Photo by edwin11 on Flickr, reproduced through Creative Commons.
IN the latest instalment of Potty Mummy's Australian odyssey, she appreciates well-known rock formations and breathtaking views then gets to try emu and ostrich meat. But beware, she says, a buggy may scare away the wildlife in quieter spots…
FROM Sydney, we flew on to Melbourne. There are plenty of Aussies who will tell you that Melbourne is in fact the better of the two cities that have been vying for the spot of top Australian city for more than 100 years, but I’m not going to get into that now. Mainly because I can’t. We did not, in fact, stop in Melbourne - we picked up a hire car at the airport and hit the open road, heading west. The Great Ocean Road truly is just that - great.
Photo of view from The Great Ocean Road by edwin11 on Flickr
It hugs the coastline showing you some of the most spectacular views you’re ever likely to see, and if you go in the Aussie winter as we did, it’s more or less deserted.
We took three days to drive along it to Adelaide and here are a few of our highlights:
Lorne: we stopped here for lunch, and I felt as if all my Summer Bay dreams had crystallised. Beautiful clear waters (freezing mind you, in May; the water does come straight up from Antarctica after all, and you can tell), pristine beaches, and funky sea-front cafes (we ate in Kafe Kaos but I think they are all pretty similar in quality) which do what they say on the tin…
The Twelve Apostles (see picture above) are the best known rock formations in Victoria, and rightly so. It’s worth stopping to have a look and to find out at the visitor centre how they were formed. I suggest that you miss out the optional falling-over knee-grazing experience for tired four-year olds, though; as, probably, would most of the other visitors within hearing distance…
Port Cambell is another seaside town; out of season there is not much to it but there are a few cabins and camping grounds.
We stayed at Daysy Hill Country Cottages which were perfectly comfortable and certainly big enough for the four of us.
A word of warning though; a winter night in Victoria can get quite chilly so do take jumpers.
The next day, we visited the Otway Fly.
The blurb on their website summarises this better than I can: The Otway Fly is a 600 metre long 25 metre high elevated tree top walk ascending at a gentle grade through a magnificent stand of cool temperate rainforest featuring Myrtle Beech, Blackwood and Mountain Ash.
So don’t do it if you don’t have a head for heights, but if you do, it’s not to be missed. They also have a dinosaur park for the kids which our boys both loved.
Another word of warning though - while you can take a buggy on here (and we did) the walkway is made of metal and the buzzing of the wheels will probably scare away any wildlife that might be lurking.
And there’s a fairly steep walk back up the hill afterwards… From the Otway Fly we headed off along the coast into South Australia Territory, to Adelaide where a day or so later we met up with friends and swapped cars for an off-road 4×4 (this was the highlight of the trip for my car-mad younger son).
A word of warning here too: when you cross the state line from Victoria, put your watch forward by 30 minutes. Apparently this is one of the few places in the world where clocks go forward by such a small increment – which is why our hosts looked a little startled when we arrived for an appointment to look around a vineyard in Penola half an hour early.
And If you like wine, a vineyard trip is a must – although don’t expect to pick up any bargains. Prices for Australian wine in Australia are much the same as they are here, Then we headed north for a spot of kangaroo spotting in the Flinders Ranges and to visit Wilpena Pound.
The lunar landscape – all scorched red earth and dramatic backdrops - is incredible, and Wilpena Pound is beautiful.
While in the area we stayed in a cabin at Rawnsley Park Station (again, take jumpers, scarves and gloves if you can get them!) and at the Prairie Inn in Parachilna, which I highly recommend.
It offers fantastic food (locally sourced – by which I mean yes, you can eat emu and ostrich if you please. And very tasty it is too.) and very comfortable accommodation, all enclosed in as environmentally friendly a building as is possible in this somewhat hostile landscape.
And the Prairie Inn, Parachilna (population: seven) also gives you the chance to see a real honest to goodness outback pub – or at least, an ersatz version of one. It’s been used in various movies as it has been lovely restored – although is probably much more comfortable than the original version– even down to the blazing fire in the oil drum out front to greet the dusk, and the requisite stockmen warming their hands at it…
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