Surf's Up ... and Breakin' Down

The Great Ocean Road is said to be one of the most beautiful drives in Australia and I can see why. It was so amazing to be meandering along with the blue sky above us and the ocean beside us as we watched surfers hit the waves. If I had had a convertible and a headscarf, I would have felt like I was in a 1950's movie.

We hit the famous surf towns of Torquay and Lorne and watched the pros hang ten at the hip "Winki Pop" area of the famous Bell's beach. I was so bummed that we were too early to catch the huge International Surf Competition! I would have loved to watch the pros. Instead we settled for the Surf Museum which left us imagining ourselves as cool surfers. Sadly, the truth is that I hate cold water. Besides, I probably wouldn't last 5 minutes on a surf board before getting a bloody nose. Lorne is a hip and cool town, though, with great shops and awesome cafés perfectly set up for people watching. My favourite activity.

As we carried on our casual drive along the South Coast of Australia, we decided do some hiking in Otway National Park (by the way, the photo below is actually upside down! This is a reflection in a pool of water) and to check out the Otway Fly Treetop Walk - said to be one of the world's longers and highest at 600 metres long and 47 metres high into the canopy. It was as one would expect, very touristy and somewhat contrived but pretty cool all the same. You don't often get that perspective of things. It was neat to get a bird's eye view. What I like even better, though, was the unexpected treat that we discovered on the way! As we drove along the route between Laver's Hill and Otway, we were blown away by zillions of dahlias growing outside someone's house. We had to stop and take it all in. We wandered around and started taking photos when the owner of the garden came out to greet us. Colin McKenzie loves his garden and gladly gave us the tour. He really seemed to love showing people around and even has a sign on his lawn welcoming visitors. He seems to have his whole tour planned out and designed to wow you at every turn. He says not too many people stop though. I can't believe that. It's such an amazing sight to see so many colours in the foreground and the sandy hills of Australia in the background. It was such a nice surprise! In my mind, a definite "do not miss" and a reminder of how incredibly kind and inviting Aussies really are.


Speaking of "do not miss" sights. We got to see the Twelve Apostles. They truly are awe inspiring. They actually remind me a bit of the flowerpot formations at Hopewell caves in New Brunswick - only bigger and more abundant. Seeing them first thing in the morning with the morning fog rising up around them was absolutely eerie and then, when the sun came out, the contrast with the blue blue sky was so striking. Our photos just didn't do it justice.

There are just so many cool things to see and do in this country. It's unbelievable. No hope of getting bored here (not even when you have to make an unexpected stop for 5 days in a town of 95 people - but more on that later...).

After our meander along the ocean, we got to experience one of the coolest things yet. Back in New South Wales, we had done some caving and read that there had once been giant marsupials roming Australia. Of course, this piqued my interest and I asked where one might check out fossils or skeletons of these goliaths. The answer, Naracoorte - at the border between Victoria and South Australia. Naracoorte did not disappoint. Not only did it have more intriguing caves and, as promised, skeletons of giant marsupials - it also had an amazing museum with a reproduced "environment" that showed what it might have been like there millions of years ago. They had robotic life-sized reproductions of the marsupials and their predators - soundtrack included! It was so cool! It was really kinda creepy actually but I would go and see it again in a heartbeat. Did I mention it was free? Sweet.

Adelaide, the capital of South Australia and the last major city before hitting the outback, is super hip. We arrived just before the start of their fringe festival and right in the middle of their annual film festival. Although we didn't take in any movies, we did take in some jazz and Sunday brunch in a cool little multimedia artsy place run by volunteers.

On an unrelated note, Rich and I are officially old. We tried to deny it. We tried to fight it. But, our pride has been beaten out by our tired and achy bones. We had thought that we could manage sleeping on thin foam mattresses - at the beginning, Rich had even suggested that we just sleep directly on the ground! We were "roughing it" after all! We were adventuring in Australia! We were walking on the wild side! ... We have now discovered that it's fine to walk on the wild side - as long as you get to sleep on something soft first. We have given in and bought a blow-up mattress with an embarassingly loud electric pump. Aaaahhhhhh. Sleep is good. Thank goodness because now we're off to the outback!!! We did survive 3 weeks on the green saran-wrap versions though. Not too shabby.

.....

Not so fast. Our car lost 5th gear about 150 km north of Adelaide in a little place called Snowtown. They didn't know what to do with the car so sent us to the next "big" city - Kadina, 30 minutes away. Luckily, they do know what to do with the car but they say it'll take a week to do it. So, we're getting comfy in quaint little neaby Walleroo where the nearest campsite is.

It could be worse. At least we're stuck on the beach and not in the middle of the outback. Plus, Gwen, who runs the show here, makes it feel like home. Life is good.