Summer Journeys - The Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road was a magnificent leg of the trip. Michelle and I competed it in two parts. the first day we left all our luggage in Torquay and traveled through to Port Campbell and watched a motorcyclist nearly die.

At a deserted beach

In the second part we followed the Princes Highway to Port Campbell, completed the Great Ocean Road, nearly died, and than rode to Nelson (near the SA border) to celebrate New Years Eve.

Small kids with big ideas - they know how to enjoy camping

The traffic was a bit thick, but the scenery made up for it. We were either following the coastline or winding our way through forested national parks.

Bushwalking action shot

It was in a national park that some fool on a motorbike attempted to overtake a whole line of cars, only to have some vehicles round a corner traveling in the opposite direction. The oncoming vehicles had to swerve off the road to avoid a collision.

Not all motorists are as lucky ......this is a speed deterrent at Port Campbell

We stopped in Lorne for Brekkie, and then went bushwalking to Cumberland Falls (advice I received from a store owner in Cann River.

Michelle points out Cumberland falls

Lunch was at a picturesque pub in Apollo Bay followed by a pretty average dinner in Port Campbell.

Lunch at Apollo Bay (Day 1)

After a days rest in Torquay we loaded up the bike and finished our sightseeing on the Great Ocean Road.

The Razorback

At the twelve apostles I was amazed to see someone who was a splitting image of an acquaintance of mine, and than astounded when ten minutes later it turned out to actually be Camilla from Canberra.

Some of the twelve apostles

After leaving the GOR Michelle and I were greeted by stupendously high and erratic winds. The buffeting wind wold blow the entire bike across the road and for half an hour my sole goal was not to crash.

The Grotto

Ten minutes before Warrnambool whilst on a bridge crossing a river the wind suddenly changed direction (again), sending us careening towards the railing of the bridge.

The Lock Ard Gorge

For the second time in ten years of riding I saw a life ending crash, but thankfully I was able to regain control moments before impact.

Gratuitous tourist photo

We stopped for a poor lunch to celebrate life in Warrnambool.
During the final leg of the journey Michelle and I stopped in Port Fairy, an absolutely lovely little town. We stopped by a pub and visited the beach. Unfortunately there wasn't any accommodation left so we pushed on to Nelson.

A beach (at Apollo Bay though)

We found a small caravan park where we set up my hootchie buy tying it to my bike. The other guests were absolutely amazed that we would sleep in something that offered such little protection (they all had massive caravans and tents). It was New Years Eve, so Michelle and I went to the pub across the road for dinner and a bunch of beers. We retired to our humble 'tent' just after midnight.

A spectacular photo that sums up the entire trip