The Great Ocean Road (May 3-5)

Lindsay, as usual, was not moving very quickly in the few minutes immediately following Monday morning's alarm.  It was 7am and the cab would be there in an hour to bring us to the Apollo camper van rental center.  We quickly packed and checked out, and an hour later (after a brief fight with the Melbourne traffic) we arrived.  Soon thereafter we were informed by the woman behind the counter that she had good new and bad news.  The bad was that Apollo could not honor their reservation due to the fact that our requested vehicle was in the shop.  The good news, however, was that we had been upgraded to the…(cue sounds of trumpets) Apollo Euro-tourer!  After getting nickled and dimed for the next 30 minutes, we exited the office and walked around back to meet our home-on-wheels for the next week.  Nearly 9 feet tall and over 23 feet long, this was not the no-frills backpacker accommodation we had signed up for.

Complete with toilet, shower, microwave, fridge and air con/heater, it was how rich old people are supposed to travel.  As soon as she stepped inside, Lindsay’s face lit up and my heart sank.  The only thing bigger than the behemoth vehicle out on the lot was the smile on my wife’s face.  It was at that moment that I realized our days of “roughing it” were over.  We still had nearly 2 months and 3 different camper vans to experience, and none of our future camper vans could hold a candle to this luxurious monster.  This was like asking her to eat lobster and ice cream on our wedding night followed by 50 years of mac and cheese.  Oh well.

Once the obligatory inspections of the vehicle were done, I climbed up behind the wheel, put on my Bundy Rum trucker hat and off we went.  It took some getting used to, but before long, I was getting the hang of driving something so large.  From the outskirts of Melbourne, we headed southwest toward Geelong and the start of the Great Ocean Road.  Our first day was beautiful.   The sun was peaking out between the clouds and the ocean was the perfect color of blue. We took our time, stopping at nearly every scenic overlook, which seemed to come every 3-4 kilometers.  We took a break in Lorne for coffee, donuts, and some fresh bagels. In Apollo Bay, we picked up some supplies and parked for the evening at a caravan park in Marengo, a stones throw from the pounding surf.  Our first experience at caravanning went perfectly according to plan.  I plugged in the van to the outlet, checked the water level, turned on the gas, flipped on the lights and the internal heater and we were in business.  We took a walk down by the ocean, returned to the van and had some brie and wine for hors d'oeuvres. This was followed by a delicious dinner of chili, cheese, and onion over boiled potatoes.  Later after we had converted the living space to a bed, the rain began to fall and Lindsay silently gave me a look as if to say, “I am so happy.  Please don’t make me sleep in a wet, drafty tent again.  I am warm, cozy and my belly is full.  Campervan = Lindsay’s happy, Lindsay’s happy = you are happy.”  Well, as we lay there in our bed watching a movie while the rain and wind whipped around outside, I had to admit it was nice.

The next day started early again.  I woke up just before dawn and the light peaking in the window was a beautiful color, so I grabbed my camera and went down to the ocean.  After that we had a shower, ate breakfast, and got back on the road.  The weather was initially beautiful, but it didn’t take long for the rain to hit.  It was between a fine mist and a drizzle for most of the morning.  We had planned on doing a little hiking at Otway National Park, but with the rain getting heavier and heavier we decided against it.  On our way there, however, we spotted 15 koalas, including one walking across the road.  Very cool.

We took a break from the rain and driving in Port Campbell, where we bought a cheapo umbrella, and parked for a bit of lunch trying to wait out the rain.  After that the weather cleared a little and we took in all the classic Great Ocean Road sites such as 12 The Apostles (although there are only 6 now), London Bridge, the Arch, etc.  That night we pulled in late to the Surf Side Caravan Park in Warrnambool and had a delicious veggie pasta dinner.

The next morning, Lindsay stayed in the camp kitchen doing a couple hours of work while I went into town to get gas, groceries, and mail off our visa extension paperwork.  I picked her up and we headed east.