The Great Southern Expedition - Part 2

Friday 18th Feb - What a great day! Headed off down the Great Ocean Rd. So glad we didn't have the caravan on the back!! It made driving easier for Grae and the trip more enjoyable.

First stop - Cape Otway. Had a look at the lighthouse and historical buildings - interesting! Another highlight on our approach to Cape Otway, was seeing about 8 koalas in their natural habitat. We even saw one of them reaching out to grab a few gum leaves on which to chomp. Got a bit snap happy with the camera!

Travelling to the '12' Apostles was REALLY worth the effort. We eventually left, reluctantly, as it was such an awesome sight! Also saw some echidnas beside the walks, which was pretty cool.

Saturday 19th Feb - quiet day today in Lorne. Checked out Kenny's Lookout which gave us a really good view of the Great Ocean Road. A really windy morning - gusts up to 100 km per hr.

Sunday 20th Feb - Short trip north to Queenscliffe.

The Great Southern Expedition

The trip is under way. After 10 days on the Gold Coast we left on Monday 7th and travelled to Woody Head. Set up camp and then went for drive into Iluka. Not much has changed - bought some prawns at Coop for $7 a kg.

Tuesday 8th - headed south. Easy drive to Urunga just south of Coff's Harbour. Stopped at Red Rock for prawn sandwiches for lunch. Urunga is a beautiful spot right on the junction of the Kalang and Bellinger Rivers. Set up boat for next day.

Wednesday 9th - Marg finally got out of bed and we went boating - luckily somebody gave us some yabbies and we managed to catch a reasonable flattie. Marg also managed to get sunburnt. Went for a walk over a 1km footbridge that took us along the river bank through some mangroves and out to the mouth of the breakwater. The walkway was only completed last Nov.

Thursday 10th - Rain has set in..... We went for a drive to have a look at Hungry Head - very wet. Luckily the rain stopped after lunch and I went for an afternoon fish- spaghetti for tea.

Marg is suffering from foot blisters - new thongs - and sunburnt lips - silly girl!!!

Friday 11th - early start - about 9:30 - and made our way down the coast to North Haven. Uneventful trip although the GPS got us lost and sent us down a dead end street. Never mind - finally got here and found a very picturesque seaside village. Great river walk.

Saturday 12th Feb - Heading for Hawke's Nest - not too far south of here. Nice spot - good surfing beach.

Sunday 13th Feb -Heading towards Newcastle and then west on the Golden Highway. Stayed the night at Mudgee - quaint heritage type town.

Monday 14th Feb - Heading south to Victoria. Trying to stay off the main highways. Had a free camp at Wallendbeen - just south of Cowra.

Tuesday 15th Feb - as above - free camp at Katamatite - close to highway - a bit noisy.

Wednesday 16th Feb - Now in Victoria - plenty of water around after the floods so heading south.

Free camp at Green Hill Lake just out of Ararat. Best free camp yet - beautiful spot right beside a lake.

Thursday 17th Feb - On the road again - destination Lorne on the coast. Very steep, windy road down to the coast. In a caravan park tonight - not as good as the free camps. Lorne is a pleasant touristy town.