4/28/10 (port fairy)

Port Fairy – Grampians – Ballarat

We started the morning with a continental breakfast downstairs in the hotel’s restaurant. I had been telling Jon about vegemite made from yeast, which the Aussies spread on their toast much like peanut butter. The first time I had vegemite was when I lived in Japan and my Aussie roommate, Jean, had me try some. You are supposed to spread butter and then a thin layer of vegemite on the toast. Jon tried some but I don’t think he’ll be having any more of it. It is definitely an acquired taste.

Today we headed to the Grampians, which is a mountain range that is part of the Great Divide. There are supposed to be great hikes and lookout points. It was sprinkling and a bit foggy but we hoped it would clear away in a few hours since it never seems to rain long here. However, when we got to the Grampians it was still raining and getting pretty cold. We stopped at the Brambuk the National Park and Cultural Center and behind it was the Aboriginal Cultural Center. It was interesting to learn more about the Aboriginal culture but sad to hear how they have been marginalized. As we walked out of the center we spotted a big grey kangaroo. Jon crept up on it to take a picture but the kangaroo hopped away right it front of me. It was very quick on its feet. We were excited to see a kangaroo in the wild and little did we know that we would spot more of them down the road. We saw some behind a motel so we drove into the motel and walked out to the field to where the kangaroos were hanging out. But we were quickly called back to our car by the owner of the motel telling us we were on private property. We spotted some more kangaroos and this time they were just alongside a street. There was a mother kangaroo with her kiddies. The mother was quite big and was probably around Jon’s height. It had massive biceps and its chest was huge! If the mother jumped toward us we would have been in trouble. We were very excited to see so many out and about. They hopped in and out of people’s yards. Can you imagine seeing a kangaroo outside your back door?! It reminded us of the deer that would visit Jon’s mom’s house on Lake Huron in Michigan.

We drove to a lookout point but it was really foggy and we couldn’t see anything. We were a bit disappointed since it was our last full day in Victoria before flying to Brisbane and we weren’t going to be able to see the Grampians. We decided we might as well head to Ballart where we were staying the night.

Once we got to Ballart I had found a motel that offered internet and a free light breakfast as well. I was really hopeful that it was like the one we had stayed at in Port Fairy. When we arrived we were informed that we had to pay $5 for the internet which wasn’t a big deal at all but when the manager handed me four slices of bread in a sandwich bag and a jug of milk I gave Jon a look a “uh-oh!” I guess we should have clarified with the manager what he meant when he said light breakfast. It actually worked out fine and the room was very spacious.

Even though we didn’t get to see the Grampians in its full glory we got to hang out with some wild kangaroos, which was pretty cool.

4/27/10 (apollo bay)

Apollo Bay – Great Otway National Park – Port Fairy

It was a brisk morning and the cold air was refreshing. It had rained last night and the weather report said today was going to be around 18 degrees Celsius. We made a detour on the Great Ocean Road (GOR) to check out the Otway Fly Treetop Walk, which is in the middle of the Great Otway National Park. The walk takes about an hour along lush green rainforest and the highlight is the 600-meter long steel walkway about 25 meters above ground so you really get a different perspective of the rainforest. It is almost like you are among the treetops and when you stare down you notice just how tall these trees grow. Luckily the walkway seemed pretty sturdy so I wasn’t too afraid but once we walked up the spiral staircase to reach the lookout my legs were a little wobbly. There was also a suspension lookout point, which sways a bit every time someone took a step and of course Jon took the opportunity to jump and down on it just to make it more exciting.

On our way back to the main road we were engulfed by big rolling fields, which reminded us of New Zealand. In some ways it was the same but different if that makes sense. I often wonder what it would be like to grow up in a place like this rather than in a city. I feel free and calm looking out to the fields but not sure I could raise cows or sheep if I had such big land.

We also got stopped by a herd of cows crossing the road. There was a car in front of us and for a moment it looked like they were going to run the car over. The cows seemed a bit confused on where to go and were bumping into each other along the way. I had seen signs warning us of stock crossing the road but never actually witnessed one until now. It was a pretty funny moment as they ran past us and the road was clear again.

One of the most famous stops along the GOR is the Twelve Apostles, which are limestone statues that have been carved out by the powerful ocean waves. You don’t really get to see all twelve since some are blocked by the bigger ones. It is still a spectacular view since some rise 65 meters out of the ocean. What is also really amazing is how smooth the cliff side is as if someone used a carving knife to shape the edges. It was really windy on the lookout deck even with the sun blazing down at us. We couldn’t get any nice pictures because of the location of the sun. It was about an hour before sunset so we decided to come back and catch the sunset. We made a quick pit stop in Port Campbell. We caught the sunset in perfect time and Jon took a time-lapse of the sun setting behind the Twelve Apostles.

Before we left the states we bought a little camera for me to use and it has taken really nice pictures. So while on the road Jon has given me some pointers and I have really taken up photography. I’m still at the point and click stage but now I have learned how to frame my pictures so they are more interesting to look at. Next he’s going to show me how to manually adjust my settings.

After the sunset we decided to make a run for Port Fairy, which is about 1.5 hours away. We got to Port Fairy around 8pm and luckily found a reasonably priced room at Comfort Inn with free internet and a light breakfast! Our room is situated on the top floor in an old brick building built in the 1840’s. Jon said it reminded him of the room he and Ryan stayed in when they visited Venice. The bathroom and showers are shared which is right across the hall from us but there were only one other couple staying upstairs. We figured we have gotten used to community bathrooms at the campsite. The town was pretty sleepy with only a few restaurants open and we settled on a Chinese restaurant. One of the things Jon noticed is that no matter how small of a town it is you can find at least one Chinese restaurant and it is usually operated by Asians. An interesting observation.

Australian Stampede from Annie Lin on Vimeo.

4/26/09 (clayton)

Clayton – Melbourne – Apollo Bay

There have been two things that keep following us around. One has to do with the weather. Jon has coined our adventure as “the year of no summer”. In every country we have been so far, which has only been Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia, the summer is just about ending and the fall is beginning. The first few days we are in a new area it will be relatively sunny and warm and towards the end it will start getting cold. It happened when we were in the south island of New Zealand, Katoomba and also in Clayton. Our first few days in Clayton were sunny and then it sprinkled off and on for the last three days. The other thing that keeps following us or we are following it is the holiday season. During our last week in New Zealand it was the start of the Easter holiday, which lasts for two weeks, and when we arrived in Sydney it was still their Easter holiday so families were out and about. When we arrived in Melbourne we learned of Anzac Day much like our Memorial Day, which meant a three-day weekend. We were planning on driving the Great Ocean Road (GOR) in Victoria this past weekend but we were advised to wait till the weekend was over since lots of people go away on holiday and many of the hotels require two night stays.

We waited till today to rent a car to do the drive. We said our farewells to our friends in Clayton and headed into the city to pick up our car. This time we decided to rent a compact automatic and stay in motels since we would only be on the road for four days. I have coined our car the Little Zipster because of its small size and how fast it zips along the windy road along the ocean. Jon is really enjoying being in compact car so much that he’s even considering getting one when we go back to the states. But it does feels weird not being in a camper and makes me miss the camper life a bit since camping is very popular along the ocean road.

The road is 285 km along Victoria’s southwestern coast, which is supposed to mirror the California’s Pacific Coast Highway. It was built in the 1920’s to commemorate the fallen soldiers in WWI as well as provide work for the soldiers who returned from war. The road is carved out in the middle of the Great Otway National Park and against some pretty rugged coastline so I can only imagine what a tough job it was for the soldiers.

We made a pit stop in Geelong for some lunch before starting the GOR. Jon snoozed for a bit while I drove and I guess I must have missed the signs to Torquay, which is the official start, because before we realized it we were in Lorne already and missed the first three towns on the ocean road. We decided to backtrack and head back to Aireys Inlet to check out the Split Point Lighthouse. The lighthouse had a bright red top and made for a great time-lapse backdrop.

It was nice to be on the road again and the coastline scenery was pretty spectacular. It does remind me a bit of PCH. It is pretty interesting to note the subtle color differences in ocean around the world. The water around the glaciers and Tasman Sea in New Zealand were a soft teal but the water in the South Ocean is more of a turquoise blue color.

We ended the day in Apollo Bay and crashed at a motel. 

4/21/10 - 4/25/10 (melbourne)

Melbourne - Clayton

Over the last few days we have been hanging out in a suburb of Melbourne called Clayton with our friends Dennise and Wakaba. Dennise and I worked at the same branch teaching English at Nova in Japan and have kept in touch over the years. It had been five years since I have seen both of them and now they have three beautiful kids. They were very generous in inviting us to stay at their house, which they just moved into over a month ago. The last couple days we have lived more like Aussies than tourists. And it felt really good just to relax and not have to plan our days. We didn’t rent a car so we have taken the bus and train to get around, which has been pretty convenient. We have cooked at home and a few nights Dennise made a delicious Korean meal for dinner. They are big fans of Korean food and Jon tried kimchi for the first time when we visited a Korean restaurant on another night. I don’t think he’ll be ordering kimchi next time he’s in a Korean restaurant but the bbq meat was very tasty. It has been fun playing with the kids. Zach is almost five and is a very skilled player on video games. He loves chatting with anyone about Mario games. Fifi is two years old and always entertaining with her endless energy. We had hoped to see Kalista walk before we left. She has gotten very good at climbing on Jon and using him as a guidepost to hoist herself up.

As some of you know one of the challenges we have had is not having a cell phone or reliable internet. We have even resorted to going to McDonald’s to use their free wifi but they limit it to 50MB, which is nothing for Jon. We finally cracked and bought a cell phone so we can call our family/friends and will be able to make reservations for hotel and rental cars. We also got a wireless USB modem so we have internet wherever we go. It was pretty expensive but we figured it will be worth it to not be driving around looking for McDonalds.

We also spent a day in the city of Melbourne checking out the sights. Melbourne is slightly smaller than Sydney but it was still pretty big. We got our exercise for the day by walking the entire city. It was time for some refreshments. We read about a place called Madame Brussels, which had faux grass to look like a tennis court and the servers wore tennis outfits. It was on a rooftop of a building and since it was a sunny day we decided to stop in for a drink. They had a drink with Pimms with lots of fruit, which was very refreshing.

On another day we went to the movies and watched The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo, which is based on a book by Stieg Larsson. Jon’s mom, Mary, introduced me to the book trilogy, which I just finished reading a few weeks ago.

All in all it was great to catch up with Dennise and Wakaba and spend some time in Melbourne. Thank you to them both for their hospitality and generosity. We hope to see you guys again soon.

4/20/10 (parklea)

Parklea - Sydney

Final day in the Sydney area. We got up early and worked on getting caught up on the daily details, laundry, and camper clean up. We were going to return the Cheapa camper and head to the airport. We left the camp site by 10am and were off to Sydney. The traffic was quite heavy and a little challenging in the camper. We took a different route than when we left Sydney and were headed in on Hwy 4 and it allowed us to drive over the suspension bridge called The Anzac Bridge. It was a new view of Sydney and Annie and I liked it. It was a good thing because later that day, I got a little turned around and we went over it two more times. 

We headed into the city to a familiar location, the Morgan Hotel. This was the hotel we first stayed at when arriving to Sydney and we were hopeful to grab a little internet with the login we used when we were guests. It is a little challenging to park the camper in the city because we can’t park in structures, the high top won’t fit. Luckily we found a spot near the hotel and Annie and I went the front of the hotel armed with laptops but unfortunately they had changed the password. We did get a signal from the Tropicana, a coffee bar across the street so we agreed to check it out. We were going to call Debie to meet for lunch and we had to grab my jacket that I had left in her trunk, but it was still early. The Tropicana had a great chai latte and some free internet and so that was a nice stop. Afterword we tried Debie unsuccessfully and decided to revisit our favorite Thai restaurant S. Thanda on Victoria Street. We had eaten there on the past Saturday and it was really good and pretty affordable. We ordered the same dishes. It was some the best food we have had on the our travels. Next we were off to the CBD (central business district) to try and meet Debie before heading to the airport. 

The CBD is incredibly busy and is the hub of the Sydney’s financial district. It is a series of one way roads with lots of people who hardly utilized the crosswalks and instead choose to pop out in every which way. The perfect place to take an oversized camper! We circled a few times and finally parked in front of an alleyway to avoid oncoming traffic. Annie fortunately got a hold of Debie, who met us of a quick goodbye. Down the road from Debie’s office is a nice camera store and I grabbed a long sought after piece of camera gear and we were off to the Apollo rental office. This is the point we got a little lost and Annie was very patient. After a short trip we fueled up and returned the camper. It was a pretty painless process but they did lack a bit of the professionalism of the New Zealand branch. We asked about a ride to the airport and the attendant reluctantly told us how we could walk to the airport.

This turned out to be quite an adventure and we found that airports are really not structured for walkers. We weaved in and out of several large intersections under the hot Sydney sun and arrived safely in fifteen minutes. I am sure it was quite comical to watch. Debie had warned us about Tiger airlines and how they frequently left the gate early and so we decided we would arrive early. The checkin was swift and we were at the gate with plenty of time to spare. The flight was smooth and we had fun watching the all male attendants hit on a row of girls next to us. 

When we arrived to Melbourne we were on to our next adventure. We were staying with Dennise, a friend of Annie’s from her English teaching days in Japan. He had given us directions to his house and we were to take the Sky Bus to the Southern Cross Station and then take the Pakenham line to the Clayton exit. From there we took the 703 bus to the Princess Hwy near the second Mc Donald’s. A little crazy, but that was part of the adventure. We met Dennise and grabbed a quick bite at Mc Donald’s and then went to meet Dennise’s family. We spent the night reminiscing about Annie’s Japan days and were off to bed around 11 for some much needed rest.