Greetings from Kennett River, a tiny little town on the Great Ocean Road. We're parked up in our campervan under a tree canopy that is - we are told - a hotspot for the local koala population and we've thus far travelled about 700km across two states of this wide, vast country.

We picked up our campervan yesterday morning. It's a Kea van and it's designed for 4 people so we've got lots of space. No toilet (boo!) but there's an outside shower. We've got a fridge, a sink, a hob, wine glasses, cupboards... all the mod-cons. At the moment we're on a powered campsite and we're hooked up to the wifi. It's a home away from home. We left Adelaide yesterday morning and headed out through the Mount Lofty hills. It was an absolute scorcher - dry and hot, and unbearable in the van unless we had the fans blasting right into our faces. After a swift lunch somewhere near Tailem Bend, we then struck out into the Coorong National Park, a flat, swampy landscape of lagoons and sand dunes. After a full day's drive we reached Kingston, a very small town of no consequence, other than the fact that it is the home of Larry the Lobster, a giant, anatomically correct replica of a lobster. It was great. After that, we still had a way to go, so as dusk started to descend turned off onto the road to Mount Gambier and found ourselves well and truly in the outback. There were no cars ahead, no cars behind, just long, empty road surrounded by swathes of scrubby wilderness as far as the eye could see. Fortunately we had a nice full fuel tank to keep us going until we hit civilisation at Mount Gambier, where we pulled up for the night at a camper van site only to discover that it was closed... So we simply camped outside it instead. A little bit naughty, but we really needed those showers...

This morning we had breakfast by Blue Lake, a volcanic crater that has a natural lake inside it. Of course, it is very blue. After breakfast we went into town to get a few bits and bobs done (going to the bank etc) then toddled back onto the Princes Highway, heading for the Great Ocean Road. We got to the start of the road after lunch in Warrnambool and were greeted by the most hideous weather we have yet encountered. It was raining, grey and somewhat misty, which didn't do visibility any favours. We managed to get some good pictures of the fantastic rock formations - including the infamous Twelve Apostles (of which only six are left) and London Bridge (which had fallen down), but we are somewhat soggy in all of those pictures. Howie had contributed some chili peppers to our lunch, and although he had meant them to zing up our pasta, they had rather disagreed with me so it is with memories of horrific stomach cramps that I think of the first section of the Great Ocean Road. Nevertheless, after a stop in Port Campbell to post our parcels and stretch our legs, I felt much better. After seeing all of these fantastic rock stacks, the road turns inland through a very hilly forest region, which affords amazing panoramic views of the ocean and the coastline. After this, the road becomes somewhat precarious, as it hugs the cliffs, twisting and turning along the rocky shores of the Southern Ocean - the views were absolutely wonderful. We swung into Kennett River (which is famous for two things, apparently - glowworms and koalas) and we're now sitting in our posh camper with our laptops connected to the internet and wild parrots flying around outside.

Tomorrow we need to get the camper back to Melbourne. Howie has already driven a very, very long way and will be required to put his foot down as we finish the Great Ocean Road at Torquay and zip up the motorway to Melbourne Airport, where we drop off the camper. He's done a marvellous job thus far, stopping only for little snacks before getting back on the road again.
Thus far, our road trip has been tiring, slightly stressful at times, but completely memorable. Now to make Howie a well-deserved gourmet dinner. I've told him he can have whatever he likes but it has to include beef mince, tomoatoes, broccoli and noodles, beause that's all we've got. He's thinking about it.