Great Ocean Road

Memorial to the 3000 Returned Service Men
who built the Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road is fascinating in many ways, not just for the exceptional scenery.  The road itself was built by returned servicemen in an economic stimulus scheme to provide work for thousands of men.  It was constructed as a memorial to those who did not return after the First World War and is the longest memorial in the world.  The start of the road is marked by a memorial arch and sculpture to the workers so it is a memorial at a second level. One of the aims of the construction was to link the coastal towns of the Victorian coast. It was a huge job winding its way along an inhospitable coast with dense forests, high cliffs and rocky mountains that had to be hewn through – a major engineering feat.

Then there is the scenery – one of the most picturesque stretches of coastline. The force of the waves is constantly changing the shoreline. When I brought the kids to this area when they were at school, the London Bridge formation was complete. Not long after that the middle collapsed and, although it still bears the name, it doesn’t bear any resemblance to the original.  I stopped at the Twelve Apostles and several other lookouts along the way, including the Loch Ard Gorge.  All of these places have historical significance and are worth Googling for more details.

The councils and Victorian Government have really promoted this as a world class journey, which it is. Viewing areas and safe parking spots have been set up. Information boards are well done with photos and stories presented in easy to read snatches.  It is interesting to just listen to the variety of languages – and to look at the range of expensive cameras clicking away.

Along the Coast

The Twelve Apostles
Great Ocean Road

Loch Ard Gorge

Loch Ard Gorge
Can you see my car at the end of the walking track?
Neither can I. It was a long walk.

Wwoofers and Wanderers

This is another of those 'Damnation' posts. The last two seem to have disappeared without a trace - and it takes ages to upload photos even once, never mind twice. But I'll be ladylike and say 'Oh dear!' and try to connect the dots accurately. I am going to publish this as I do each bit because saving doesn't always seem to save. So this will be a work in progress. I will also publish People of the Journey even though it is not complete.

Until a month ago, I had never heard of a Willing Worker on Organic Farms and now I am meeting them constantly. I suppose that makes sense as most of them are working long enough to earn the money for the next stage of the trip or volunteering as a wwoofer to have a break from travel and experience the lifestyle. I imagine that most of them and young and single or travelling in small groups.

Sharing a cuppa with Clement
before he continues his long bike ride

A couple of nights ago, I stayed at the Aire River campground, a busy little free camping area (in fact the only free one I have managed since arriving back in Victoria) spread over both sides of the river. My site was in the smaller area, well grassed and newly mown so there was the lovely smell of just cut grass - and the less lovely traipsing of grass into the van.

One of my fellow campers was Clement. Say that with your best French accent. He is working and exploring on a push bike. I had passed him on the road earlier and admired his stamina on the hills. He has been travelling since November, starting in North Queensland. At home he is a data programmer in a bank, though planning a change after this trip. He is learning about the hard work of farming at the moment. At the Killarney campground the following night, I met up with Tetsu from Japan. He has been working on farms at Shepparton. Travelling in a station sedan, he has set himself up fairly well. He is on his way to the Grampions to do some rock climbing.

As well as these adventurous young men, there are plenty of travellers of all ages. I suppose by staying in the free and budget camps I meet a different style of traveller from those who stay in hotels and motels and even those who always stay in caravan parks, and there are lots of those.  Some of them I meet up with more than once. Tanya and Phil are following a similar route to me and have been at the same parks twice. I expect to run into them again.

With my new awning, I look like a real camper

Although I am perfectly happy poking along at my own pace, it is nice to see a familiar face occasionally. There is a wonderful sense of camaraderie among the people I meet. There are a lot of solos on the road but singles, couples or groups are all welcoming. I have been asked what it is like to be alone and I have to honestly say that I don't feel alone and I get a bit of a shock to be asked.

People of the Journey - Tasmania

Last year our book club read ‘The People of the Book’ which inspired the title of this blog.

There is a wonderful welcoming spirit among the people you meet on the road. Generally you get to know for a brief time those who are parked near you at night. Sometimes that may be for a few days but often there is just a chat at happy hour. I try to do a quick circuit of the campground when I arrive and introduce myself briefly to everyone. I usually get an invitation to join at least one group for drinks, but I consider it sensible for people to know I am there alone if I need help. (I have had a couple of propositions from fellows also travelling alone - or who would like to be, though most are like me and are alone because they want to be. I haven’t been tempted at all, though it is good for the ego to get an occasional offer.)

Just to keep them fresh in my mind, I will try to recall some of my fellow travellers and a memory-jogger from what I know about them. As I did with my 365 project last year, I will use only first names – but if you recognise yourself and want to be removed from the blog, or to correct my story, just get in touch. The email address is at the top of my home page of the blog.

On my first night in Tasmania, I parked at Sulphur Creek next to Joyce, maybe ten years older than me. She is from Melbourne, originally from Malta. In her van, she has complete freedom. When she stops, she has to use a walker to get around. She must appreciate having the gumption to get up and go when she could be sitting at home feeling sorry for herself. She travels in a pop top, using a small generator to power her TV so that she doesn’t miss all her favourite soaps.  I think she exemplifies rhe spirit of travel. On that same night, Paul came over from another van with a plate of curry for me – insisting that his wife had cooked far too much.

Helen and Chris
Wynyard

I was fortunate to have some time with Helen and Chris, future in-laws who share a grandson, Cooper, with me. I stayed with them on the way over to the north-west coast and on the way back. Right at the end of my trip, I landed back in again.  Chris loaded me up with potatoes which lasted for at least six weeks. He fancies himself (and rightly so) as a cook of chips and showed me the finer points of a good hot chip. Helen works in Wynyard as a carer.  I am sure she is a whirlwind in someone’s house because I have never seen anyone peel veges, clean up etc as fast as she does. If you don’t move, you’ll be washed, dusted or dropped in the bin!

Zudi

In Longford, I met with a group of Red Hat ladies from Burnie, Launceston and Hobart. Zudi invited me to stay when I got to Hobart and I based myself there, coming and going a few times. I feel as though I have known her forever and hope she will visit me later in the year.

Many times along the way, I met people just for an hour or so. Jenny and Blue from Montague Bay gave me fish to see me on my way. I ate that for two days, eventually sharing the last of it with a couple from Hobart, who provided veges to go with the fish and we sat down to a feast, fifty metres from thundering surf!

Red Hatter Merlene, Burnie
with a Mad Hatter

David, Vivienne and Kirra
over the water from Bruny Island

 

David and Judith
Salamanca Markets, Hobart

Marie and Bill at Bay of Fires
Our paths had crossed  in Scottsdale too

In the south west corner, I met up with John from SA and Eric from Queensland, Both were travelling alone and we all stayed at the showgrounds in Queenstown. John was at the same camp in Strahan and both were on the Gordon River cruise that I took. In Queenstown I caught up again with Marilyn and Paul and Nancy and Geoff and their friends Jane and Lindsay. Marilyn and I swapped family news over a couple of days - and a couple of wines.

Ta-ta Tassie

Never again will I economise on travel if it means I have to sit all night! Why didn't I remember that the reason I don't fly any more is the agony of sitting for hours. I took an ocean recliner rather than a cabin, thinking that I could roam around whenever I got tired of sitting. It didn't occur to me that the cafe, restaurant and bars on board all closed during the night. It was a very long night without a wink of sleep. I did gather all the spare blankets and pillows and try to make a flatish surface from my chair. That didn't help at all. I couldn't move around much without disturbing those who were trying to sleep. Yes, I know, I am a whinger! I am not meant to travel economy - I need to be a first-class traveller.

My last day in Tasmania passed quickly. I got away from Wynyard fairly early after Helen left for work and meandered along the coast. I met Red Hatter Merlene for lunch in Burnie and then explored Devonport. When I arrived a few weeks ago, I had just hit the road so I enjoyed roaming around the town for a while. No more to be said about the trip.

When I arrived on the mainland I set the GPS and headed straight to Geelong before I made an decisions about where to go. I recognised the sculptures and carousel along the waterfront though I don't remember when I visited Geelong previously.

Out of the Cold

I am so pleased I went to the west coast last week. Yesterday it snowed at Strahan and the road back from Queenstown was cut. I could have been sitting and shivering. As it is, I couldn't warm up yesterday so I rang Helen and Chris and landed on their doorstep last night. Their house is lovely and warm and the wood heater is going all day.

After having my awning fitted in Launceston, I stopped overnight in Deloraine, abandoning the idea of going north again as I felt I was running out of time. Deloriane is a very crafty area, with lots of artists and artisans. The free camping area was interesting with football practice taking place at night and then horse exercising in the morning. I was all set to watch the meteor showers from a nice dark area, though one of my neighbours left an outside light on for ages. However, as usual, there were periods of rain and if there were meteor showers, I missed them.

I spent an enjoyable hour at the Yarns display. This is an amazing display of wall hangings on silk, with many different fabrics used. There are four panels representing the four seasons. I think each panel took about 2500 hours with many workers contributing.  Different parts were done by different people and the finished result is wonderful. Although I am not a sewer or quilter, I really appreciated the intricacy and artistry and could have spent more time there.

Through the town there is a sculpture walk, with works representing the people and products of the area. Even in the information centre, the creativity is evident. I was impressed with a musical sculpture in the lovely gardes. I wandered through yet another historical display while I waited for the Yarns video to start and took photos of a children's play room which is one of the best I have seen.

I had intended to just stop at Latrobe but it wasn't far along the road and not a great deal to do in town. I did the Anvers Chocolate Factory stop, of course, and  watched the chocolate making process. I am meeting the Red Hatters for lunch on Monday so got a small pack of chocolates to share at lunch. Beyond that, I was very restrained - although I managed to sample almost every type they offered. I ended up not taking the chocolates for lunch and unfortunately they ended up under the front seat where they melted and set and remelted and reset and had to be scraped out after I got home.

Not so Trivial

I must be the world's worst house guest! Almost every day in Hobart I slept late and my poor hostess tiptoed around her own home. Zudi has been so gracious. We had lunch today when I finally got out of bed, and then I left. I didn't get very far. I spent some time in Oatlands with its impressive array of very old buildings. Then I drove on to Campbell Town. By then I was feeling drowsy so stopped for what Jan calls a SCAN - senior citizen's afternoon nap.

As I took a phone call from Krista, heard from Hudson about his day at Pre-school and listened to Cory's homework reading, I stopped in front of one of the hotels. There was an ad outside for a Trivia night as a Cancer fund raiser (Relay for Life, I think).  I enjoy trivia nights so decided to join in. I checked where the RV free camping was first. There was nobody there but it was still early so I wasn't too worried. 

I joined two ladies, Anne and Gloria, but wasn't much help as a contestant. Between us we only managed two points out of ten for the sports topic and anywhere else where we tossed up about an answer, we picked the wrong one. We ended up tied for sixth position - which doesn't sound too bad except that there were only seven teams and that put us at the bottom - not a great result!  However, I had a nice meal and a lovely dessert and pleasant company. What more could I ask for?  At the end of the night though, there were still no others at the camping ground. Anne generously allowed me to park in her driveway, although she was spending the night at the hospital with her husband. It was quiet and safe.

Once again, on Thursday, I have only travelled a short distance. I had been thinking more seriously abiout getting a side awning on the van as I need shade and it takes too much effort to put up a tarp whenever I stop. I am now sitting in a 4x4 Accessories lounge, after visiting two other places. I spent a couple of hours in Launceston having a look around and then brought the van back to be worked on. I don't know how long that will take so I am catching up on mail and banking and anything else I can do while I wait.

Damnation!

I was sitting in a park the other day and could see only part of a street sign, ...nation Drive. Despite an adequate vocabulary, the only word ending in ..nation that I could think of was Damnation. Damnation Drive had a nice ring to it. As most towns have a theme in naming streets, I amused myself redesigning the neighborhood - Lucifer Lane, Satan Street, Brimstone Bridge. Then I remembered that Dad used the word to express dissatisfaction (which incidentally I also did this evening when I failed to save the post and had to start again.) That gave a new emphasis to my creativity. When I finally got to my feet and discovered I was looking at Coronation Drive, I had run out of ideas. To my consternation I realised that I needed to bring more determination and imagination to the designation of this task. (I knew there were other ..nation words.)

Once again my travels have been through some beautiful country in lovely clear crisp weather. I left Hobart yesterday to drive the Huon Trail. With perfect weather I decided to drive direct to Southport which is the furtherest the sealed roads go in all of Australia. I followed the Huon River most of the way. David Jones (of Hobart, not Peninsula Toastmasters or Department store fame) had showed me his photos the previous night and made me very conscious of reflections. I hope I have some good photos but can't download them till I get back to Zudi's on Tuesday night.

I made a couple of detours on the way. The Thermal Springs sounded like a good way to ease aching muscles. The photos from the promotional brochures must have been taken in the depths of Winter, showing steam swirling around swimmers. The reality was not so exciting. The pool was a standard rectangular concrete pool, not the bubbling spring in the wilderness that I had envisaged. I don't know if it was really 28 degrees as promised. Perhaps it was, but it was barely lukewarm, not the languid heat I had imagined. The hot shower afterwards was very welcome, though. I had planned to visit Hastings Caves as well. The advertisement said that no particular skill or equipment was needed. That sounded like me! No particular skill! When I arrived I found that the tour started with 50 steps down, which for me is harder than going up - and plenty of them as well, 500 steps in all! So no cave exploring for me.

When I finally got to Southport, I considered for a moment (well, I could have!) taking the dirt road as far as it went and then doing a three hour walk to the most southerly spot in Australia. I know I have been to the most easterly. I also managed when I was in Ireland going the the furtherest north, south, east and west. In Iceland (as distinct from Ireland) I stood on the most easterly point and I have done something similar in other places, so a long trek just to gaze out into the ocean left me  as cold as the Thermal Springs.

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I camped here metres from the water
with Bruny Island in background

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Sunrise taken from my bed

The last two nights I spent in camping grounds very close to the beach. Sunday night was at Port Huon where I was about ten metres away from the water. On Monday night, I was barely three metres away, looking out towards Bruny Island across the D'Entrecasteaux channel. As the sun set, the cliffs were golden in the sun. But even better this morning, I saw the sunrise. Yes, I know that some people see it often. I don't so this was quite an occasion for me. However, the very best part was that I took photos without getting out of bed, then rolled over and went back to sleep.

I spent much of Tuesday wandering around a couple of little towns. I stopped in Huonville for breakfast and had a quick look around there. Then I went on to Cygnet on a mission. I had read a feature in a local newspaper about a chocolate maker in Cygnet, with her product called Cygnature, which appealed to my love of word play as well as chocolate. When I finally located the shop, I found it closed on Monday and Tuesday. Then I searched for The Deepings Woodturners as their advertisements looked interesting. After cruising up and down the highway and asking several of the locals I found it - also closed. Despite current advertising, it seemed to be a permanent closure as it is a bit early even in Tasmania to close down for Winter.

At the last stop for the day, I met with success. I called at the Grandvewe (note the spelling) farm and sampled sheep milk cheese, a liquer made from the whey and also an ice-cream. I have brought some of the cheese and a pinot paste back to share with Zudi. It has a different taste from cows milk but it is quite pleasant and the cheeses are lovely. I'll follow up on the website for more infromation as it was an interesting stop.


My neighbours last night are from the Gold Coast. I think Queenslanders outnumber Taswegians at the moment. David and Vivienne are travelling with their seven year old daughter who seems to be having a wonderful time. While her parents spoiled me with black rice pudding and alcohol, Kirra discovered the joy of iPads. There may be a bit of pressure brought to bear - and I may not be very popular in days to come.


I had every intention of attending a Toastmasters meeting at Kingston tonight. I got the details from the TMI site and then found it in a local paper yesterday as well so I was pretty sure of the venue and the time. But I have been caught before. Fortunately I rang the contact number. The club has amalgamated with the Hobart club which meets next week. Damnation!

Circling Back

I picked good weather for the visit to Queenstown and Strahan and left as the wind picked up. After a drive to Zeehan (a long way for coffee and only a couple of important buildings), I spent another night at Queenstown. I had intended to stay a bit longer in Strahan but it was quicker to return to Queenstown than to go back to Strahan. Queenstown is proud of their historic sports ground, with a gravel oval. I wanted to see a game of football to see how the players coped with gravel rash. The gravel is very fine and during the night I got good taste of it - in more ways than one. The sports ground provides free camping. On my first stay, there were about twenty rigs. This next night there were only eight. Perhaps they knew something. Early in the night the wind got up and all night the sand swirled around the area, sandblasting the outside and sneaking into every part of the van. I drove off eventually knowing that everything I touched was gritty with sand. (Two days later the road into Queenstown was closed because of a snowfall.)

I wasn't in any great hurry to get back to Hobart so I made a large detour. I spent one night at Bothwell. Some of the small towns have worked hard to encourage tourists. Bothwell has published a heritage walk, with more than twenty buildings explained. With a substantial number of buildings more than a century old, they have a real slice of history. Ten dollar camping with good hot showers and free laundry encourages people to stays at least overnight. From there, I went to New Norfolk, quite a bustling modern town mingled with historical aspects. New Norfolk was the place that I got phone coverage back after five days in the wilderness. If I ever come back, I will have a Telstra phone. Even that is not always available, but is much more reliable.

I had eleven messages waiting for me. It's good to know that friends and relatives are following my trip. It is also nice to see occasional comments on Facebook and emails. Thank you all. One message was from Zudi who repeated her invitation to return. So here I am again at Geilston Bay, Hobart. Today I just played ladies. I had to find a chemist and get some medications. Apart from that, I had a rest, had a read and watched a DVD. Yesterday I had pulled everything out of the van and swept out the sand. So it is ready to hit the road again tomorrow. I am making a big loop south, doing the Huon Trail, before I head north for the ferry on Monday 26th.

Different Towns, Different Emphasis

Queenstown and Strahan couldn't be more different. Both are isolated on the west coast. Both have had their heydays and both are now important parts of Tasmania's tourist route.

Queenstown is unashamedly a mining town, from its inception and still now. Initially there was a small gold rush and then vast deposits of copper were found. There is still a tall chimney visible but one hundred years ago there were eleven, all spewing poisonous clouds of choking pollution into the air and, with acid rain, into the soil and rivers. In contrast to the amazing temperate rainforests all around, the  mountains are totally bare and will probably take thousands of years to regenerate. The rivers are yellow and thick with sediment and just beginning to flow again after many years. Someone told me that a couple of years ago you could throw a stone into the water and it wouldn't sink!

The railway was the only way in to the town initially and it took years to build, hacked from thick virgin forest by hand. Cuttings were gouged into the mountains and amazingly intricate bridges built to support the rail line. When the inclines were too steep, a rack and pinion track was built with cogs on the rail meshing with cogs on the engines to drag the train up and down the mountains. This is now a daily tourist train but in older times it was the only contact with the coast and the only way to get the copper to the coast at Strahan. I took lots of train photos for the boys. The scenery was too difficult to capture.

The Queen River is classed as dead

This gorge is on the other side of the mountains

Strahan is also isolated and until quite recently the only access was by sea, with a return trip to Hobart or Melbourne taking weeks or months depending on the weather. Strahan has managed to escape most of the devastation of the mining. Thanks to strong environmental lobbies, the Gordon River is a world heritage area and the cruises on the river show the wonderful wilderness at its best. A six hour trip yesterday flew by. Again I didn't take many photos because it was so wide and impressive that it was impossible to record.

Lighthouse at Hell's Gates

Floating Fish farms

Marilyn and Paul were on the train trip with me on Monday. I could have missed them all together except that she got into the wrong carriage and saw me sitting there. Praise the Lord for the family sense of direction! I parked with them and with Nancy and Geoff and friends Jane and Lindsay at Strahan the past two nights. Last night we had some wonderful fresh salmon - and a care package for tonight.

Paul with the fish that all the men 'caught'

Travelling cousins - Marilyn and Monica