The Great Australia Road Trip – Page Eight
Day 8 – Thursday – September 23, 2010
Weather: Cloudy, Rainy, Windy & Cold
Destination: Kingston SE, South Australia, Australia
Odometer Reading: 97435
Total Distance Traveled: 2092 kilometers (1299 miles)
Price of Fuel: Warnambool – $1.21.9 liter, 44.59 liters, $57.92; Millicent – $1.29.9 liter, 46.15 liters, $59.95
Route Taken: Port Campbell to Warrnambool to Port Fairy to Portland to Heywood to Mt. Gambier to Millicent to Kingston SE
Highlights: Today we traveled the last of The Great Ocean Road drive. The first lookout right after we left Port Campbell gave us a terrific view of the campground and the town of Port Campbell.
It also gave us a view of a nice ocean rainbow.
As we were walking back to The Beast, I spied a bird sitting on a tree branch close to the walkway. The Man passed by it and it didn’t fly away. I walked up pretty close to it and it didn’t fly away. I watched it sitting in that tree for a bit and it wasn’t flying away, so I thought I would snap its photo. I got the lens cap off, turned the camera on, checked the settings, got it focused just right, pushed the shutter button halfway down, and just as I was about to finish the process, the darn thing flew away. Figures don’t it?
The next stop was the London Bridge and, just as the song says, London Bridge IS falling down. Before 1990, you could walk all the way out to the end. Then the first arch fell into the sea. Now the rest of it is an island.
The Grotto was an interesting stop. You can’t see anything of it as you walk along the walkway until you’re right on top of it. Then it’s really not much to look at.
Walk down the stairs and then you find the beauty of The Grotto. It’s not a real big space but the view from inside is outstanding.
The last stop was The Bay of Martyrs. We took the little walk from the parking area to the lookouts. As you walk down the path, you can’t see much because of all the bushes, but then you come to an open spot, and all you can say is a whispered wow.
We were finally able to call home by internet video for the first time today. We had to park at a McDonald’s in Warnambool to do it, but we made it through with no problem. Technology is just too cool when you can get a connection. Free internet access isn’t a thing the Australia travel service community readily provides and when they do, it seems we conveniently can’t connect because of some technical difficulty.
The rest of the drive today was through farm and ranching areas. Nothing much to see but long stretches of flat green land or fields of pine trees. Somewhat boring after the views we have seen the last two days.
Stops: The only stops we made today were for the last of The Great Ocean Road photo ops and to grab the internet connection from the McDonald’s.
Where We Stayed: We called it a day early today and checked in at the Kingston Caravan Park in Kingston SE for $27.00 a night. It’s laundry time, we need more supplies, and we also need the time to chill a bit. The park is right across the street from the bay and the view is lovely. If the weather was nicer, a walk on the beach may have been in order. Instead we did the grocery shopping.
Where We Ate: We had dinner in The Beast. I made a tortellini and vegetable soup and while it was cooking we started with some Bega Tasty cheese and water crackers. I think I could get hooked on that cheese and I don’t even like cheese.
ITS SO GREAT TO TRAVEL THIS WAY ,, I LOVE IT THANKS FOR LETTING ME JOURNEY WITH YOU LOVE AND HUGS INKY
Great shots SPK, I think action bird is better than perched. I just moved down to Geelong 10 weeks ago and still havent made it down that road, I get incredulous looks from the locals when I tell them. I grew up in the sort of country your coming into at this point of the journey, just hotter as you head away from the coast.