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  • Day 128

    III. AUS - OA/VIC + NSW 5; GOR - Eden EN

    January 4, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Tu, 03.01. Princetown - Geelong/Inverleigh
    (Great Ocean Road 2 = GOR)
    Second part of the GOR :)
    This drive was also first inland with a lot of farmland, cows and especially sheep on very green hills which reminded me a lot of New Zealand. After that we had a very bendy drive through a lot of forests similar to the road we had South of Cairns towards Atherton.
    Apollo Bay is another small beautiful town directly located on the ocean - we stopped there for a coffee break and had an amazing sea view.
    During the whole drive we enjoyed some really nice landscapes, a little bit comparable to Highway No 1 in the US or the Garden Route in South Africa: crystal-clear blue water, cliffs, bendy roads, forests :)))
    We then went passed Great Otway NP and Loren, another cute little town, had lunch at another great spot and before finishing the GOR after Anglesa and Torquay (both pretty busy due to the school holidays and peak season).
    After that we reached the next bigger town Geloong close to Melbourne to do some shopping (Kmart, Target and fortunately Aldi) before we reached our campground in Inverleigh in the evening.

    We, 04.01. Geelong - Anakie - Melbourne - Whittlesea
    From there we went to the Fairy Park in Anakie in the morning - Australia's first theme park which has been founded and built in the 50s by a couple emigrated from Germany. It is basically a tremendous fairyland with a lot of castles, buildings and animated animals telling the respective fairy tale as soon as you push a button - very detailed and a girl's dream, especially the playground; but just check out the pictures ;)
    Via Melbourne we then went to Whittlesea where we really had issues in finding the official entrance gute of our campground with 7 gates being closed; it was a bit confusing :P
    In the evening we then played another round of frisbee before we enjoyed another cool stargazing at night - oh and after almost a week of cold weather it is finally warm again and best conditions for the beach :)

    Th, 05.01. Melbourne - Frankston/Mornington Peninsula
    This being said we drove via Melbourne to Frankston on the Mornington Peninsula to stay there in a caravan park for 2 nights - amazing landscapes, beach access everywhere, warm weather, beach days, bike tours etc; what else do you need :)))

    Fr, 06.01. Frankston/Mornington & Enchanted Forest
    The next morning we drove to the so called Enchanted Forest - a very beautiful park with a lot of different gardens and attractions such as different kinds of mazes, games and water slides as well as tree climbing and tree surfing.
    It is very nice and you could easily spend a whole day there; however Ester was not allowed to do the tree surfing as she - as typical Aussie - did not have sturdy walking shoes and we could not get some pairs in her size; well apparently you can't do everything in thongs in Australia :P
    On the way back we shortly stopped at Murray Lookout where you get a good view of the ocean and the Mornington Peninsula - really pretty and there were sooo many jetskies. We also went in the water which was pretty refreshing and shallow.
    Back in the caravan park we then went to the jumping pillow and the pool before Ester enjoyed a Kids movie evening with some of her new friends.

    Sa, 07.01. Mornington - Bairnsdale/Lindenow
    Unfortunately we already left the Mornington Peninsula after only 2 days - together with the Great Ocean Road that was definitively one of my highlights in the last 3 weeks.
    In Sales (oh yes, there are really some weird village and town names; Hayfield is another one) we then went to a swimming pool.
    After that we continued via Stratford and the Avon River through really nice farmland areas towards Bairnsdale/Lindenow South - in the background you could see a lot of mountains, Australia's only skiing region and there were also the nice big white and purple agapantha flowers everywhere. In Lindenow South the father wanted to have a look at a replicat of the Mad Max police wagon which turned out to be a pretty cool experience with other locals.
    Together with his wife he has collected or rather bought very old cars in the last few years in order to rebuild and improve them. Both are really interested in Mad Max and also regularly participate in different shows across Australia inclusive wearing proper costumes; their whole property could be changed into a Mad Max Museum. Apart from a lot of oldtimer cars (the oldest one is from 1928) he also has many different old and very rare or rather difficult to ride push bikes - a playground for young & old ;) Moreover, the couple was very nice and friendly: we could stay in their paveway for free, had a typical Aussie barbecue in the evening and enjoyed some time on the farm with 2 dogs, 5 cats and a lot of ducks and chicks - especially for Ester also a nice experience :)

    Su, 08.01. Bairnsdale & Lakeside Entrance
    Typical for a form we then also woke up by these animals at 5 am in the morning ;)
    After that we went to an almost 6hr drive in the nostalgic cars whereas Ester and me even sat in 3 different ones:
    - First of all the Mad Max police wagon inclusive lights and sound. Cool feeling and you kind of could be a star as everbody watches you, the car and wanted to take a picture :D
    - Then the red Foxie car. Better sound but it smelled too much of oil and petrol as all the hoses are inside.
    - Finally a green car from 1959 which was in my opinion the most comfy one.
    From Lindenow we first drove to Bairnsdale and then, while enjoying a pretty cool landscape, to Lakes Entrance (very, very beautiful and located next to a lot of lakes, pretty touristy though) and then back via some nice viewpoints in Eagle Point - an awesome experience :)

    Mo, 09.01. Gipsy Point & Eden
    From there we continued through nice forests and bendy roads.
    In Gipsy Point we stopped at a nice rest area for a longer lunch break.
    Afterwards we made our way towards Batemans Bay and a town called Eden - not the paradise but nicely located on the ocean with great viewpoints, cliffs and beaches. Unfortunately it had cooled down and started to rain so that we also could not go to the beach in Pambula Beach and directly drove to our overnight stay 1,5hrs south of Batemans Bay.
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