WEEK TWENTY-SEVEN

And so it was the first full day of my little adventure back to Melbourne, and it is safe to say I didn’t wake up entirely happy – in fact I was cold, and the two other people in the dorm kept turning the light on and off – not annoying at all.  I eventually stopped trying to go back to sleep and climbed out of bed. I went through to the kitchen to find the two people I knew making what looked like a rather delicious breakfast, and I was starving, so went out to the car to get my bread and peanut butter. Only to find that I didn’t have the bag. I wasn’t sure how this could be the case, but I checked again, and it just didn’t seem to be there. Annoying. So I didn’t have anything proper for breakfast, but had some iced coffee in the fridge, and had that – I would get something proper when I get to the next town. Whilst having a cigarette in the morning, I was shocked to see how close we were to the water – I had known it was near, but it was practically on the water – it was so dark when I turned up last night, I could have been anywhere, but in the beautiful misty morning it looked perfect. Also, I found out that the lady who ran the hostel was from Keith of all places – it really is a small world, half my history is in one hostel! With all my stuff dumped back in the car, I set off again, towards the town centre of Robe.  To be honest there wasn’t much there, but I had a coffee as I sat on the rocks by the sea. The next town along the coast was Beachport, and it was a lovely road there, however, halfway there I realised I had forgotten the bloody basil plant – I really did consider going back for it, but I had been driving for a while, and I decided just to buy a basil plant when I got back to Melbourne. Basil would survive where he was. When I arrived in Beachport I headed straight to the water, and although it was a bit chilly, decided to walk along, what is apparently, an impressively long pier(according to the lady in the tourist info!). It was actually very long, and it was lovely just getting out of the car, wandering about, and watching the sea. It was time for some kind of food, so I went to the dodgy café on the seafront, a proper greasy spoon, and was once again treated to life in regional Australia – nothing veggie on the menu, but they seemed very nice, and they made me a sandwich, and I got a giant mug of tea, all for under $6 – bargain! There was a little gift-shop there, and I had a look, god knows why, it was all horrible, but anyway, I did. The next stop along the road was Millicent, and it was where I was hoping to find something to I can plug my phone into the car stereo, so I no longer have to put up with terrible radio reception. I was also planning on sleeping in the car that night – I was going to find somewhere nice, and just enjoy it. So, for this to be in any way comfortable, I needed to also locate a blanket of sorts – nothing fancy, an op-shop would do! So, with my little map of the courtesy of the tourist info, I headed off to the electrical shop, hoping they’d have an aux lead, and charger. It was closed. So, I went for the next thing on the list, and trawled the op-shops for blankets, only one of them had any at all, and even then the choice was slim – where was savers when I needed it! The only one that was even vaguely in good condition, and big enough to cover me, had a rather suspect stain from something, which I could only think of as poo. So, I didn’t buy on, and decided I would just put on a big jumper. It’s only for one night. I was successful with the stuff for my phone though, so set off again, with my music blaring! Hurray! Next place was Mt Gambier – and the only place I wanted to see was the Blue Lake. I got incredibly lost trying to find it, and only by chance I actually got there. And it was, as you’d guess, very blue. There really is nothing else you can say about it, and even my photo didn’t do it justice, but it is a giant, vibrant blue lake! I then got lost again trying to get out of town, and thankfully, eventually found the road I was looking for. Port MacDonnell was next. And it was tiny, and closed. Everything in the town was closed apart from a chippy, so I asked them how to get to the lighthouse, and went on my way. It was a surprisingly long way up the track, and I thought I was heading for a lighthouse ruin – that’s what they describe it as – but instead it was just a site where a lighthouse used to be – no ruins. Boring. But, I was starting to suffer from sitting in the car for so long, so got out for a look around the rocks. And I’m glad I did – it was great, and I even saw fairy penguins! Amazing! After being blown about by the wind for a bit I set off again – I was going to try and get to Portland tonight, and the light was dying. When I got there Portland didn’t seem so nice, so I kept driving, and just a few miles out of town there were signs for Cape Nelson. Sounded good, so I followed the signs. And followed them, hoping to find somewhere awesome to sleep, and then I saw an animal scuttling across the road, and then noticed lots more of them by the side of the road, and then I realised it was an echidna! Amazing. I was, however, slightly too excited, and forgot to take a photo – but they really are just like a giant hedgehog. I love them! I kept going up the track, and saw a few kangaroos – I really shouldn’t have been driving at this point. Eventually I saw a turn off to a picnic area – perfect! It was a little loop, with 8 picnic areas off it, and they were so secluded, and had a place to park the car off the track – so I decided, this would be my place to stay for the night. I had however planned this badly, and had no food, and a little bit of water, so I went back to Portland, and got myself a pizza, and some drinks. Much better. As I was heading up the track again I saw something else on the road, and by now, knew that it wasn’t an echidna, and it definitely wasn’t a kangaroo, it was much shorter, and I assumed it was a wombat. So I slowed down and when I stopped, I realised it was a koala!!!! And I let out a little excited squeal. As with the echidna, I forgot to take a photo of it, as I was just too busy watching it. Oops! When I got back to my spot I had my dinner, and then sat and listened to The Hobbit on audiobook – it was dark and I couldn’t do much else. When I eventually decided it was time for sleep it found it harder than I thought it was going to be to get comfy, but did in the end. And then scared myself silly. Although this was a lovely, secluded spot, and no one was around, it was for these precise reasons I lay asleep for half the night, paranoid someone was going to kill me. I know it sounds insane now, but it was dark and scary at the time. So I locked all the doors, and convinced myself that was enough to keep out any mad axe murderers. Not that I slept that well anyway, I woke up at some point in the night to put on more layers of clothes because it was so damned cold!

Despite my early morning efforts I still woke up cold, which was a bitch, but, I got up, drank some iced coffee, which I had left outside, and was now beautifully chilled. My first stop was Cape Nelson Lighthouse – I was already almost there, but, as it was no longer foggy, I noticed the massive wind farm which was in the field that I had driven pat 4 times the night before and never seen. So, I stopped and took some photos for Dad – thought he might want to see what an international wind turbine looked like! I continued on to the lighthouse, and when I got there I found a car park full of coaches, with lots of old people piling out of them. Far too touristy for my liking. So, I got out for a quick walk and a look about, I was craving coffee quite badly, and was slightly disappointed when I saw that the café was closed – gutted! So, once I got blown about by the wind I headed off again. I had a long way to go. I stopped off at the tourist information in Portland, just to get maps and stuff of the area as it had been closed the night before, and next to the door there was a sign saying that there were blue whales spotted just off the coast. It was 45 minutes away, ad I really couldn’t spend so much time chasing whales, which had more than likely moved on. Gutting! Next stop was Port Fairy, which was pretty cute, but I didn’t stop, apart from to get a tea in a takeaway cup. I actually stopped just outside Port Fairy, and went to a nature reserve place, and drove around the tracks. Apparently there were lots of animals around , but I couldn’t see any! I was ready to leave when I saw a car stopped in front of me, so I slowed down. And then a saw a long neck and a big beady eye. An emu!!! And then there was another one. I got out, trying not to scare them away, and then tried to take some photos – I had learnt my lesson the night before! So, I left the park pretty chuffed!! Despite being scared of birds, I love emus! And then I continued to Cheese World! I was very excited about it, and found it surprisingly easily. I got there, and didn’t have long to wait for a tasting, so just had a look about, bought a ‘Cheese World’ sticker for Will, and then went to eat cheese. I was slightly scared, after the bad Tasmanian experience, but the cheese was pretty damned good, so I parted with quite a few pennies, and also got a thickshake, and a couple of bags of sweeties. I was ready for my drive. So, I was at the start of the Great Ocean Road. One of Australia’s famous road-trips. And it was raining. Bugger. But, after getting further down the road and the landscape became more barren and more coastal. The first sop was the Bay of Islands, and it was beautiful. It is strange to think these places are always changing – but, I enjoyed the view I got! The next one was London Bridge, which actually no longer looks like it’s namesake, as some of it collapsed in the 1990’s. But, once again, I was pretty happy with the view I was treated to. I also ended up chatting to a group of old people from Yorkshire, and I took a photo for them, and them for me. Next down the coast was Loch Ard Gorge, and, after getting out of the car, saw the same group of old people getting out of their car. So, we did the same again, with the photos and then I went for a walk down to the beach. It was quite a steep staircase, but it was such a lovely little cove. I then went for a walk around the headland, and to Thunder Cove, and, this may sound stupid, but it really did sound like thunder! It was great. So I stood and ended up slightly mesmerised by the sound of the sea. But, sadly I had to pull myself away and had to get to the Twelve Apostles before it got dark! And I got to a little town, stocked up on tobacco, as I was running stupidly low, and also bought a couple of postcards. I continued along the road, and seemed to be slightly confused that I was heading away from the coast. I seemed like I had missed it, so I turned around and went back, checking every turn-off! And it was getting pretty dark, Bugger. When I saw the turn-off I have no idea how I missed it – it was a huge car park, so I pulled in, and got my camera. I had just arrived about ten minutes before sunset. Perfect timing. And then I started taking photos, and really didn’t stop for the while. The light kept changing so much, it was stunning . There are no words to explain how beautiful it was. And to save you all a few hours reading  I’ve given you some photos! In the twilight, and still with lots of my sweeties left, I started driving towards Apollo Bay. I was going to have to miss all of the trees full of koalas, but I had a time constraint, and so I drove through fog, rain and around the windiest roads I have ever driven on. It was insane, and slightly scary, although at this time I had my own music, and not the God radio station! When I eventually pulled into the town it was dark, and late. Thank god for iphones – I punched in the address of the hostel, and found out it was just round the corner. When I pulled up I grabbed my wallet and went to book in. I went for a dorm, and was pleased to find out that I was the only one in it, So I went to investigate – it was an awesome hostel, the room was lovely, and the blanket was thick and cosy. Perfect. So, I went to get the rest of the rubbish I would need for the rest of the night, and went to sit in front of the fire and read my book. Lovely. It really was such a lovely relaxed way to end my trip, and I went to bed tired and warm.

I woke up quite early, chucked my stuff in the back of the car, and took the hostels suggestion as to where to eat breakfast, and it was a little café just round the corner. Perfect. So I ordered hash browns, beans, and an egg on toast, with a large pot of tea. I ended up just being able to eat the hash brown, and some of the toast dipped in bean juice – I had managed to shrink my stomach by living off milk! Ooops! So, I headed back to my car, feeling rather sick I was so full. I had to be back in Melbourne by 3pm, so I set off again on the road. The views were so beautiful, and it was such a nice day I kept stopping to enjoy the landscape, and when I got the Lorne I went for a final play on the beach. It was lovely. Sadly, I had spent too much time doing other stuff, so just had to put my foot on it, and was slightly sad when the area got more and more metropolitan, and eventually I arrived at the airport to drop the car off. The rest of my journey back to Yarraville was full of annoying little problems, but in the end I eventually made it, almost in tears, and Toni was there to pick me up. Thank God! It was hot and stuffy and I seemed to have four thousand bags full of crap!

With so much done in the first few days of the week, and so much money spent, I wasted Thursday unpacking all of my rubbish, and then tidying the room again back to it’s original state. I don’t know why unpacking is always so messy! In the evening I just lazed about – and ate a proper meal off a plate and with cutlery! And, although I am back on the sofa it did mean I got to fall asleep in front of the fires. They really do make winter bearable! It’s not even winter yet, it’s the start of autumn!

Another cheap day was on the cards, and I just pottered about the house, and in the afternoon everyone sat down to watch a movie. It was great! It’s not really that long until I start work again, and I was just enjoying doing nothing! I spent the evening writing, and just watching TV. Not exciting, but it was well needed.

After a couple of days of not actually leaving the house, apart from to the garden, I decided to go for a bike ride, it had been a while since I got on the clown bike! After not very long I was knackered, and when I almost slowed down to a crawl I turned around and went home again. By the time I got there I was cursing the bike, and myself! Not good – maybe one day I’ll have the motivation to get fit…maybe….Anyway, in the evening I sat down to read some of my book, and it took me three chapters for me to realise that it wasn’t the same book I had started in the hostel – it didn’t seem to make much sense.

The next day I left the house again – I was getting adventurous! Will and Toni were going to Bunnings (Will’s favourite shop!) to get paint for the house, and I went along too, and we all got a frozen yoghurt on the way – bonus! I bought glass coat – some stuff I need to fix up the bit of wood I got from Tasmania. So, I forked out $50 on two bottles of chemicals, and we all headed home again. When we got back I got shown how to use the sanders, and after not very long my whole body was shaking, and I gave up. This may take a while to get it finished! I start next week at work again, and I’m actually quite excited, I have no idea what I am going to be doing – I have been given a job title, and that’s it! Hilarious! And, I didn’t do much for the rest of the day. But, I had done some pretty awesome stuff at the start of the week – I saw a koala, lots of kangaroos, quite a few echidnas and two emus. That beats everything else!


(Sorry about the lazy photo placement - the computer was being stupid! But, there are some pretty good ones there!)