This is the last day of our adventure, and we have enjoyed our time away from the general hustle of life and school. I just hope my kids can remember how to spell their names. Once we left Warnambool, our first stop was Apollo Bay. We stopped along the way at the 12 Apostles, Bay of Islands and London Bridge. It was a bit cold and windy but the view was worth it! Driving through the winding road through the Otway national park towards Apollo bay, I was surprised by the type of vegetation. I had expected a dry coastal drive but there were mountainous temperate forests on both sides of the road. Beautiful country. All thanks to Kwells, the kids and I managed to keep our stomach contents in check throughout the twists and turns. We drove through the Beech Forest National park to get to the Otway Fly Adventure, (or my husband decided to take a shortcut through the National Park to our destination) He said it was a shorter and straightforward route. The road was anything but straight, the speed limit was 40km due to the sharp turns, constant curves. I noticed how incredibly narrow the road was and wondered aloud what will happen if there was a car from the opposite direction? 'Just move to the side,' hubby calmly replied. The only problem was that there was NO SIDE, just a couple hundred meters drop down the mountain. At the Otway Fly Adventure, I was encouraged to do the 600m treetop work. They all insisted that facing my fear of heights will cure me. I believed them, and paid dearly. Halfway through the walk and perched 33 meters above the forest floor, I was a blubbering mess, i grabbed and held on to My husband's arm like a love struck teen having her first crush. The structure was even swaying in the wind, "Awesome, feel it mum we are moving!" I did not think it awesome, I was nauseous, dizzy and thought I was going to faint. However after that experience I did feel liberated, but I hope I do not have to do that again. Apart from my peculiar sensitivities, Otway Fly is a beautiful place and worth a visit. The bold and the brave can even attempt the Zip Fly, and fly through eight cloud platforms built on the tree tops in a giant flying fox thingy. Our next stop was Geelong and this bit of the drive was the most beautiful, in my opinion. We just stopped once this time at Erskine Falls, i will highly recommend a visit to this. The rest of the drive we spent spotting and admiring the mansions built along the coastline from Lorne to Torquay and the scenery of course. Every member of my family had predetermined what they wanted to do in Geelong, Child one wanted to go to 'great RC car ware house' to purchase parts for his rc car Child two wanted to visit the adventure water park and Fairy park Child three just wanted to visit the Simmonds Stadium, home of the Geelong Cats I have this vague suspicion that my husband and I were lured here for reasons far from what we both had in mind. It turns out our "well planned, educative and informative great ocean road trip" was just a means to an end for some family members! I feel so used!!! Anyway, I consoled myself with Seafood, the most delicious mussels cooked with garlic and white wine and sold/served pipping from a boat at Geelong Waterfront and the best ever chargrilled squid from King George Fish and Grill on 'Parko' street. You can all blame my children for the extra kilos. Other places we visited apart from the above Wool museum Summer sensations for the best pick your own strawberries Nov- May. Their strawberries were so sweet we got some plants from them! Geelong adventure water park Geelong waterfront On that note we drove back to Loxton yesterday.......... Survival Tips for long road trips with the rare family unit ('rare' means a family with 3 children, not 2) 1Self catering and I say it again, self catering 2 I buy my holiday groceries online ( I don't think Woolworths or Coles qualify as good sightseeing destinations) and have a menu plan for the entire 3 weeks. 3 Apart from special treats, eg ice-cream, one or two meals may be purchased while out and about but most meals are eaten at home or picnics are packed from home. 4 I traveled with my rice cooker..... I have confessed! But it is not just any rice cooker it is the cooker that allows you to pre-program your food so you can have it ready when you get back at the end of the day. When the rice is ready all other stews, veggies sides etc can be warmed and ready before the kids think about the T in takeaway. My *****ian friends who also eat rice by the bushel like I do will understand my excitement, imagine hot steaming jollof/coconut rice ready at the end of the day with minimal effort........ By the way, I use the Rice Box and no I am not a paid rep :-) 5 I do not mind and even encourage the use of technology during long drives, I spy games are good but can only be played for a short duration around me - I do not like them, it drives me nuts. There, another confession.... But really am I the only person who finds it really infuriating trying to guess what someone else thinks he/she has seen along the road? 6 Forget deadlines, learn with the children and embrace silliness for some time, nothing will go according to plan but be thankful to God for the gift each day brings. I have to stop now, The car needs some thorough cleaning.......