Victoria

Next stop Warrnambool before heading down the Great Ocean Road. We went to a fantastic nightshow here where they recreated the sinking of the Lockhardt ship (which travelled from the UK) in a laser light show over a man-made lake. Pretty awesome effects but a bit scary for the kids - Ash had to bury his face for half of the show. We were driven around a recreation of an olden day village by tractors pulling carts, and that was the best part for Ash.

We went for a drive in an old volcanic crater where we finally saw some koalas in the wild, very cute. Loads of emus and kangaroos here too.

This is the blowhole where the Lockhardt shipwreck and bodies washed up. There were only two survivors. This area was named shipwreck coast as a few ships went down here.

And onto the Great Ocean Road. We heard the 12 Apostles were an amazing sight to see, but we found that there was lots of other awesome sights along the way, some of the best were down unmarked tracks rather than the tourist spots.

There were massive crowds at the 12 Apostles, it was very set-up for tourists with a huge visitor centre, loads of carparking and a tunnel under the road to the various viewing platforms.

Some of the 12 Apostles, there's not 12 left anymore. The weather was a bit second hand too with rain on and off, so we had to time our trek out to view it.


This used to be a bridge that people could walk across but one day it tumbled into the sea - luckily there was no-one on the bridge but people did get stranded on the other side, must've been a dramatic experience!

We found this rock off a little 4WD track that ended in a 5min walk. Probably our favourite stop on the road.

And we saw our first echidna on the same day. Kids were very excited to see it. Echidna was not so pleased to see us after Rob manhandled it off the road into the bushes.

We spent two days in Apollo Bay, gorgeous little beachside town, and then headed off to do the end of the Great Ocean Road and into Melbourne. We had lunch in Geelong and wandered around the really cool statues scattered around the waterfront. The last part of Great Ocean Road was picturesque but really windy (with lots of slow tourists) and Ruben discovered car-sickness. He wasnt a happy boy. We spent the next couple of days getting the vomit smell (and lumps) out of the car.

Melbourne was really full-on, we stayed 3 nights and were ready to get out of town again by the end of it. We took a tram into the city and had a look around. Loved the Victoria markets - super cheap, super yummy deli food, meat, veges, fish, coffee etc etc.

So off down to Wilsons Promontory next (the 'Prom', Victorians favourite local spot). Beautiful scenery, bloody cold though - we didnt even consider swimming in the sea, it was cold enough just to venture onto the beach. This is where the aussie Prime Minister Holt disappeared back in the sixties, never to be seen again (amid many conspiracy stories).


And our first sight of wild wombats, although you couldnt really call them wild. They hang around the campsites wanting food. We were told not to leave any food in the tent as the wombats have been known to rip tents open to get into them (and they do have sharp claws). Rob caught one getting into our 'pantry' in the back of the patrol.

The wombats were sure to come around at dinner time too! I reckon this one would've made a great footstool, but he wasnt keen.

Our short beach outing at Wilsons Prom. It was windy and cold but didn't stop the boys collecting up wood and making a seesaw. After two nights here we headed north for NSW. We could've spent a lot more time in Victoria, some of the inland areas sounded really nice but we're now on a deadline to get back to Brisbane for flights out on 13 December so we stick to the coast for the rest of the trip.