The Great Ocean Road (TGOR) - Adelaide to Melbourne Road Trip

After checking out of our hostel and a short walk to the station we jumped on the bus to go to pick up our camper van from Apollo (Wednesday 30/07/2014).

We had to sort lots of paperwork out once we got to their office. We picked up a satellite navigation system (an invaluable purchase) and after a short wait (watching the Commonwealth games - come on Great Britain!) we were shown around our camper and the adventure of a lifetime began. The camper itself wasn't massive - pretty basic but it had everything we needed in it - table & chairs which folded out into a small double bed, kitchen area, microwave, toaster, kettle, gas stove, fridge, 50" plasma TV with built in free view & blu ray player, pool table, sauna and a hot tub at the back. Ok, ok maybe not the last few items listed but it was nice enough and comfortable enough for what we were to be using it for :) Exciting times ahead! Antoni had never driven an automatic vehicle previously nor had he driven a van so this should be amusing ;) luckily the road rules are the same as in the UK so I'm sure we'll be fine. It was stressed that we must keep the van only on proper built roads and not to drive once the sun had gone down.

So after leaving the forecourt (seeing us they must have been worried) - our very first stop was 'Coles' (equivalent to Tesco's) where we picked up food, drinks and supplies for our forthcoming road trip. We also grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading off on the most epic adventure we've ever been on to date .........

After navigating our way back through the city and onto the correct highway, today was a long day of driving on roads with not much more than open spaces with lots of greenery, cows and road kill. We saw lots of kangaroo signs but not many kangaroos! 

What we imagined to be a great adventure was a slow starter - surely it gets better than long straight roads as far as the eye can see and nothing but fields on either side!?! Antoni was loving this part of the journey as he'd never seen anything like this before and was constantly asking me to take pictures as "one day he'll make a canvas from one of them" :) shame there was no cruise control on this van (N.B. in future we should definitely get one with cruise control).

We stopped and passed through a few places to get a quick rest and stretch our legs and of course we had lots of picture stops at 'Talem bend' and 'Karoonda' but we mainly stayed on the Princes Highway making our way towards the start of TGOR.

The camper van we booked was a relocation offer that we had seen online which basically means that you are to courier the camper from one point to another and this just so happened to be from Adelaide to Melbourne which fits in perfectly with our plans and costs a fraction of the price of renting a camper outright plus they contribute to the cost of the fuel - absolute bonus - the downside is that we only have 4 days to complete our journey - reading other travellers' advice online we found people stating that 3 to 4 days was about the right amount of time needed - I guess we'll find this out for ourselves.

From researching the journey prior to being let loose on the Australian roads we read from other travellers to look out for 'Narrung Road' which was a dirt track which took us on a detour around by 'Lake Albert'. They say "it will only add 7km to your journey" - it's well worth a look then - what they didn't make clear was that it was 7km to the lake, 10km driving next to the lake, 9km back towards the road you originally turned off and to top it all it puts you about 12km behind the original turn off you took so it sends you on a crazy 38km loop (would make sense if you were travelling in the other direction) - yet you don't feel it as your driving in a massive circle as your looking at all the crazy scenery etc - you only realise once you get back on the main road that you were originally on?

You really have to look out for it as it's really not that well advertised - we drove past it to start off thinking that the turn couldn't quite possibly be it but we turned round and went back. Anyway, this track was something that could host the WRC (World Rally Championship). It was great to drive on but you have to remember not to floor it as you're driving a camper van and not a track car .......... what was it they said about not off roading? :)  Yes - everything in the kitchen area that wasn't secured in place went flying everywhere - we'd just hear random crashes coming from in the back but hey - what can you do :) thankfully there were surprisingly no breakages!

By this time the sun was starting to go down and we managed to see the views, take a few pictures and enjoy the sunset at 17:45PM which was earlier than we had expected (we failed to research this beforehand). We were told to avoid driving at sunrise or sunset (basically when it's dark due to the kangaroos loving vehicle headlights and potentially running straight into you) so as it had suddenly got dark we needed to find somewhere asap to park up for the night. As we were in Coorong in a small town called Meningie, we headed for a campsite as listed in the 'Lonely Planet' guide but this was unfortunately closed so instead we asked at a local motel of any nearby campsites and they told us about a site 10km down the road called 'Salt Creek Adventurers Rest Campground' .......... sounded like fun so we headed there. Given the name I think we were expecting something amazing but on arrival it was literally a small petrol station that had a shop and a car park and around the back it had power you could hook up to. Basic but it'll do the job.

As we arrived being greeted by two blonde Swedish girls the first thing they asked us was if we were mad doing the coast road journey in this crazy weather (being the peak of the Australian winter) and said that they had plenty of room (with a smile) ........ there was only one other camper van parked up - we we're literally in middle the of nowhere, the winds had now picked up, the temperature was falling and the rains had started to move on in. We'd driven for about 5 hours so we were ready to rest as we had a busy day on the road again tomorrow. We were also told that we were lucky we arrived when we did as they were about to close up for the night - we'd definitely had of been stuck to find a place to stay after this - didn't quite fancy just stopping off somewhere random as firstly we didn't know the area, secondly we don't know if you can or if it's safe enough and finally it was pitch dark, in the middle of nowhere and this is the last place we want to get stuck / breakdown / run out of battery etc so this place to us was amazing!

Antoni cooked us up some dinner, we had showers in the freezing concrete outdoor shed and chilled out looking over our pictures, listening to music, writing notes for this blog and we decided to look over a map of the journey we'd travelled. We did feel that we'd covered quite a section of the journey given how long we'd driven for but looking at a map we'd not even scratched the surface - I think this is when the reality of how big Australia really is came to us. Although we spent most of our time on the road it didn't feel like we'd just been driving all day - the day went so quickly and with the early sunsets we have to make sure we make good time tomorrow. We settled down for an early night as we had an early start and full day of adventure ahead of us. The night was so cold and the wind and rain was unforgiving - constant ALL night - not much sleep was had :( On a plus note the camper was given a great wash considering the dirt track we'd been on just earlier.

The next morning (Thursday 31/07/2014) we woke up to gorgeous sunshine (much to our surprise)....

......however this was short lived because as soon as we'd got showered, changed and had some breakfast and got on the road the rain came in again and the wind was crazy. You could feel the pull on the camper as we were driving - it felt like it wanted to topple over. We were on open roads with no protection from the land so we drove that bit slower but our aim today was to try and make it to as near to the start of TGOR as safely as possible. 

We went through 'Black Ford Drain', 'Kingston' and 'Lobe'. The weather was crazy - one minute it'd look fine like it'd clear up then the rain would come - wind was constant - wasn't the best start to the day but we took a short pit stop in 'Lobe', fuelled up, stretched our legs and made our way onto a place called 'Millicent' in Mount Gambier to see the Blue Lake.

The Blue Lake (in Millicent) is also known as the 'leg of mutton lake crater' which is a national monument. It's described as a relatively young volcano and the volcanic crater was created from an eruption 4800 years ago - apparently this is extremely recent in geological terms - sounds ages ago to me - so we headed to the viewpoint and went on the lake trail. In the summer the lake is luminous - it's 75m deep and it turns into an insane hue of blue - scientists believe it has something to do with the calcite crystals suspended in the water but as the rain was bouncing and it was the middle of winter we were not going to see it at its best - don't get us wrong it was beautiful still - the blue was there but it wasn't luminous albeit the dark and gloomy skies above - we got absolutely soaked. We walked up to the crater viewpoint and we got some amazing pictures.

Following this we were now wearing soaking wet clothing and we were washed out and in need to dry off and get some warmth. We decided before our journey began (back in Gatwick airport) that no matter what the weather was deciding to do it wasn't going to stop us or put us off from going to see the places we wanted to see - even if one of us didn't fancy it, we're a team an we'll stick together - we're determined not to be beaten by the weather and we'll share each other dreams and wishes - Team Caroni! We drove around the crater and parked up, people driving past us must have thought we lived on the crazy side of life as we were the only people out of our vehicle whilst the rest attempted to view it from the road - we definitely made the right decision.

Whilst Antoni made us some dinner Carol decided to go to the Apex viewing point next to where we'd parked to get a few extra pictures.

We only stayed about a half hour, had lunch before we got back on it and headed in the direction of 'Nelson' towards the South Australia / Victoria border. As we were driving we'd noticed that the Sat Nav had changed and that we'd crossed a time zone which basically meant the time went forward by 30 minutes which now means that sunset is 30 minutes earlier - we better start thinking of where we should stay tonight as it's going to get dark soon!

Along the way we found a few little detour roads with views. We went down to the 'Glenelg River' and saw lots of Pelicans and bright Galahs. 

We went onto 'Nelson Ocean Beach', 'Discovery Bay Coastal Park' and 'Kincaid Creek'. We also thought to fill up with more fuel at this point as we didn't want it get too low incase no more petrol stations for ages ............. which is more than likely on this road. We made it to 'Portland' where there was a viewing point picture spot and we went past 'Darlots Creek' when it started getting dark. 

We soldiered on (what did they say about not driving in the dark again?) and made it to 'Port Fairy' where we'd planned to stop for the night rather than carry on and risk hitting anymore kangaroos on the road ......... joking - we didn't hit any don't panic - we'd of had a great BBQ if we did though. We drove a little further and ended up at 'Catalina Caravan Park' for the night. When we went in to see if they had any spaces available we could just smell food and the smell made us want to stay here so we ended up with a portion of Fish, Chicken & Chips in the camper van. It definitely wasn't like the chippy food you get at home but it was hot, smelt amazing and well welcomed as we were freezing from our days wintery antics. We did smell our van out with the smell of chips but we weren't too bothered as we just wanted to regain some body heat - we got showered (freezing), wrapped up warm and got in a second nights sleep in the camper although we now had a hailstone thunder and lightening storm going on outside - normally when this happens you tend to be tucked up all warm in a house with the central heating on or sat in front of a nice fire / log burner however, and believe us when we say, that's it's a completely different experience when you're sat in what can only be described as a tin can on wheels without any heating - to give you an indication of how cold it was we pretty much layered up with the entire contents of our backpacks!

The next morning (Friday 01/08/2014) we had an alarm set pretty early so that we could get another early start underway ........... but we snoozed lots - it was so cold outside of the bedding neither of us wanted to move! We eventually got up for showers, had some porridge for breakfast in an attempt to warm us up and it then ....... started hail stoning again and it was freezing! Woohoo! Anyway we'd set off by 09:00AM (a little later than planned) and we felt we still had enough time to venture along the coast road to see all the sights.

Heading towards 'Warranambool' we passed a sign for the Irish village of 'Koroit' - you knew when you were in the area due to the amount of Irish flags pretty much attached to anything or everything you can possibly attach a flag to. It reminded us of our Irish friends both in Oz, around the world and back at home which was nice and we reminisced about numerous things :) We saw a sign for 'Killarney Beach' so went off route to go and take a quick look - although the weather was appalling the beach was beautiful, waves were enormous and we just took in the sheer beauty of the place. The Bass Strait is truly breath taking.

Back on the main road we were only 29km to the start of TGOR :) ........ nearly there! We pulled over and swapped drivers and tagged Carol in to take the hot seat (the quality of pictures might now go down hill as Antoni is now tasked to be both DJ and official tour photographer). 

We went across the overpass at 'Dennington', across the 'Hopkins River' and made our way into 'Warranambool'. Through the town we took a right towards 'Logan's Beach' which is a Whale Nursery (it's Australia's most popular and easily accessed land based whale viewing site) definitely worth a visit. The beach itself has bright orange sand, amazing waves and a walkway made especially to view from however the weather was so crazy and visibility was so poor we were going to be lucky to see anything further than our noses. 

As we struggled in the battering rain and wind we stumbled upon a well bearded man who was hiding with a pair of binoculars - it was like some kind of comedy sketch from Monty Pythons Life of Brian when he stumbles across a man living in a hole - he looked at us in disbelief that we'd found him :) Absolutely 100% there were no whales to be seen here today - we even took cover by the barrier in an attempt to just take a picture of us being here.

Back in the camper (and being in the middle of nowhere) we lost all connection with the Sat Nav - what do you do now? We've no maps, no internet and no WiFi to be found anywhere! (neither Bear Grylls nor Ray Mears told us what to do when this happens whilst conducting my research) so we drove about in an attempt to back track but you know what happens ...... we took the wrong turn and ended up far away from where we actually needed to be ........ in someone's cattle farm. 

Knowing our error we again went back on ourselves until we found the main road just in time for when the Sat Nav decided on getting some reception - Nice one Dave (Sat Nav's name).

Back on the A1 we went past 'Allansford' and made our way on through to 'Nullawarre' (the first town) on the B100. The B100 is otherwise known as THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD! (TGOR)

Our first stop on TGOR was 'Boat Bay' - let me say this place is amazing - unlike anything we've ever encountered previously (we might say this quite a bit throughout this next section so bear with us) - it's not in the lonely planet guide nor did we see it on any route map and there was no-one else here but us (which made it even better) there was just a random sign on the road - the wind was crazy strong so much that we struggled to walk - the rain was coming in from all directions - due to this wind the waves were immense smashing into the cliff face with sheer ferocity - could not even imagine what it'd be like in the water here - the oceans power was on full view - if the rest of the sites along TGOR are deemed better than this then we're in for one amazing unforgettable days viewing - we were excited!

We spent quite a bit of time here as it was just brilliant but we knew we had more to see so made our way towards 'Peterborough' (N.B. when next at home go to Peterborough to see if it's anything like this). So we reached the 'Bay of Islands Coastal Park' - it's a 33km long stretch of coastal strip, one of Victorias most special places - it boasts rock stack formations and is home to 'The Grotto', 'London Bridge', 'The Arch' and a couple more.

We know we've mentioned the weather on numerous occasions throughout this passage but this in itself is something quite unbelievable - nothing we've ever encountered before. The state of Victoria is well known for experiencing the four seasons in a single day and whoever stated that is 100% correct.

Next stop was the 'Bay of Martyrs' (another part of the Bay of Islands Coastal Park) again amazed at the scenery on hand yet we didn't want to stay here too long as we tried to weigh up our travel time against that of when the sun is due to set plus us getting to an overnight stay etc without it becoming too dangerous for ourselves and having to miss out sections of this magnificent place because we'd be in a rush.

'The Grotto' was up next, this was definitely our most favourite place, not only did you have a viewing area from above but you could walk right down into the grotto itself and get the most awesome views and feel well involved. 'The Grotto' is formed by erosion from both the coast and inland - it's difficult to explain but we hope the pictures do it justice - never mind getting wet from the rain - the sheer force of the ocean made this spot a little like a water ride in itself - you had to hold on - we just wish we were better equipped clothes wise to deal with this.

Back in the van we reached 'London Bridge' which is located in the 'Port Campbell National Park' within the 'Bay Of Islands' - this was named as it used to replicate London Bridge however in 1990 the main arch (which was connected to the mainland) cracked and was consumed by the ocean never to be seen again.

'The Arch' was our next little stop followed by 'Loch Ard Gorge'. To attempt to describe each of the sites would simply not do them justice and we'd end up stating the same for each (amazing, brilliant, fantastic, magnificent) using slightly different superlatives, you can see the similarities and differences in the accompanying pictures we feel very humbled to have been able to take.

We entered the 'Twelve Apostles Marine National Park' which is still part of the 'Port Campbell National Park'. This area is huge. Here we walked to 'Thunder Cave'...

...and 'Sherbrooke River' which is an awesome place to see great waves as you can go down onto the beach...

We also saw the 'Loch Ard Approaches', 'The Wreck', 'Island Archway' and 'The Razorback' which is super cool.

'The Twelve Apostles' visitor centre and car park were really busy with tour coaches and the area was full so we decided to let the rush subside and made ourselves some lunch in our camper - dry off and get some warmth ready for the next bit. We also really didn't want to be fighting the crowds for a place to take a good picture from - this was our trip and we wanted to take our time and not be rushed about by 300 Chinese tour bus attendees. We did enquire about the helicopter tour that they were running but given the weather the man in the office was honest enough to state that the visibility is extremely poor and that we'd be best to come back another time as we'd see loads more and enjoy it much more (did he offer this same advice to the 100 foreign people waiting in the queue having paid already?).

So what a great decision it was to stay and have lunch as soon enough pretty much all the tour operators started to leave the area, so after finishing up we were able to head across to the 'Twelve Apostles Lookout' - there was a sign stating for us to watch out for snakes - in this weather - are you kidding me - the only snakes round here were those people in the gift shop attempting to charge you $15 for a cup of tea! 

Now it happened once again, whenever we're inside of our camper van the sun comes out, the weather looks amazing but as soon as we step just one foot outside that's it - it's time for the waders. This time though instead of rain falling from the sky it decided to hailstone from every angle possible - seriously there were times when you actually had to hide your face or simply get your face whipped round after round with hailstones (which after a while gets quite sore). 

Most of the remaining people there were running for safety but we made a pact and we were determined to see it out - you know the phrase 'good things come to those who wait', well in this instance great things came to us after getting completely drenched, shivering cold, frost bitten faces and to top it off wet underpants (nothing worse) but the heavens must have seen our resolve and congratulated us with a spell of decent weather - just enough to take some amazing pictures...

...before deciding enough is enough and it hammered it down hard once again. Add to this the worlds strongest winds and you've a recipe for disaster - thank goodness there were barriers everywhere as without these I'm sure we'd of seen a few casualties - it was a fight to try and walk...

On a lighter note there were some people wearing plastic ponchos - how funny was this - a bit sadistic on our behalf but people were yelling at the skies, not being able to see, crying for the weather to stop ........ they should have come better prepared :)

So we got some amazing pictures I'm sure you'll agree and made our ways back to the camper, swapped drivers again, (sun came out) and headed onto our next stop 'Gibson Steps' - amazing magical place. Unfortunately we were unable to go down onto the beach as the tide was in very high and it was closed off for safety reasons.

It was difficult to leave such a beautiful majestic unforgettable stretch of coastline but we knew we had to make tracks or we simply would not get the camper back in on time - we're still only about 60% of the way across so we can't really afford to hang about too long which is a massive shame. So we're back on the road, we're still buzzing and chatting about the different formations and stacks we've just seen - we're thinking that's it and that we'll just be driving now but this road has nothing but surprises dotted all along it - seriously if you see a sign just take the turn and and go and see it - you'll not be disappointed!

On the one side you've the most beautiful view of the Bass Strait, driving along a cliff edge, you have to go slow as the road is so tight at places and most of all you have to be alert - one slip in concentration will send you down the cliff edge (you can see evidence of where this has happened previously). Passing through 'Melba Gully' and on into the 'Otway National Park' just as the sun was about to set we saw a sign for 'Castle Cove' and decided this should be our very last stop of the day before we should go and find a place to stay for the evening. To get here we passed through some of the most amazing scenery, stunning coastal views on the one side, coupled with outstanding rainforest / jungle on the other - the only thing separating the two was this small road - it is something we'll never forget. The sun starting to go down over the ocean showing amazing colours and the dusk setting in on the rainforest making it look kind of eerie was just astonishing. It was a great decision to stop off at 'Castle Cove' as the sunset was just stunning, nobody else around us for miles - yes it was freezing cold but what a spot.

Now when we left this morning our plan was to get to 'Apollo Bay' on 'Blanket Bay' - it was still a little way off but we continued on our way as we really had to make this point in order to give us a good chance of enjoying our last day stopping off at random places tomorrow. As the night drew in the road became that bit more dangerous as is was absolutely pitch black - nobody else was near us, to top it off our tank was right by the empty line so we knew we had to stop and refuel asap - the trouble is according to 'Dave' we've got another 48km before we reach our nearest petrol station .......... will we make it? ....... of course we will - Antoni's driving ;)

So after a quick stop to refuel we reached 'Apollo Bay' and found the 'Apollo Bay Recreation Reserve and Camping Ground' (home of the Apollo Bay Hawks) site and went to setup for the night. We were again lucky with our timing as the site caretaker was just about to close up for the night (20:30PM). Because of all the bad rain and Antoni's amazing driving skills as we pulled up to the pitch we got stuck in the heavy bog - Carol couldn't stop laughing! We had to get the guy who owned the campsite to come help us out - Antoni tried his survival techniques as learnt from watching Bear Grylls but this was to no avail - I just didn't think he wanted to go and have to find the site owner and ask for help - is this a man thing?

Anyway after all attempts failed and just making the situation worse we conceded and got the guy to grab his 'Ute' (Australian name for a 4x4 pick up truck) and pull us out of the mud - fair play to the guy - he got himself covered in mud as we stood there watching and did it with a smile - we thank you Mr Campsite owner man. 

That evening we chilled out in the camper, had a quick bite to eat, had a wash in the outdoor cattle showering unit and snuggled in the back of the van enjoying a nice bottle of fizzy red (Shiraz) that we'd got just a couple of days ago.

Here we are it's our last day of travels on TGOR (Saturday 02/08/2014) before having to return the camper at its desired location by 16:00PM so we got up early to head on the road. In the morning we realised what a nice place we had actually stayed in - right on the beach, amazing views, great waves just a shame we had to ruin it by wrecking most of the lawned area right at the front by the entrance. 

We had a quick breakfast, packed our things and sorted out the van pretty much ready to hand in after a quick brush & mop. As we had now run out of water Carol did the washing up on the campsite in their big sinks and headed off on the road again from 'Apollo Bay'.

As it was so beautiful here we couldn't just leave without going to see the beach properly so we parked up in the town area (literally 3 mins drive away) and went down towards the water - the fresh breeze really woke us up.

Continuing on TGOR we passed through a small town where there were just loads of exotic birds flying about - the types you generally see in a zoo so we had to stop here - it was mad! A quick 2 mins at 'Skegness Creek' to get a few quick pics was about enough as we made our ways to the 'Cape Patton' picture point.

...and along to 'Kennett River' - this is where we would see 'wild' Koalas just lurking in the trees. Having driven about looking we stopped and asked a lady in a cafe who told us exactly where they usually hang out and they were right there in the trees just chilling out stoned. It was great to see them like that in their own habitat - if this was at home you know someone would have definitely have stolen them by now or you'd have kids throwing big sticks into the trees trying to get them down. The birds here were also amazing and very inquisitive coming right up to you checking you out - perfect for photos...

Back in the van we carried on and crossed 'Wye' and 'Cumberland Rivers', had a quick stop at 'Lorne' where we saw some surfers, had a stretch and powered on.

Our next stop was at 'Anglesea Beach' where we had lunch on a picnic bench next to the adventure playground and beach - the sun was out and it was gorgeous here. We finally felt warm. We had a wander onto the beach and had a go on the mini climbing wall and play park taking photos - the kids there just stared at us bemused.

After our shenanigans and lunch we headed back on the road towards the famous 'Bells Beach Surfing Recreation Reserve', which is where they hold the annual Rip Curl surfing competition. 

We did however get lost and ended up 3km in the wrong place at a point called 'Winkipop Beach' so back in the van and we found 'Bells Beach'. There were some huge, amazing waves here and the surfers were first class (only the very best surfers are allowed to come here otherwise you get asked to leave). It was great to watch both the waves and the surfers and we managed to go down onto the beach even though (1). We didn't have a surf board. (2). Neither of us can surf. & (3). We are wearing our jeans!

Time was now running out fast so we headed back off on the road. We stopped off at the famous 'Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch' with the eastern view, nipped onto the beach here, took photos and back on the road - no messing.

We went past 'Airleys Inlet' and caught a glimpse of the lighthouse, passed some more amazing beaches and then headed back inland towards Melbourne on the M1 Princes Highway.

It felt weird now being on a four lane motorway with hundreds of other vehicles having been relatively isolated for quite sometime on a single lane B road, yet this was also a decent drive which encompassed some great views of the Melbourne CBD skyline.

We filled up with fuel one final time and dropped off our camper van arriving by 16:00PM just in time for the arranged drop off at the Apollo 'Tullamarine' office just near the airport. We promptly cleaned and emptied the van and handed in the keys. There was another family doing the same which bought us that extra bit of time to ensure it was handed back in perfect condition. As we hadn't booked any accommodation for Melbourne as we had no internet access whilst driving across southern Australia we jumped on the computer in the Apollo office and within 10 to 15 minutes found us a place to stay for our 5 nights stay here in Melbourne.

It was a bit of a rush booking it online as the office was shutting and a family (the others who were returning and cleaning out their vehicle) had agreed to share a taxi with us into the city. Just as we were putting in the card details to book it the taxi came so we didn't have the address just the name of the place and booking reference number - this could be fun trying to find it. Luckily the taxi driver had WiFi and could find out where it was. It turned out that whilst chatting to the family we were sharing the taxi with, they were in the other camper van next to us in Salt Creek - crazy hey! We've now made it into the centre of Melbourne (40 minute cab ride) and checked into our accommodation, time to go and see what Melbourne has to offer .........

So after what we can only describe as an amazing, life changing experience we finished our four day tour travelling from the outskirts of Adelaide across to Melbourne taking in all the sights including The Great Ocean Road, we drove a total of 1148km, had the best road trip of our lives and are truly thankful to each other that we decided to 'take the plunge' and come out on this adventure. Life really can't get much better at the moment, you make your own opportunities and we have not regretted anything that we have / have not done on our travels so far. Thank you TGOR for having us (despite your weather disagreeing at times) - you will never be forgotten, we'll speak highly of you and send people your way and we will one day return ourselves to visit, once it gets warmer and we'll see you soon, take care!
Also a big thanks to our Sat Nav 'Dave' and our unnamed Camper van ....... Incidentally four days to cover this journey is adequate, five days (if the weathers great) would have meant we could have spent that bit longer chilling at each site and three days just isn't long enough. To conclude, we think you should just come and try it yourself - you will not be disappointed!