Road Trip!!

We landed in Melbourne mid-afternoon, and checked into our “being renovated” hostel. The room looked like a nice hotel – which was a great upgrade from the two bunk beds in a shoebox before. We walked a few blocks and found Little Italy, and enjoyed free wine with a 3 course pasta meal. When I tried to order water the waitress looked at me strangely and said, “Wine?” so I tried to then describe water (very hard) and then settled on the wine.

Day 1 of Road Trip

Matt and I took a train and two buses to the Wicked Camper lot to pick up our new home on wheel for the next few nights. The “fun” aspect of this brand of campers, is they spray paint interesting pictures (or ugly and inappropriate) on the side of their vans, to make them distinct. Ours wasn’t too horrible.


The inside had a table that converted into a bed, and that was about it. Matt said this will be great practice for the “luxury camper” we will get in New Zealand… This was an understatement.

There is a sticker on the dash of the van that says, “Every great journey begins with a flat tire.” Our great journey began with a dead battery in the Kmart parking lot. After picking up our new auto, and trying to drive on the left side of the road, we found a mall and stocked up on pillows, blankets and food for the week. Matt left the headlights on (ha!) so we came back to a no-go vehicle. Luckily Aussies (and Kiwis) are more hospitable than Southerners – and I would know – so a man with a family near by offered to give us a jump.

A quick laugh and some directions to the freeway later, we were on our way to the Great Ocean Road!

Our first stop was Torque, where it was a beach park, complete with sunshine and crashing waves. It was here that Matt realized our two front tires were almost flat. We made a quick stop to the gas station to fill them up, then back on the road.

Now van troubles aside, this drive had the most fitting name. The road curved along the cliffs and made one with the mountains surrounding it. Only for moments were we too far to smell the salty air and hear the roars of the water. It was truly a Great experience.
I will post the pictures on Facebook, because I cant pick the top pics. The drive straight through can take a day or two, but we stopped probably every couple hours because it was so breath taking, it became distracting to drive.

The first night in Ole Besty (if you name a car, they will last longer) we stayed in a small town called Lorne by the river. This campsite was filled with other campers, and interestingly enough full sized Cockatoos swarming around the trees, happy for any scraps. The next morning we packed up our stuff and hit the road again.

Day 2 of Road Trip

Today was the day we left the Great Ocean Road and headed into the jungle area. There was a cool park Matt read about called the Ottway Tree Top Walk, where they had a steal walkway that took you through the different levels of the trees. Sounds nerdy, but it was awesome! We we nearly a football field in the air on a steal tower “swaying like the trees do”, it was a little scary, but very fun.

We completed out cool walk through the jungle and decided we needed to find a place to park the camper. We didn’t want to pay again for a cold shower and noisy neighbors, so we found a free spot with just a Port-o-potty around. It was there that we met the true Aussies!

Benjamin is a grocery owner, and his girlfriend Sue is the Deli Counter Manager (super cute!). Ben was like an Aussie Ken doll that came complete with a giant Machete knife, rough leather hat, and a black thick jacket. Oh and an awesome “Croc Hunter” accent and swagger.



Matt and I are not seasoned campers, as most of you know, so when we were shopping for food for this adventure; Matt thought it would be fun to let me take charge. So as I am like Lucille Ball in the kitchen, I got the “Can’t Fail” meals: soup in a can, beans in a can, bell pepper, cheese and of course hotdogs. So when we joined the Aussie Pro camp, where we were offered a nicely cooked roast with carrots and potatoes; I was able to throw soup in a pan and offer that as a dessert. It was hilarious, but they appreciated it. Oh and we brought wine, so maybe that’s why they liked us ☺ We played cards and relaxed, swapped stories of the States. All in all it was a good night.

Day 3 of Road Trip

We woke up on this day and said farewell to our new friends, and headed back to the Great road that was calling our names. On this day, we saw a lot of named sites – more touristy stops – The 12 Apostles (which there are only 8, there was 9 but one fell – talk about good marketing), the Gibson Steps (awesome beach that ends at a cliff. Matt said it was like Inception), The Bay of Islands (we liked it better than the Apostles) and finally the Grato (awesome hidden pool down below the cliff top).

We were stopping and starting so much, you would have thought were a city bus; but it was worth it because every stop was better than the last! We completed our day of visits and headed for a spot recommended by Ben called Blanket Bay. On our way to this secret free camping spot, we pulled over because we spotted about seven Koalas just hanging out in the trees! I couldn’t reach them to play, but I did snap a pic or two of them sleeping.



We got back in the car and continued down the unpaved road to our campsite, when all of a sudden I stopped the car completely. Matt asked why, I was slapping him and yelling get the camera, and then he looked up. There was a 6ft Kangaroo in the middle of the road staring my van down. Now sidenote: These are NOT the cute kangaroos that I hand fed and played with at the zoo. We were warned that these animals will run into your car and smash you up with kicks and punches if they feel threatened.

So Matt grabbed the camera and I flashed my lights (it was during the day, but I thought he would get the hint). The Kangaroo then turns to our left and waits, then 3 other Kangaroos follow him (2 babies so flippin cute) hopping about 4 feet in the air into the brush away from the van. Now that’s what I call an Aussie experience.

We finally made it to Blanket Bay, and set up camp right on the beach. Our neighbors were two Aussie chefs who were happy to share a brew and their thoughts on “good food.” With the fire still burning and the ocean calming down, Matt and I called it a night.

Im sorry to make you all go to two places, but because internet is either not available or $5 for 5 minutes, I will post all pics on Facebook, for your enjoyment instead of on here. I apologize for any inconvenience :)