The Long and Winding #@!&ing Road

<rant>

In this post I shall reveal a little something. I HATE driving winding roads. 

There. I said it. Yes, yes, I know its supposed to be thrilling and fun but I can't stand it. They shit me to no end. Give me a straight road any day of the week - where I can go fast...um, I mean do exactly the speed allowed by law.

I mean, yeah the speed limit sign says 100, but every 5 metres is a bloody turn with warning arrows and signs that recommend 50kph. Where's the fun in that?? AND every frikken turn there's some moron towing a boat or motorhome coming in the opposite direction who thinks it's OK to drive on your side.  Had I been behind said moron I would have cursed his slowness...ya can't win. Stay off the roads during school holidays and long weekends Nora.

The winding began on the Great Ocean  Road, but I didn't notice it too much since I was stopping here and there. Getting to Johannna Beach involved a lot of to-ing and fro-ing...that started some twitching, but I got to my destination rather quickly so it wasn't too bad.  But an entire day??? Ugh! Ohh and throw in a trip through Melbourne while we're at it - in the middle of a hot day. Nora's frustration level was going into the red zone. (you can tell coz she's referring to herself in the third person)

</end rant>

The Great Ocean Road

Driving along the Great Ocean Road can be quite dangerous - you're driving along and then suddenly, wham! a beautiful vista to your right (or left depending which direction you're going). You can't help but look. Unfortunately the road is not straight...bad design, clearly.

 (Bay of Martyrs)

We were enjoying some of the many little pit stops that offer spectacular photo ops but when we stopped at the Bay of Martyrs I realised that it was quickly approaching 4:00. I needed to get a move on to get to the campsite and I wasn't sure how much farther it was. But not before we went for a stroll down a secert path that no one else seemed interested in. 

It brought us to a beautiful cove called the Bay of Worms, and it had a staircase down to the beach. Bonus! Felix and I had a little play and just enjoyed this beautiful, peaceful spot. After a little while though, I reminded myself of the time and reluctantly we headed back to the car.

(Bay of Worms)

"I'll stop at the 12 Apostles, no other stops" ...well, I said this to myself after stopping a couple of times after the Bay of Martyrs. When I finally got to the 12 Apostles, it was a complete circus! There were bus loads of people (literally) and you had to get a ticket and wait for a mini bus which brought you to the site. I despaired, and then got back on the road. I didn't have the time for that, nor was I going to leave Felix in the car alone for that long. So, I missed out. I'm sure Google has heaps of photos.

We finally got to Johanna Beach at around 5. What a fantastic spot! There were already quite a few people there, but no where near the throngs I can imagine here during the warmer months. After dinner we strolled to the beach and caught the last vestiges of the sunset. Magnificent. 

Robe and Mt Gambier

I left fairly late on Thursday morning and the drive to Robe was pretty non-eventful. It was beautiful when I left but the closer I got to the coast, the more overcast it became. I was kinda glad for the cloud cover coz it acts like a blanket and keeps us mortals warmer, but camping in the rain is no fun. The gods smiled and by the time I got to the camp site there was sunshine. 

The campground where we were staying was undergoing some renovations, so while I was setting up the tent all I could hear was the roar of the bobcat. Not relaxing at all. 

Once I had the tent set up we went for a nice hike and we found a beautiful trail along a small river.  Just what we needed after a day in the car. 

We weren't staying long in Robe, but it looked like the kind of place that was hopping during the warmer/holiday times. There were lots of holiday rentals and "fun activities" advertised. October holidays didn't seem to be one of the busy times though so our early the morning stroll the next day was very quiet. We took the coast trail which brought us to a beach (surprise, surprise). It was shaping up to be another beautiful, sunny day, with another 4.5 hour drive.

Just before lunch we arrived at Mt Gambier and here I had to stop to see the Blue Lake. This is a lake that is located in a crater that is one of Australia's youngest volcanoes. It is one of four crater lakes in the area, although there are only two actual lakes left that have water in them. I wish I could tell you more detail about its age and the last time it erupted, but alas that info was not available on the information signs at the site. Shocking, I know. (Turns out there's some contention on the date and that probably why it's not posted. The contested time periods are: 43000, 28000, or as little as 6000 years ago.)

Right next to Blue Lake is Leg of Mutton "lake" - it's dried up so its really just a valley. In 1876 they decided to start a timber planation in the area and the Leg of Mutton crater was used as a nusery. The very lucky nuseryman had a stone cottage in the crater and I think he was very lucky indeed. What an idyllic place this is!

(I can picture my own little cottage right there through the trees...)

I could have stayed a long time in this peaceful place in the middle of tourist mayhem, but it was barely lunch time and we had many kilometres to go that day...and many more interesting things to see!

Angaston

The drive to Agnaston was uneventful, if windy. We passed through some beautiful rolling hills and had the opportunity to drive through some small towns. What a lovely part of Australia this is!

We deviated from the road to Adelaide and very soon the vinyards began appearing. It's just spring so there isn't a lot of green yet but to see the straight rows of vines is really quite a sight. 

When we got to Sab and Scott's place we promptly went for a walk and that evening we just hung out and caught up. 

The next afternoon (after a leisurely morning) Sab was kind enough to play tour guide. First on the list was Angaston's best bakery for lunch! I had a veggie pastie and a chocolate doughnut for dessert. Now, I can hear you asking, "A doughnut? You're in a bakery and you choose a lowly doughnut for dessert??" Well, usually I would agree, and indeed the eclairs and the tarts looked enticing...but the doughnuts. My god! I've never seen such glorious loft and lightness in a doughnut! And I was right. It was magnificent. I've never tasted it's like before. 

After the bliss of lunch, we had a wee stroll in Angaston. Like Wallaroo, this area is has a rich history. Angaston is one of South Australia's oldest towns, established in 1842, but it really started to thrive when the railway came in 1911. It maintains many of it's old buildings and has a nice laid back feel to it. 

(the old train station - the train doesn't run anymore...dunno why not)

We then went to visit Tanunda. Although this town looks similar, old heritage buildings, and vinyards all round, it has a distinctly different feel. It's more, how to put it...nouveau riche. Hmmm not sure how I can describe it...more shi-shi shops, more exclusive this and that, just an air of more better here . My suspicions were confirmed when Sab told me that although the towns are less than 20km a part, Tanunda was vastly more expensive than Angaston.

Last was Nurioopta. We didn't stay too long here, but it had a no-nonsense sense to the place. very business like. Because this was our last stop we really just went to the supermarket so that I could grab some things for the next few days on the road. I thought it was funny that there was a vinyard just past the parking lot AND that there were vines growing out front of the supermarket!

Staying in Wallaroo

Sunday was windy as.

I'm talking hold on to your hat, sunnies and anything else that isn't nailed down.

Felix and I went for our morning constitutional and discovered the Main Street of Wallaroo, the Jetty (Felix did not like that one bit too high above the water and way too windy) and some quaint neighbourhoods.

You can still get ye olde towne feel here; the shops have awnings that cover the sidewalk and recessed  doors that are often quite narrow. Many of the original houses are still standing and in various conditions from dilapidated to completely restored. The massive silos and industrial jetty do give this town a certain hard edge, but it does have a certain charm.

(ye olde train station)

The north beach is another story. Here there are new housing developments with fancy new houses, many of which are holiday rentals. It kinda reminds me a little of Bugendore, with it's new houses set aside from the old town proper. I have a feeling that in no time this place will be a triving, trendy coastal town.

Sab and Scott had to get back home on Sunday, but I decided to stay a little longer here. Monday was nice and calm and I enjoyed a really great seaweed foot massage and exfoliation treatment (I walked on the beach). When I found a ball, well, everything was right in the world.

In the afternoon we went for a quick drive to Moonta Bay which is another coastal town just 15km away. We enjoyed further exfoliation and ball throwing/catching, but I think it was a bit too much seawater for poor Felix who ended up being sick in the car....nice.

Today we leave as the winds pick up again - off to the Barossa Valley and to see my friends again!

Wallaroo

It was really good to see my friends Sab and Scott, and I gave them the quick user manual on Felix (he's suspicious of people)

Soon hot dogs were flowing freely and Felix became a little more relaxed, so we went for a walk to the beach. 

(The jetty from afar)

I'm sorry to report that none of us brought a camera, or a phone or any other device that could have captured this event. Felix's first time at the ocean ( I do realise that it wasn't the ocean proper...but you get what I mean). He was like a kid in a candy shop. The wind was pretty strong and the sun was setting so we sadly didn't stay too long, but tomorrow is another day!

A little bit about Wallaroo. 

This is a huge wheat export town. The jetty here is connected to an array of giant silos which are full of grain. Sab tells me that when the ships come in they take days to load. 

Grain was not always Wallaroo's claim to fame however. When the white folks settled here in 1857 they soon discovered there was copper in them dar hills.  Together with the neighbouring towns of Kadina and Moonta, this area became known as the Copper triangle and soon became the biggest copper smelting area outside Wales until the operation shut down in 1923.

The original inhabitants of course were the indigenous tribe of Narungga who named this place "Waldu Waru" which allegedly means wallaby urine. Apparently the white folks found that too long to stamp on wool bales, and so the great Australian tradition of shortening every word and name began. 

Driving Outback and Arriving in Wallaroo

There was a lot of cloud cover during the day so the night was relatively warm - except just before dawn. That's when its darkest and coldest. So it's no surprise that I stopped pretending that I could sleep at around 5 and just got up. Felix, of course was happy to be out discoving a new array of smells left from the wanderings of various night creatures.

When we got back to the campsite the sun was warming everything up and it was time for breakfast. Ahhh nothin' like a shot of oatmeal and a cup of tea to get ya goin' for another long haul on the road.

We were looking at another 600 + kms today and a lot of that was through flat outback country. We left the campground by 8am, but even so it got real hot, real fast. My plan was to push though until about 11:30 - 12:00 but by 10:30 Felix was getting quite restless and I was getting dozy - not a good thing. 

It was about that time when we went through a place called Gol Gol. I didn't know it at the time, but it's right outside Mildura. I saw a park right by the river (the mighty Murray River) and thought that's just what we need. 

Felix had a dip and a romp in the grass with an empty toilet roll that he found and all was well in the world...until I suggested he get back in the car. So, we played in the grass a little bit longer.

Driving in the outback is great coz it all pretty straight. You can see a long way in front of you - good for overtaking, but it can get tedious. BUT there's no slowing for sharp turns or small towns every 10 km. You can go fast. Once into South Australia I could soon see the difference in terrain - it was greener for one and there were hills...and I could hear they were alive with...something... 

 

All to say I finally, gruellingly got to Wallaroo. By the end though I was looking at the markers and would wail in frustration when what seemed like 20km had actually only been 5km. Thankfully, from here on in  the drives will be more manageable (5hrs max)