Ocean Road 3

Well we started driving, and got to see this beautiful light house. I love light houses so this was a fun site. Great beach side and beautiful walk ways. Australia is definitely a place  you go to just breathe, and turn the world off for a little.

There I am running with excitement to the the top!! Yeah! I'm wearing a sweater because it was a little breezy, but beautiful weather.

Ok, ok I'll stop.

This is my husband in case you missed him in the last posts. Dreamy!

This is a cool house we saw as we entered the Great Ocean Road. It was so space like we stopped and snapped a picture!! Cool. You guys are living the space-age DREAM!

The walk to a gorgeous beach

                                                            Australia is so beautiful.

There is so much land, unoccupied. No-one for miles and miles and miles, but it is not like a drive through Montana. The landscape changes continuously on the Great Ocean Road, and day or night you must be attentive to the road!

One of our favorite parts of the drive was reading all the signs.

Keep Left
Look Right

I know these signs were for us. The people they rented the car to that have absolutely no clue about driving on the left side of the road. Thank you Australia for the signs, and the car!

I had the opportunity to get a retainer in Melbourne, and the Orthodontist and I had a chat about the silly road signs that do him no good, but must help the tourists along their way.  It was fun hearing it from his perspective. We had a good laugh over it, and I walked away with a fantastic retainer at a reasonable price! I want to give him a shout out in here, but that will come in the future. The yellow is to remind me to add it. Blogging while traveling sometimes comes in pieces.

The drive to Melbourne was a good drive. You can tell it's a long drive, and that the road goes on forever and ever because so do these signs... which really make you think as you drive, especially since there is no additional propaganda being advertised making it your only marketing entertainment.

Drowsy Drivers Die

Micro-sleep kills in seconds

Stop Revive Survive

STOP CREEPING

9 in ten speeding accidents happen around bends

Slowing down never killed anyone

You look Drowsy mate, pull over for a snooze

Your eyes are shot mate, Pull over.

In the blink of an eye, you could die

Fatigue is Fatal

Droopy eyes? Take a power nap.

It works too, reading about your impending doom shoots adrenaline through you. You're constantly asking yourself, " Am I tired, are my eyes drooping, do I need a revival stop? Maybe I do need a snooze." 

Your husband yawns, while driving, and it's the old switcheroo. Your wife won't stop creeping, and you just point out the big red sign!!!  After all, our health and safety are very important, and we regard them as so. So parents, if you are reading this blog post, we hope this piece of information will lessen some of your concerns, we have been super safe and healthy! No worries or concerns because we are doing well. :)

These signs were intermingled with---OUR FAVORITE--- crossing signs, here are some we saw:
ADD PICTURES

Koala Crossing
Horse Crossing
Kangaroo Crossing
***Roos are everywhere on the tourist drives!! Make sure to take the tourist routes. We have some great footage. Tourist drives have some Kangaroos, and lots of wallabies.
Emu Crossing
Camel Crossing
Wombat Crossing
***We saw a wombat!! This big slow, small bear, barreling creature crossed the road just in time to make it to the other side of the road, before the truck in front of us cruised passed. We were going too slow to hurt a fly, wombat watching. It was so cool!
Duck Crossing
Sheep, Cow, Goat Crossing
Penguin Crossing

Stay tuned for more animal sitings in upcoming blogs!! We have great pictures!!

It's really neat to see all the animal crossing signs as we do not have such variety in America!! It's like they have a crossing sign for each animal..., and everything. If you are not from Australia you will drive particularly slow through those signed areas on the up chance you might see something!!!

I wonder if there will be Gorilla crossing in Africa, or if there won't be posted signs, but Gorillas will still cross anyway,...

Aged People Crossing

A collage of lots of activity happening Crossing

Pedestrian Crossing

Robot Crossing- Alright that is not true, but eventually I'm sure Australia will have one.

I really appreciated the signs. Pedestrians definitely take the right of way here, and I'm not going to lie. There I was driving through a beach town, and an older gentlemen slowly crossed the street in heaps of traffic, and I thought or.... said out-loud, Where's his sign? I was worried for his safety. :-)

             Australia is a huge mining country, and where they are not underground digging for minerals, they are on top excavating and replenishing all their natural resources, like logging, and replanting. It’s neat to drive by and see all the work going on without seeing many people around.

Were we always catching them at lunch, breakfast, and dinner?  I wasn't sure how it was possible besides imagining everyone was too small to see. Plus aside from Australia being an Opal Mining Capitol, they dig for many other jewels, and who can't help but think of the 7 Dwarves.

However, one real reason you never see anyone is that Australia seems to close at 5pm…everywhere. It is interesting coming from a society where everything is open, and you have access to so much always.

Anyway, vast tree farms, sheep & cattle farms everywhere, beautiful rock formations lining the ocean, preserved eucalyptus forests and tourist drives with Kangaroos and wallabies everywhere.

It was one non-stop beautiful drive. We tried to trade off being the driver to let the passenger have a break from the other driver’s terror.

As the driver you are in control and get to look everywhere, and feel safe with your own driving, as the passenger, you look at the road, and the mirrors, and brace yourself continuously prepared for the imminent danger looming before you.

We had a terrific time. We each drove quite a bit and honed our left street side skills. Since we detoured to the Blue Mountains, through the Jenolan Caves, and spent a fair amount of time searching for Perry the Platypus's cousins, we actually short-cutted through some of the Ocean drive, and our time before Melbourne was close at hand, about 10 hours.

When you get on the ocean Road, stop at a gas station and they will give you tourist routes down the coast. When the map runs out stop at the next gas station. Some of our favorite destinations, and must see sites:

Pictures and descriptions

The Tourist Drives for spottong animals along the Great Ocean Road and the scenery

Empty beaches along the way such as: I will find you the names soon

National Parks with Rain Forests
Eden for their Museum if you are into that, and Whale watching
Narooma for Whale watching
Lakes Entrance

Swap out pictures.

Twelve Apostles, VIC

1. The spectacular coastline

Victoria’s south-west coastline brings a beautiful range of scenery. We saw beautiful beaches with incredible waves and course mineral filled sand. Great tide pools, with plenty of things to see. Big surf at the iconic surf spot of Bells Beach, but the water is cold!!!  You can swim, surf, sea kayak or fish in Apollo Bay. "Or soak up salty history in the charming old fishing village of Port Fairy." Meaning hang out and read some signs, maybe enjoy some fish and chips if you will. Stopping to see there Shipwreck Coast, which is a coastline much like all the others with signs you can read! Of course, you can’t miss the Twelve Apostles. Picture taking hot spot. "These craggy limestone stacks rising majestically from the Southern Ocean are sure to leave you spellbound." I don't know who said that last quote, but they have outdone themselves. ha ha. It's pretty cool. Beautiful views with neat rocks. I enjoyed reading the formations and destruction of each of them. Some people felt it was a packed walk way, but we must have come at the right time. a few tours and us. I noticed Australia's maps will say there is a must see sight like the thunder cave, AND if you truly love coast lines and water, they are MUST SEEs. If not, while they are beautiful there are more things to see and spend your petrol (gas) on.

Great Otway National Park, VIC

2. Wild and wonderful nature

From rainforests and rivers to old volcanoes and rugged coastlines, the Great Ocean Road showcases nature at it most diverse. In Great Otway National Park, you’ll see thundering waterfalls and sparkling gorges and walk through the tops of ancient mossy trees. This was absolutely beautiful and reminded me a lot of Hawaii, the road to Hana...if you like that sort of thing. You will drive around windy hilly roads through gorges and past spectacular caves at Cape Bridgewater. There are ancient limestone towers in the ocean at the Bay of Islands. After this drive you will need to stretch your legs. They have a lot of stops to take, but the one we LOVED was at BIMBI PARK! Where the Koala's sleep above you in the trees while you camp! Read more in Blog Post Koalas Koalas Koalas. You can also walk the GREAT ocean walk of 91 km. We didn't d it, but you will see beaches, forests, cliffs..

Anglesea, VIC

3. Wildlife everywhere

"The Great Ocean Road is really one long, curving spectator stand for native animals. In Warrnambool, you can watch southern right whale whales during their annual migration. See koalas, kangaroos, emus and waterbirds roam freely at Tower Hill State Game Reserve. Enjoy a game of golf alongside grazing kangaroos in Anglesea. See koalas in the wild at Kennett River and in the Great Otway National Park. Check out hundreds of fur seals at Cape Bridgewater and watch glow worms put on a spectacular light show at Melba Gully in the Great Otway National Park. Swim with dolphins at Queenscliff on the Bellarine Peninsula. For something different, canoe alongside platypus on Lake Elizabeth at dawn."

Food and Wine, VIC

4. Food, wine and all things fine

Hungry? It's quite a long drive. "The Great Ocean Road regions will tempt your tastebuds with sumptuous local produce, great dining and excellent wine regions" to explore. The travelor on a budget should bring a cooler with some goodies. Tip for the Trip is dry ice. It last longer! For some rich Australian cuisine: seafood, you can visit the wharfs in any seaside town, and some say be sure to visit the fishing co-ops in Lorne and Apollo Bay. A step cheaper and you can explore the riveting rumbling tummy relief of some tasty fish and chips. You can visit the farms in Colac, Heywood, Gellibrand and Deans Marsh that have fresh berries. Or my fav.. get into the gourmet cheeses from delicatessens in Allansford, Timboon and Cooriemungle. Australia has some great cheeses unlike some plasticy kinds due too much pasteurization. Cool climate wineries-vineyards stretch the length of the Great Ocean Road, so stop off for a drop at Colac, Apollo Bay, Timboon, Geelong and Henty. We don't drink, but like to walk through and see how things are made. You’ll also enjoy fine food in restaurants, cafés and tea rooms throughout the region. Taste some new chocolates and candy's that even local convenient stores provide. Like Wowsy Bars. It you'd like me to write about food travel tips on the go, for the budget bound, that are quite tasty...leave me a comment or email me and let me know.

Aboriginal Culture, VIC

5. Vibrant Aboriginal culture

Aboriginal stories are posted along the roadside introducing the landscapes of the Great Ocean Road. It is very fun to read their stories if you are into the Real Reason for the rocks in the ocean and such.. You can learn about ancient remedies and watch boomerang throwing and didgeridoo playing in Geelong. It's neat, we actually did this in Alice Springs instead, but seeing how they survived Australia in the middle of nowhere is really amazing. There is a good story about the significance of the site nestled in an extinct volcano near Tower Hill from the Gunditjmara people depending on who you speak with. In heritage-listed Lake Condah, you’ll see the stone houses and fishing traps left from a permanent Aboriginal village. It's pretty cool, but we will share more of our experience in Alice Springs.

Post Picture

The thing to remember about Australia is this, when you leave the city there are HUGE land expanses. Great distances between things. Enjoying the drive, the beaches, the little things that you don't get to see in other places is what makes the trip in Australia. You see wondrous things, and then you see things that are just slightly different from what you find in your own backyard, and that is the beauty in it. So if you need advice on where to spend your money, Seriously ask!! Otherwise you will roam the earth of Australia searching and their gas is pricey!! :-)

Philip Island's Penguin Parade

STOP. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD!! BACK OUT AND GO READ IT. I accidentally posted this before that post.

Really...turn back now!! This is just a preview of the things you will see in the other post... This cute couple and some great views!

 

I didn't want to give to much away...so here we are again.

Ok, ok... just this once. We did stop in Snowy River. You know the horse movie. I've said to much. Get out of here and go read the other blog. P.S This is the only picture we have of Snowy River...so this was a bonus.:-) For everyone who has read the other blog don't go away!! WELCOME to our trip to Philips Island!!

Philip Island is a cute little adventure southeast of Melbourne. Weather you fly into Melbourne, or drive the great ocean road from the east coast, make Philips Island a must see! IT IS WORTH IT!

"The Claw"... Map of Philips Island

We drove into Philips Island around dinner, and headed to the west side which took maybe twenty minutes to see the Penguin Parade!! We made it intime to grab some grade tickets. I seriously advise getting the guided tour to the far site, or like we did the guided tour by the beach that includes the far site. As you can see we are all pumped up! We got our passes and were standing inline to see the parade!! If you look behind us there is a sign that says no pictures. So our pictures are limited and the ones of the beach are some they allow you to use, but are totally ACCURATE depictions of what goes on there. Eventually I will photoshop us in, but too much for the traveling Julie.

I don't know if any of you have seen penguins, but I have not. So for me it's like being old enough to stay up for new years, or getting my first bike, or seeing superman. THEY actually have a count down time to when they penguins will arrive. Apparently penguins are super organized and systematic. They always do the same thing every night, at the same time, in the same order...etc etc. How do they know this? they have chips in the penguins and can tell when they are entering or leaving. Why do they have chips in them? Well they saved a ton of them from an oil spill and put chips in them to monitor their health. They are doing fine! There is a lot of fun information about the penguins...that I will let Curtis add as we go....

Here is a quick tangent to show you just how cool the grass looked!

I know it kind of reminds me of how I in-vision Ireland.

Cute walkway to see fur seals

Volcanic formed rock...

Cute Couple

Another Cute Couple

And here...we have a baby penguin. :-) Yes, this one is our photo graph!!! We were so close and not in a no camera zone!!!

If you look closely you will not be able to spot us, but imagine for a moment if you will, and we are on the left side of this photograph all the way to the front left hand corner!!!! AND the water was actually hide tide during our visit so it is only about 6 feet away from us!! What makes this so exciting is that it put the penguins even closer to us on the beach. Don't worry about not getting a close enough view if you buy a ticket to the other side, left of this picture. You will be close and see tons of penguins. The great thing was watching the penguins come in. They give you binoculars and you can see huge groups of them out on the water. I will let Curtis tell it...

THIS is so thrilling to see. Aren't they precious!! They just waddle right up to the beach. Little babies are out trying to find their parents!! It's amazing.

And there we are! Imagining still..... This is the far left side of the photo I was talking about. it is amazing. TONS of penguins just cruise through here.

They are the smallest penguin.

Anyway, it was thrilling and magical and I'm so glad there was a count down. I think this was one of my favorite things in Australia. You get what you paid for is how I feel. There were great guides and it was so much fun. It does get kind of chilly so we brought our jackets. They provided seats and gear. We slowly made our way out of there, and were lucky enough to find a caravan park on our way out of town. Great guy runs the place. I will have to find the name. They had a convenient store open with fresh fruits and veggies, and so I am somewhat bias, but good spot to stay for a night. Sorry if I forgot anything, but ask questions and I will be sure to post the answers!

Jenolin Caves

JENOLAN CAVES

This is one of the amazing views you see as you roll into the Jenolan Caves. The entrance to the town and tours for the Jenolan Caves is through this big cave passageway in the picture below! Curtis and I both have a real fascination for caves! My parents took me to The Mammoth Caves, in Kentucky when I was younger. More and more it amazes me all the beauty we have in America, but look at this drive in Cave!!

If you are worried about tight spaces, don't be! As a kid spelunking the most narrow of narrow caves in Wisconsin, on school field trips, was an easy, loved, exciting adventure for me. BUT As I've grown wiser, and less narrow as an Adult I enjoy caves with wide open paths, long walks on a beach, a good massage....this is just what you will experience here. At least the wide open paths.

Out of all the cave tours available, the guide suggested the River when we told her we were looking for beauty and adventure. She said it seems to attract the majority of their guests.

So we did the River Cave, which I highly suggest.  The exertion is minimal and it is one of their more active caves. The beginning, first 50 feet, was difficult for a few people due to some stairs, but then it was smooth sailing. This was the only cave we explored, but I did hear that you can attend a performance in the Lucas Cave, which was connected to the River cave.

George Mertens-Mousa apparently performs a cello recital. You don't know him???? What??...I don't either, but with a name like that he is bound to be good. He has been performing at Jenolan Caves since 1997. Each month he also performs a cello recital in the near by Cathedral. He even has a monthly performance with Gustaw Szelski appearing as the Paganini Duo. Say that ten times fast. Gustaw Szelski as Paganini Duo X 10. Anyway....

The River Cave

Tour Length : 2 hourshours

Number of Steps : 1298

Tour Size : About 25 people

 This tour has one of the largest numbers of steps of all the show caves. Fortunately they tend to be evenly spread throughout the tour and the guides do not expect visitors to sprint. This cave does require a near vertical ladder to be descended so take this into account. There was a girl about 13 that was having the hardest time. 

Sometimes when her mom would stop mentioning that there were huge drop offs everywhere she would suddenly forget and really enjoy the tour. We came to the opening of a steep stare case, where we stood on a false floor, the mom mentioned the frightful situation and the poor girl started freaking out! 

Normally my actions would have been ridiculous, but something inside me told me to do them, and it worked out for everyone! I started jumping up and down and briefly discussed what a false floor was, explained delicately how and why we were safe, I then further assured and entertained about the adventures of caving and told of when I was their age. " When I was younger I was taken on field trips and forced to cave during the winter." I shared a small story about what winters are like in Wisconsin, and how it takes walking up hill both ways through the snow to get anywhere there. I continue.. "I was put at the front of the line for all tight squeezes because of my size. All amuse my teachers and fellow students of average heights curiosity about what was on the other side." Then I went on to explain how easy their generation has it with wider path, rails, and built in lighting, all said while jumping. ( Some of these statements were not completely accurate.)

For some reason, I imagine the comical relief of me jumping and telling them it was ok, the two kids were aided into feeling fine for the rest of the trip. It took a second attempt including a cave-drawing, diagramming the cave structures safe housing, an interpretive troglodyte dance performed by Curtis, and some help from the guide, to help sooth the mom out of making the foreboding comments of doom and gloom. All in all we as a group had a blast.

Trip tips: Some women may get embarrassed if they are wearing skirts, so it is best to wear slacks or shorts if intending to visit this cave. I won't mention any names, eh-hem. Co-julie-ugh.  Just kidding, even with a skirt on it was not a big deal, it would have to be a short skirt, but there is more comfort in shorts!

A large canopy of flowstone extends out from the wall. At one time a bank of mud stood in this area and water flowed over the surface depositing a layer of flowstone. Later the mud was washed from below the flowstone leaving the canopy suspended above the floor.

This is an offshoot of the main passageway. A very tall chamber, it is very well decorated.

"For many people this is the highlight of the tour. A large pool of water is illuminated from a variety of directions, casting a multitude of reflections, culminating in illumination from below water level to show the blue coloring of the water."-said guide. What makes this awesome is the built in lighting system that allows you to see the pool from several different perspectives.

Another Perspective.

Hand prints at the bottom of the reflecting pool from several years past.

Awesome fossils in the ceiling.

These are hundreds of years old!

A false floor!!

 The cave was discovered in 1903 by James Carvosso Wiburd.....and his friend. Someone Edward, but as the story goes. Someone Edward after just making a name for himself got drunk one night and walked off a cliff ending his could-of-been great carrier as a cave founder. However, Widburd went on to discover many a cave and is well known in that community.

Us at the climatic point of the cave!

Whoa!

This is funny. Here lie the bones of..... a plastic replica of what could've died and been down in this cave for sometime. I believe made in China.

Blue Lake Loop
The simplest of the walks at Jenolan, this takes you alongside the Blue Lake and gives a number of beautiful views of the Grand Arch and Carlotta Arch.

This my friends is where they told us we would SPOT...the Euclid Platypus, and mentioned 3 live in this pond. Stephen Lindsay... I waited at that pond forEVER trying to get a picture for you...., and this is what happened.

I realized that my only recollection of a Platypus was Perry from Phineas and Ferb a.k.a Agent P ( Highly Recommend this show)....,

which actually does nothing for real life platypus sitings. Perry is cute and turquoise! His beak is Orange and he stands while wearing a hat. He lives indoors and has secret entrances to his lair located all over the Tri-state area. He is constantly acting like a ninja and keeps Dufenshmirtz under wraps.

They are VERY different: If you are feeling sad about this discovery that Perry is not what you will find in real life..YOU are NOT alone. We can go through this together. I discovered it's ok...

I looked up the real deal, and look how cute this guy is. He's no Perry, but still cute. So now that we have a good idea of what platypus really look like, it is back to the picture-hunt.

Also, aside, by this Wikipedia definition:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platypus...... they are venomous creatures. It's like Perry's secret agent weapons and skills but naturally made.

True or False??? Comment Below please. I am curious.

So, there I was standing a few feet away from the water near a rock, WHEN...I looked right and this crazy looking LIZARD was sitting next to me. So I took a picture. We were only 15 minutes in at this point!!!

The excitement was building. We had seen a cool lizard, and just knew Perry's cousin was somewhere close. We searched out the perfect spot for a Platypus home. We were told they like shallow water were they can make burrows on the shores. 

Perfect Platypus siting spot!!!

If you look at the trail on the left of the picture above, right next to the first tree on the right, there is a sitting stone where I first spotted the lizard. Several groups came and left, but we were in it to win it.

People would pass asking have you seen one yet? No, but ANY moment Curtis would say. Soon, I found myself asking are they even real??? We had waited so long... I began to doubt their VERY
existence. I had seen it happen to other people and assured myself that wouldn't be me, but the longer we waited staring at our own reflections mocking our gullible ways I could not fight it.

I stood up, and...I felt a rain drop...?? BUT there was no rain. Could IT BE??... a splash from our elucid platypus friends? I looked down imagining a brown cute-but-no-perry platypus nuzzling up close to me... but FOUND a LEACH~! He had crawled out of the water, over the leachy woods, through the rock crevas, and up onto my heal. I flung him off of me, and headed out of there screaming.

We will never know if the platypus is real. There will be people who will go on and on about where and when they saw them. Even those who say they have spotted whole families in Tasmania. We found the sitings are often noted in tourist traps...., but please, even Curtis has started to speak as if they were only a story. I don't want to go out this way.... DOUBTING their very existence. We are holding on to the hope that something will renew our faith that they really do exist, and we trust you dear readers, so send us pictures, or a platypus we can have as a pet!!! Either will do to renew our belief in the Platypus. 

GoodBye for now!!