Wednesday 26th Dec 2007: With most of the preparation done the night before, we were on the road at 7.50am leaving two dogs crying their hearts out as they sat home and watched us drive away. They both know what is happening when we are packing the caravan for a trip away and they seem to think that they should always be going with us but unfortunately that is not always possible.
There was a lot of traffic on the road but with the dual carriageway between Adelaide and Murray Bridge, the traffic wasn’t a worry. Once we entered onto the single lane road east of Tailem Bend, the traffic was still heavy with up to ten cars waiting to get by us at every overtaking lane. The traffic remained heavy until we turned off of the main highway when we reached Keith. Once we had turned at Keith, we stopped a few kilometres down the road for an early lunch while we stretched our legs. After the 30 minute break, we continued on until we reached our destination of Mount Gambier where we booked in to the Blue Lake Caravan Park for two nights.
The Park was in tip top condition with bright green lawns everywhere you looked which was a change from the drought that we were used to back home. After getting our site set up we ventured off to have a look at the Blue Lake before heading to the Umpherston Garden. Both of these locations are a must see when in Mount Gambier. Our evening meal was spent at The Barn restaurant as a special treat for Sally as today was her birthday.
Thursday 27thDec 2007: After a good night’s sleep and some breakfast we headed of to have a look at the coastal town of Port MacDonnell before going along the short scenic coastal drive which starts at the end of the foreshore street in Port MacDonnell. This type of scenery always appeals to us so many photos were taken and a lot of time spend in the area. From here we followed the coast east until the road turned inland and took us back to Mount Gambier via the Nelson road.
Once back in Mount Gambier, we ventured off to the Umpherston Garden to capture a few photos while the sun was high above hopefully reducing some of the shadows that we experienced the day before. From there we went into the city centre to have a look at Cave Garden which is another sinkhole garden. Unfortunately this garden is a bit of a disappointment after the Umpherston Garden, but unless you have seen it one would never know what to think of it.
From here it was to the sop to pick up some bread and milk before returning back to the Caravan Park for a late lunch and a lazy afternoon. A lot of tourist had arrived at the Park today which must have nearly been booked out for the night with very few vacant sites to be seen.
Friday 28th Dec 2007: Leaving Mount Gambier by 7.50am and heading for Warrnambool, we arrived at the Hopkins River Caravan Park by 10.44am. Initially we were to have an unpowered site for two nights as every powered site in Warrnambool was booked out but when we arrived there was to be one night available with power on one site and a different powered site available for the second night. This was fine with us so we booked both sites and moved onto the first one.
After a quick bite to eat for lunch, we ventured off towards the Great Ocean Road where we spend the entire afternoon taking many photos as we moved from one lookout to another. As the afternoon progressed, the sea spray became more evident along the coast and the cloud started to build up blocking the sun from our photos. It was a surprise to us the way in which the 12 Apostles had become so commercialised with an information centre and an underpass under the main highway to give visitors a hassle free access to the viewing platforms.
Saturday 29th Dec 2007: Today was reserved for a good look around Port Fairy and Warrnambool. First it was back the twenty seven kilometres to Port Fairy, a town that we had been through several times before but never had a look around. Port Fairy has a very nice town wharf area which was nice to walk around to view. We were going to have lunch at the wharf restaurant but found it too hot inside so we returned to Warrnambool for a bite to eat.
Once back at Warrnambool and the hunger pains had been fed, we checked out some of the tourist areas that we could find. One good spot that we did find and enjoy very much was the Flagstaffhill Museum which we spend a few hours at. Then it was off to have a look at the Fletcher Jones Gardens before we went to the local boat ramp where we walked along the huge concrete break wall that had been erected to give shelter to a small boat haven.
Sunday 30th Dec 2007: After our two nights in Warrnambool, we were on the road again at 8.15am this time heading along the Great Ocean Road where we stopped at the 12 Apostles to capture a few photos in a different light situation compared to a few days earlier when we were there. It was a nice drive through to Geelong with the traffic building up extensively the closer that we got to Geelong. From Geelong it was through to Ballarat where we pulled into the Gold Field Caravan Park at 3.11pm only to find out that they were booked out. From here we went to the Welcome Stranger Caravan Park where we were able to book for two nights.
The remainder of our day was spent at the Caravan Park as the ambient temperature was now telling us that we were now no longer near the coast and had moved inland.
Monday 31st Dec 2007: With a hot day forecasted, it was an early start for us to have a look around the town of Ballarat before going to have a look at Sovereign Hill. We have both come to the conclusion that Sovereign Hill is a must see play if you have never been there, but we felt that we have done it too many times now and the novelty of the place is starting to wear off. It was then back to the caravan where we made good use of the Caravan Park spa during the afternoon
Tuesday 1st Jan 2008: The morning was starting to warm up by the time we left Ballarat at 9.00am heading for Halls Gap where we were to stop for the next three nights. Arriving at our destination at 10.41am, we pulled up at the Big 4 Caravan Park to find out that they were fully booked out. We them moved into the centre of Halls Gap where we were able to get our three nights at the Halls Gap Caravan Park.
It was hot work setting up our site for the intended stay and once done, we didn’t go very far away from the caravan air conditioner which became our best friend during the very hot afternoon. We were starting to think that it was going to be too hot for us to be able to do any of the walks to the MacKenzie Falls and the Pinnacle lookout. It wasn’t until the early evening that the heat disappeared and the cool breeze started to make everyone feel more human. To our surprise, it was a perfect cool night for sleeping.
Wednesday 2nd Jan 2008: After the cool night we decided to go to the MacKenzie Falls before it started to warm up too much. Starting to walk soon after eight o’clock, it was cool to cold when walking in any shaded areas as we headed for the Falls. After photographing the water falls, we then moved on to the Balconies before returning back to the Caravan Park for a late lunch. Our afternoon was spent walking around the small town of Halls Gap and planning tomorrow’s walk to the Pinnacles lookout.
Thursday 3rd Jan 2008: Unlike yesterday, today’s walk to the Pinnacle started off in much warmer walking conditions with us knowing that it was going to be a hot day. Due to the heat we decided not to do the 11.5km walk from the Caravan Park, but instead left from the Wonderland car park which was only a 4.5km walk. Although there are a lot of steps and rock hopping on this walk, for us it is one of the better walks for its scenery with the Grand Canyon and Silent Street offering something different to the mountain views offered on the other walks. By the time we had returned to the car park, the crowd of walkers had just started to build up.
Returning to our caravan for lunch, like yesterday the afternoon was spent escaping from the heat under the air conditioner as well as taking short walks. It was disappointing to see that the facilities within the Caravan Park were not cleaned as often as they should have been. If they were being cleaned each day, then there were some very messy campers stopping in the Park.
Friday 4th Jan 2008: Now heading for our last destination on this trip, it was 7.55am when we left Halls Gap heading for Meningie on the shores of Lake Albert. It was a dirty, dusty and windy day for us on the road which had been forecasted for most districts. After stopping at the Victorian South Australian border for an early lunch stop, we arrived at the Lake Albert Caravan Park soon after 1.10pm where we were surprised to see that the lake water level had gone down so far over the last twelve months.
The outside temperature was in the high thirties so there wasn’t very much activities happening within the Caravan Park during the afternoon. By evening, there was a cool breeze blowing making it very nice for sitting outside.
Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th Jan 2008:With the weather now more enjoyable, our time was spend recharging the batteries before we returned home to return to work. We took time to drive out to Narrung to check out a free camping location near the Ferry which was being used by a couple of campers as we drove through. We enjoyed a very nice counter meal at the Cheese Factory on Sunday night which is located by the entrance to the Lake Albert Caravan Park.
Monday 6th Jan 2008: With perfect travelling conditions on the road, we left Meningie at 8.30am heading for home where we arrived at 10.48am.
