Apollo Bay, Great Ocean Drive

On day 25 we left Melbourne and circumvented Geelong reaching the coastline again at Torquay. In Torquay we took a short break to feed our little one. We followed the Great Ocean Drive southwestwards passing Anglesea and continued our direction to Lorne. During this part of the journey, we stopped at Split Point lighthouse and strolled up to the lookout.

The coastline started to change from beaches to what are one of the world’s most renown cliffs. In Lorne we took another break, had a coffee and another feeding session for our toddler. We left with an impression that Lorne is a nice little beach town, but its laid back, picturesque days are gone. It felt a bit too upmarket and touristy.

From Lorne onward the coast provided more and more spectacular views of rough cliffs interrupted by secluded beaches. Early evening we reached Apollo Bay ahead of our daily schedule. In contrast to Lorne, Apollo Bay still has that relaxed atmosphere and original beach town feeling. We enjoyed the last rays of sun while looking across the bay on a quiet evening.

Melbourne

The next day we headed via St. Kilda to Melbourne. For our journey to St. Kilda, we decided to avoid the fast route on M1, but go for the slower scenic drive on route 33 northbound. It was Saturday, so everybody was out exercising or enjoying themselves. On the 33 north we passed herds of cyclists all in their tight racer dresses, air-streamed helmets and sometimes faster than the passing cars on the right.

We arrived safely in St. Kilda, enjoyed the magnificent view of Melbourne’s skyline and strolled through the town. The cafés, restaurants and shops were buzzing and we walked Acland Street all the way down to Luna Park and then onwards to the Catani Gardens.

After lunch we continued our way to Melbourne, where we spent the rest of the day with basic tasks like laundry and catching up on mails.

Melbourne by rain

According to the Australian Government’s Bureau of Meteorology this city has an average of 5.1 days of rain in February. We won the lucky draw, I guess. Late morning we took the Metro to Parliament station and strolled Brunswick street up and down, sipping a cup of coffee in one of the many cafés. Then we walked back via the Parliament into china town.

We crossed China town and then turned towards the Yarra river, which we met at Flinder’s station, the pastel orange historic train station building at the city center. At the river bank we turned east into Birrarung Marr Park until we reached Olympic Boulevard bridge, where we crossed the river to walk back towards Melbourne’s center on the south side of the Yarra. That’s when the sky turned grey and we caught a few drops of rain.

The intensity of the rain kept increasing, encouraging our decision to stop at one of the restaurants on the Southbank Promenade for dinner. Our hope was the rain would move on and we could enjoy the Sunday Fire Show in front of Crown Casino, also called Fire Balls at 8pm.

Close to 8pm we had finished our dinner and the rain decided to provide us a challenge. It was pouring. Most of the high-rise buildings were covered in clouds beaten by wind gusts. We had no choice, we needed to get home. Southern Cross was the closest Metro station. We were soaked beyond our underwear when we arrived there.

Churchill Island near Phillip Island

We arrived early afternoon on Phillip Island. The lady at the visitor information center recommended three things to do for the rest of the afternoon: Visit Churchill Island, the local Koala Conservation Center and the famous Penguin Parade. She recommended an entry ticket combining all three attractions. And she also advised that there are two viewing areas for penguin parade – regular seating for north of one thousand visitors, and the “plus” area for just a few hundred. We thought we’ll do plus, because it’s probably our once in a lifetime visit and we wanted to get a good view on the Little Penguins marching by.

After we bought the ticket, the lady swiftly added “oh, by the way, no video or photography during penguin parade”. — “Whaaaatttt? – Ok, why?” “Because the flashes harm the penguins.” “Well, my camera doesn’t have a flash.” “But people don’t know how to turn their flashes off.” “My camera is a professional one. It DOES NOT HAVE a flash, so?” “Well, imagine if the staff there had to check every single camera…” “Well imagine if every single visitor had to pay there – and I am sure they have no way whatsoever to control all of the amateur photographers’ mobile phones, which DO HAVE a flash”, was a thought, which I kept to myself.

“You can download our app and enjoy the videos of the marching penguins.” “Yeah, and the copyright of the footage is with you, right? So if I want to include it on my website or anywhere else, I’d be in copyright infringement.” – another thought I kept to myself. Never argue with ignorants. They drag you down to their level, then beat you by experience.

Off we went to Churchill Island, which is  a very tiny Island connected via a bridge the north east of Phillip Island. It hosts an old farm house museum and adds entertainment shows, particularly suitable for kids like cow milking, sheep shearing and so on. It was a pleasant visit and the views of the surrounding mainland and Phillips Island were very exciting.

Koala Conservation Centre

Leaving Churchill Island, we headed to the Koala Conservation Center, which is located quite centrally on the Island. If you are only looking for Koalas and have to make a decision between the Long Pine Sanctuary located near Brisbane and the one on Phillip Island – go for the one on Phillip Island. The koalas are maintained in a far more natural habitat and visitors can still get close to them without hassle. It was a very pleasant experience.

It was turning late afternoon and the penguin parade was not scheduled until 8pm, so we drove back to our motel in San Remo, on the mainland. Towards 7pm we left again for Phillip Island, and headed to Nobbies Centre, which is the cape on the far west of the island. As the sun was going down, the light was warm and the views absolutely phenomenal. We took the ‘alternative route’ back to penguin parade, which is an unsealed road on the southern rim of the island. An dramatic coastline, countless geese and wallabies and nobody else on the road made this a very special drive.

Penguin Parade, Phillip Island

The experience changed quite drastically as we approached the penguin parade center – and we were traveling in low season. Dozens if not hundred of cars trying to get into the car park, buses unloading and a swirl of people in between. Everything was very well organized, so there were hardly any queues. Perhaps it was also thanks to our early arrival.

When we entered the “plus” seating area, which is a nicely designed viewing platform with several levels to linger on, we headed right to the front facing the beach — and found another fenced off ‘reserved seating area’ inside the premium priced seating area. We suspected that it was reserved for visitors, who had not just paid the premium seating, but added another ‘upgrade’ to include a personal ranger guide. — It is a complete rip off. And you can’t even take pictures. If you want to see Little Penguins and have the chance to drive up to the Adelaide area, stop in Victor Harbor. There are guided night tours to Granite Island, another breading spot of the Little Penguins.

We were seated at about 7:30pm. There was a cool breeze from the sea. 8 pm was the official ‘starting time’. After idling for half an hour, one of the rangers made an announcement following the introduction of the penguins and a background to the Phillip Island habitat: “You can use your camera until sunset, which is 20:33 today. After that we require you to switch off all devices, because the flashes can harm the penguins”

“Nope, don’t have a flash”, I was grumbling. “Or the light of the displays on the back can impact viewing of the people behind you.” “Nope, my camera doesn’t have that one either – I got a high-quality optical viewfinder, not that LED crap, which you can’t read in bright sunlight or which dazzles you in dark conditions.”, I was about to counter. “Thank you for supporting our efforts to help the penguins with the price of your ticket.” “So that you can build even more seating areas to rip off even more tourists?” — Anyway.

The clock was approaching 8:33pm. The sun was gone. The cool breeze has turned into a cold wind and we were sitting there for another half an hour, looking at some of the nesting boxes, which you can see on the only picture I took at penguin parade above. “The penguins usually arrive after 9pm”, another ranger announcement informed us. Awesome! Freezing as we were by then, we can join the parade right away!

At about 9:20 the first few penguins started to march by. They were so cute that all the hassle was forgotten in a blink. First three, after ten minutes another three, after another  eight minutes six, then three again. It carried on in small groups until it was getting fully dark at about 9:45. Then the groups passing every few minutes became larger and larger.

Guess what happened next? A group of visitors towards our right unleashed their photo-play-toys. Flashes, mobile phones with flashes – the full range. The ranger kept going back to them multiple times asking them to turn off their devices. Unfortunately, the ranger didn’t speak Chinese, so the message didn’t seem to get through.

At around 10pm a voice said: “We are going to shutdown this area now, please leave the viewing platform. Thank you for your cooperation.” — That was just about the time when the real penguin parade was about to start. What a nice customer experience!

Wilsons Promontory

Yesterday evening we explored the Prom Wildlife Walk at Wilsons Promontory or “Prom”, as everyone calls the park down under. It was one of the lifetime experiences we were striving for in Australia.

We had stunning wildlife encounters including dozens of kangaroos, some wallabies and two wombats that evening.

Today we drove all the way to Tidal River, which is the southern outpost of civilization in Wilsons Prom. It includes a visitor center, massive camp ground and is starting point for a number of walks and trails. We did one of the boardwalks early afternoon, but got caught by rain showers. Therefore we decided to drive up to Telegraph Saddle and Mount Oberon.

The next day we were on our way to Phillip Island.

Lakes Entrance via Ninety Mile Beach to Foster, Wilsons Promontory

Today, we left Lakes Entrance on Australia’s Princes Highway (A1) until we reached Sale. There we took a turn southeast towards Paradise Beach, which is located on Ninety Mile Beach. We had a break nearby the beach, which is almost hard to believe to stretch for ninety miles, then followed the beach until we reached the tiny town of Seaspray. There we followed the A440 to Foster, which is one of the gateway towns to Wilsons Promontory.

Driving down the A440 was really enjoyable. The road was in a much better condition as the principal A1 Highway, there was close to nil traffic and the speed limit was same as on the A1. So bottom line, it was a much more pleasant drive and almost as quick as on the main road. Since then, we changed our routing strategy to include more of the secondary roads.

When we arrived in Foster late afternoon, we dumped our luggage in a simple, but affordable motel, where we’d stay for two nights. Then we headed right into Wilsons Prom, to do the Prom Wildlife Walk. It crosses an old airfield, which seems no longer in use. This walk is known as premier spot for roos, emus, wallabies and wombats. Late afternoon is also perfect time of the day. So we should see something at least in the distance.

When we entered the car park, it was just us and a second couple, who just finished their walk and appeared to be locals. As we chatted with them, they said: “go that way, keep towards this side – pointing us in the right directions and you’ll see them. Joeys. Loads of them. And a wombat. And, ya mates, we also saw a fat gecko, about this size.” That might get interesting for us. “No worries! See ya’!” With that we were the only people left on the car park. We put our little one into the baby carrier, and started to explore Wilsons Promontory.

Via Mallacoota and Cape Conran to Lakes Entrance

On this day we continued further south. Our first stop was Betka Beach close to Mallacoota, where a small river flows into the ocean. We fed our daughter, who was curiously exploring the views and haptic experience of a tree’s rough bark in the nearby park.

Then, we continued on to Solomon at the eastern wing of Cape Conran. The rock formations where truly impressive. We also spotted a seal out on the far end of the rocks. Dramatic cloud formations, which divided the sky added to the specific charm of the place. If you happen to come to this area, this place is definitely worth a stop.

We then carried on to this night’s lodging at Lakes Entrance. The town, which the Lonely Planet guide describes as “during high season a hopelessly overcrowded tourist place. The ugly row of motels, camp grounds and shops tells its own tale.”, showed a different face to us.

It was a quiet, well maintained town. the town-side is located on the inside of  an inlet, which provides shelter for a small number of fishing vessels and a large number of black swans. The town is connected via a bridge to the beach and surf club off the coast. Not nearly as ‘ugly’ as Lonely Planet has described it.

Via Bermagui to Eden

When we left Bodalla in the morning, we chatted with a local before breakfast. “It’s going to get hot today. In the forties they say. Stay hydrated, drink a lot of water.”, he said.

Trust the locals, because the temperature hit stunning 43 to 44 degrees during our drive. On such a hot day, it’s best to stay close to the coast.

To cool off, we went to the rock pools at Bermagui. These salt water pools, which are sourced by the sea water splashing across the rocks, are significantly warmer than the ocean and they provide a well protected opportunity to swim or hang out in the cool water.

After cooling off, we drove on to Eden, which is a decent sized harbour town. Eden is the only deep water harbour between Sydney and Melbourne and as such, the town is investing in extending the breakwater and pier to allow cruise ships up to 300m length to dock there. I am not sure, why they would land there, because in Eden there is not much to see compared to Sydney or Melbourne. However, it might provide a good opportunity to seek shelter when the Tasmanian Sea shows its dangerous face.

Via Hyams Beach and Pebbly Beach to Bodalla

Heading out from Sydney, we first went to Hyams Beach, which one of my Australian colleagues had suggested. “You know Baywatch, the US TV-series, right?” she asked. “Sure!” “Guess where they got the ‘Malibu’ sand from? – Hyams Beach, Australia. It’s the whitest sand in Australia”. Because we left Sydney around noon, it took us until 5pm to get to Hyams Beach. We strolled around the beach, sampled the sand – yes, it’s quite white indeed -, fed our little one, then hit the road again.

Our next stop was Pebbly Beach at around 9pm. Usually we wouldn’t stop by a beach that late in the evening, but friends told us, there are roos around. So we walked to the beach in the dark using our mobile phones as flashlights – and there they were:

Returning to the car park, we noticed a movement at one of the rubbish bins near by and then saw this fine gentlemen having a dinner feast:

After a very long day, we arrived close to midnight at the Bodalla Diary Shed and Cheese Factory, our home base for the next two nights.

Bodalla

Bodalla is a cute little backwater village with a Hippie Stick store, a bakery, a post office – and the Bodalla Diary shed. They do excellent variations of cheddar with local herbs and other variations of cheese as well as non-homogenized milk, which is still pasteurized, but doesn’t have the fat emulsion treatment of regular processed milk. It’s delicious.

Eurobodalla National Park

The day after our long hike from Sydney, we decided to have a laid back day in Eurobodalla National Park. As you can tell from the pictures, this is a very quiet place. Ideal for chilling a few hours on the beach in peace.

Via Nelson Bay and Newcastle to Sydney

When we left Tuncurry, we were on a pretty tight schedule because we wanted to meet an old friend of mine in Sydney for dinner. So we headed to Nelson Bay. On our way there, we saw an ad for the Irukandji Shark & Ray Encounters attraction. At first sight, when you enter the large hall, there is that slight feeling you might have paid too much for your entry ticket. It looks a bit like a massive shed with some massive pools and wooden structures built in. However, the experience is great particularly for kids as you can feed, touch and interact with small sharks and rays. In a separate pool there are large rays, where you can actually get in the water with them.

After we left the lrukandji center, we drove through Nelson Bay, then headed on to Newcastle, which is known for its industries. This is easy to confirm: When you take the highway through Newcastle, you will pass some enormous loading docks for what looked like ore.

Sydney, Australia Day

In Sydney, we had dinner with my friend on arrival day. The next day, we explored the city on a hop on bus and walking the fantastic botanical garden as well as of course the opera and wharf area. It was Feb 26th, Australia Day, and the city was buzzing.

Manly Beach, Shelly Beach

My friend had also recommended to visit Manly and Shelly Beach, which we did the next day. We took the ferry from wharf 3 and reached Manly wharf in about 30 minutes. Then we hiked to the other side of the town, where we ran into some kind of surf tournament. We continued walking to Shelly beach, which was pretty crowded on that day, but nevertheless a real gem.

The next day, we left Sydney after meeting one of my work colleagues late morning and headed south. Due to Australia Day and Chinese New Year celebration weeks, we didn’t find any affordable accommodation within 250km of Sydney. So we made it a travel day and drove all the way to Bodalla.

Myall Lakes National Park, Bombah Point Ferry

One of the highlights of our journey so far is the Myall Lakes National Park. On that day, we drove from Foster across the Booti Booti National Park and hit The Lakes Way street in Myall Lakes National Park. As soon as we left the seaside, the temperature kept climbing. Here is the dashboard:

We briefly went on the A1 southbound, then took a left turn on Bombah Road continued to Bombah Point road. The road turned into an unsealed road just before reaching Bombah Point. At the NRMA Holiday Park there is a little shop with a simple restaurant. We took a stop to feed our little one and watch the ferry cross the lake.

After we ferried over to the eastern part of the lake, we drove along what we considered one of the most pristine lake shores we have ever seen. There are a couple of picnic sites on the lakeside. Despite them having no infrastructure like BBQ grills, benches or shaded areas, it is very much worth visiting the area.

We followed the Mungo Brush road along massive Dunes to Hawks Nest and Tea Gardens. Two lovely towns where we found a shaded area to have our late afternoon tea break beneath the surf club. As the sun set, we went back to Tuncurry on the A1.