had a second pint.
Fitzroy Falls in Morton National Park and other natural features.
Very excited about our trip today. You just have to see kangaroos if you’re visiting Australia and today was going to be the day! We were heading for Pebbly Beach. If you take a look at their website you’ll see there’s kangaroos everywhere on the beach.
First of all we drove down through this wonderful, primeval forest which is part of Murramarang National Park. Definitely something out of Jurassic Park, it even smelt ‘earthy’. Arriving at the car park we started “roo” spotting. Was that a kangaroo over there? Maybe not. The weather was fantastic as we walked to the beach. Definitely very scenic with pure white sand and secluded but where were the residents? In fairness I don’t suppose they’re on the beach all the time and it was very hot but we’d come a long way …
We sat for quite a while soaking up the sun until we felt we’d had enough. We walked slowly back to the car feeling a bit miffed but just before we got there, on the grass by the bushes were a group of kangaroos. Turned out it was our lucky day in more ways than one as we hadn’t realised you had to pay for parking until we spotted the machine. No traffic violation …this time …but that’s a story for another Blog.
Elusive kangaroos at Pebbly Beach.Scenic and secluded Pebbly Beach
We stayed at a place called Eden that night. Not a lot happening there on a Monday evening. We drove round looking for somewhere to have dinner without success and arrived back at our hotel. Apparently there are around 3000 or so people who live in this coastal town, they certainly don’t go far on a Monday night!
Thankfully the next place we stayed in had a lot more life even though it’s a small village. Metung is very pretty and sits by the shores of Gippsland Lakes. I loved our wooden house at McMillans of Metung and had an enjoyable swim in the pool there. We’d definitely recommend this resort and the friendly people who own it. Another place we loved was the flower and tea shop where we had the biggest, squidgiest chocolate cake ever, it was divine! Thanks you Effloresce Flowers and Cafe, the walk into town along the boardwalk by the lake in the late afternoon sun was lovely and to discover they were still open was an added bonus.
Next morning we headed off to the wonderfully sounding name, Walhalla, which was an old mining town established in 1862. In its day the Gold Mine was one of the richest in Australia and the town was booming. Not like that today but it’s history is fascinating and of course it now relies on the tourists although at the time our visit it was fairly quiet. The town nestles in a deep mountain valley, it even snows there in winter! There’s a number of quaint shops all reflecting a time long gone. Our first stop was to the Grey Horse Cafe for a sandwich and a warming cup of tea. We sat outside by the War Memorial admiring the roses and feeling quite chilly.
The historic town of Walhalla N.S.W
Just up the road outside the General Stores was a chap feeding the King parts and Crimson Rosella, both beautiful birds, which you can see. He told us that they rely on him …I bet they do!
Feeding time for the King Parrots & Crimson Rosella
I loved the Victorian-style band stand dominating the village and made a note to walk up to to it on our way back from visiting the Gold Mine.
Could it be anything other than a Band Stand?
The Long Tunnel Extended Mine conducts tours every day. You don’t need to book ahead and with the concession rate my man and I paid $15 each. Our guide was great and gave us lots of information and she aimed it so that everyone, whatever age, could get a lot out of this entertaining tour. For the history of the mine have a look at their website http://www.walhallaboard.org.au/long-tunnel-extended-gold-mine
Long Tunnel Extended Mine
After the tour we had just enough time to walk back through the village to the railway station to catch the Walhalla Goldfields Railway. This is a narrow gauge railway, run by volunteers. It’s a great journey (far too wobbly to take any pictures) which runs through Stringers Creek Gorge, going over six large trestle bridges. Then it passes through the delightfully named ‘Happy Creek’ before arriving at Thomson station. The star of the show for us was Gladys, the volunteer who seemed to be very much in charge even down to waving the train off as we left on the return journey.
Walhalla Goldfields Railway
At this point we still hadn’t gone to where we were staying the night although we’d seen the cottage as its perched on top of a steep bank overlooking the railway. Stringer’s Cottage is a one-bedroom miner’s cottage tucked away and shaded by a massive mountain ash and black wood trees. It’s compact, eco friendly, solar powered and is bursting with character, we loved it there.
Stringers Cottage and Walhalla Cemetery
I’m sure by now you’re thinking that we couldn’t cram anymore into this day but we did. I have a thing about churchyards …anywhere, anytime. I was not going to miss a visit to Walhalla Cemetery which I knew would tell the harsh reality of life here faced by the miners and their families. It’s an unusual cemetery perched high above the town with apparently 1100 graves although only 200 can now be located which seems very sad. It’s quite tricky to get around, climbing up along the terraces and stone walls but we made it to the top and it was well worth it.
By the time we got back to Stringers Cottage we only had a short time to sort ourselves out ready for our meal at the only pub in town. In fact the only place in town you can eat in the evening and you have to make sure you’ve ordered by 7.00pm. The Walhalla Lodge Hotel, better known as The Wally Pub was just what we wanted. An excellent pint of beer and a huge plate of good, hearty food. Just what we needed!
By 9.30 we were heading back to our little cottage in the woods. It was really quiet. No cars, people or any activity apart from a few Crimson Rosellas in the trees. No surprise that we slept very well that night in our miners cottage.
Travels with the Booths.blog 