The Great Ocean Road Part 3

Geelong - Sydney (approx.1209 km)

Day 7

Geelong - Lakes Entrance (approx. 389 km)

So let's not be coy about this, Christmas was somewhat of a disaster. But it will certainly never be forgotten, although, maybe not for reasons we were hoping. We set the alarm insanely early and left our French neighbours in the land of nod. Today's objective was to find a nice camp site before the afternoon creeps up on us, and RELAX! The idea being that today will be our belated Christmas Day.

We made really good progress today; one, because we were on a motorway so we could plough through some kilometerage; two, because there are no points of interest to get out for and take obligatory pictures. Although, we did make one stop, probably for the most beautiful thing I had seen the entire time I have been driving this camper van, a rest area that gives you FREE COFFEE! Or hot chocolate if you're Emily. I'll be honest, it was a pretty crappy coffee but hey, couldn't really complain too much. It's basically a scheme that is run by the emergency services of Victoria. Its aim is to encourage people to take a break from driving once in a while to rest, reducing the number of accidents resulting from tired drivers. At first I was thinking that these people should be out on the road somewhere actually doing their jobs, but in fairness we did stop, and there were plenty of other people that joined us so maybe by them doing this actually did prevent a few accidents today, and maybe even saved someone's life. It was also a good chance to talk to the people who do come to your aid if you're in an accident, whom would much prefer to talk to you over a cup of coffee than an IV bag.

As we were driving along the black path laid out in front of us, we could just make out the high rises of Melbourne out in the distance. The view of the city got even more impressive by the kilometre, until eventually the buildings stood well above us. Before long we approached Lakes Entrance. We really liked the look and feel of it here, and decided to find ourselves a campsite. We learnt that there were heaps of campsites to choose from, and that this was a really popular spot with tourists. Now touristy locations often get a lot of stick for being so touristy, but there must be something about a place that attracts a large number of people. It also means that there are plenty of things to do and places to eat as local businesses try to cash in on all the visitors. We wouldn't really know, because we didn't leave our campsite once we settled in.

The site we had chosen sat on the edge of a lake. Although this lake was joined to the sea, making it an estuary? Anyway, we weren't going to argue. I did however try to argue over the price they were trying to charge us. Turns out that after Christmas day, you're in peak camping season, and thus following the principles of supply and demand as taught by my economics lecturer that means it's time to start coughing up some extra dollar, because they can, and you will pay it…..damn you!!They were actually quite sweet, a fairly elderly couple whom could obviously sense my frustration. We looked at the map, and they picked us out the 'best' spot on the campsite. The old chap jumped onto his moped (which was an actual moped you associate with chavy 16 year olds riding, not like a mobility scooter you would normally associate with an OAP) and off we went. To be fair, they delivered on their word, and I think we actually did get the best pitch on the camp site. We only had one neighbour (a family with a couple of kids, one of which ran over to us in the evening with no clothes on!) and were perched on the edge of the lake (or estuary, whatever..). We were very happy here, and that is why we didn't leave the site to explore the town. We spent the day relaxing, eating yummy food and playing all the games we had bought each other.

Merry Christmas!

Day 8

Lakes Entrance to - Narooma (370 km)

We decided to have a lazy morning as we enjoyed this campsite so much before carrying on with our journey to Sydney. We only have 2 nights left with our campervan before we have to hand her over :(.

We did some more driving, went through some more towns, saw some more delightful coastlines, viewpoints etc. I'm sure you get the picture by now. We ended up at another free campsite set in a forest again. We love these sites! It's nice to feel like you're in the middle of nowhere, miles away from civilisation, although, in reality Woolworths was only about 10 kilometres down the road. Didn't see as much wildlife at this site, but it was still nice to have a walk around. Emily decided to take a nap in the campervan rather than helping me to gather firewood to feed the pyromaniac in me. It's ok, though, she locked herself in the van with a mosquito and got bitten quite a few times (haha).

The wood I collected was nice and dry and I even organised them into piles, from kindle to the nice thick logs that would really get the fire roasting. Sad I know, but it did actually make life a lot easier when it came to lighting the fire and helped to pass the time. We played games, had a lovely dinner and of course had some beverages.

We also got the chance to skype home where and catch up with everyone's festivities. There was also a HUGE congratulations in order to Ed (Emily's brother) and Hannah, his now fiancé. Ed had popped the question to Hannah along the Cornish coastline looking over at the morning sunrise. We wish you two many, many, maaaannnnyyy happy years together :). Emily now feeling a little displeased with the sparklers I had bought her compared to the sparkle of Hannah's rock on her finger…..cheers Ed ;).

After reliving our childhoods with the sparklers and slightly roasting my hand in the process of lighting them on the fire (rather than using a lighter), we had some marshmallows before calling it a night.
All in all, a pretty good day.

Day 9 (Narooma to Austinmer approx. 378 km)

Our final full day in the campervan. Not much to say really, we drove for a while before finding another free campsite. This one was literally a car park along the beach. Great views of the ocean which we shared with many other travellers with the same idea as us. Another relaxing day spent walking along the beach, eating and having a quite a few drinks to celebrate our wonderful journey and the kilometres we have achieved, and because we had to give the van back tomorrow, we needed to drink EVERYTHING.

Day 10 (Austinmer to Sydney approx. 72 km)

Handover day! Road trip finished :(. Today marked the end of our magnificent trip. We cleaned the van, inside and out and gave away some of our unused goods to some other campers. We arrived to Sydney early to drop off the campervan where the exchange was very smooth, unlike picking it up! A brief wave signified our farewell to our home and mode of transport. We felt pretty sad, but I was secretly relieved too as I no longer need to do anymore driving! We covered roughly 2274 km (1413 miles). We would definitely recommend the trip and we look forward to another major road trip sometime in the future. We are now very excited to explore Australia's most iconic city and spending NYE here!

C & E x