Aussie Road Trip Day Fifteen Monday 29th July

From the sea to the hills

It was a good move not to try going to Lorne yesterday. A furious thunderstorm hit Apollo Bay last night, nearly catching Ailsa and David out in their post-dinner walk. They had seen the lightning but didn't realise how close they were to a drenching. Within moments of regaining the safety of their motel room the downpour came .... complete with claps of thunder, driving rain and an icy wind.

The next morning as we drove along the winding ocean road we saw evidence of last nights' storm in the rockfall and scree littering the road. John very carefully manouvred round some quite large rocks strewn in our path. I wouldn't like to have been on that road during the storm ... it would've been terrifying.


Dawn breaking on the Great Ocean Road

John on the Great Ocean Road

We stopped at Lorne to have breakfast at Kaos Cafe. David seems to have an uncanny knack of picking excellent dining options, and we weren't disappointed here. To be fair the waitress did warn us that the porridge was a very large serve and we might like the child's portion and maybe some fruit toast. But no .... we were up for a challenge! (John: Barb omitted to mention that the fruit juices were sensational. Next time you're in Lorne I'd put Kaos Cafe on your Must Do list!). After satisfying our hunger we emerged from the cafe and chatted to a local chap who pointed us in the direction of the Erskin Falls, some 12 kilometres out of Lorne in the Great Otway National Park. This proved to be a worthwhile diversion. We had to walk down and up a whole lot of steps to view the falls which were very pretty, but had the bonus effect of aiding digestion of the recently consumed porridge and pancakes (John: what goes down has to come up. In this case a long, long way, say 50 metres or so. Ohhh, we all had too much breakfast!).

At the Erskin Falls

Resuming our journey along the Great Ocean Road, both John and David commented that the road reminded them of the Mediterranean coast roads with its hairpin bends, sheer cliffs one side and blue sea the other. We stopped briefly at Fairhaven to look at the Great Ocean Road Memorial to the ex-World War One soldiers who toiled to build it. Four coaches and a few small tour buses had the same idea, disgorging their oriental tourists for the requisite shot of the arch and memorial and a quick five minutes break, then back on the bus to the Twelve Apostles. Thank heaven we did that bit yesterday before these hordes arrived.

Ailsa and David at the memorial to the World War One soldiers

Ailsa, David and Barb

Spotting a likely coffee place in Torquay, we paused  for a reviving cuppa before pushing on towards Ballarat and then on to Daylesford for a late lunch. Daylesford is a spa town set in the hills not far from Ballarat. We're at around 700 metres elevation here in Daylesford and last week they had a fall of snow of several centimetres. It's cold!

The main street is rather lovely, with many beautiful old buildings. We chose the Food Gallery from among the numerous cafes offering delicious looking food to have lunch before exploring further around the town (John: bugger! Too much nice food AGAIN). We checked into our motel and after being shocked by the prices of spa treatments in the many natural mineral spa places around town, we decided to decline the experience and headed to the curiously named Wombat Hill Gardens instead.

Ailsa and Barb at Wombat Hill Gardens

Barb, John, Ailsa and David at Wombat Hill Gardens

We drove through the gardens along the most potholed road imaginable (John: she's forgetting Steve Irwin Way after heavy rain) and wound up at the top of the hill where there was a large observation tower like a lighthouse without the light. Unable to resist the chance to climb another set of steps (Oh God!) up we went. John (and Ailsa) later described it as squalid. It was indeed dark and foetid inside that tower, but the view was .... well that was not great either. So many trees had grown up to obstruct the view over time. Never mind.

Ailsa was determined to see the natural springs at the very least. We drove just out of Daylesford and found a lake and the natural springs. Apparently in warmer weather people swim in the lake. There were change rooms and swimming platforms for that purpose but today the water appeared cold and uninviting. When we spotted what appeared to be a large water rat swimming rapidly across the lake before disappearing into a whole in the rock wall all thought of swimming in any climate was abandoned.

Natural Springs

John taking the waters?

Ailsa, Barb and David at the lake

We've just come in from dinner at Ruben's in the nearby town of Hepburn Springs. This restaurant was recommended to us by our motel host, Darren, and he didn't steer us wrong. The Italian fare was high quality, and we were lucky to squeeze in without a booking even though it obviously is a popular spot with both tourists and locals, and for good reason.

Tomorrow is a long drive to Canberra. I doubt that there'll be opportunity to run up and down some steps, but boy I need to!