We got underway in the driving rain and pulled into a large open service station to fuel up.   We had noticed how blustery it was outside and only found out just how bad it was when I opened the door to get out to fill up.    It was snatched out of my hand and I sort of spilled out onto the forecourt.   The wind was blowing around 70kph and was whipping around anyone and anything on the forecourt.   Bill got out and he took on the fuel filling, buffeted backwards by the wind he hung on to that bowser handle and the car for dear life.

We spoke to another caravanner pulled in behind us. He said it was far worse to the east from where he had just come. Cars and vans stopped all along the highway as it was too difficult to keep them on the road safely.

We headed off, agreeing that if it got too bad we would just pull over and sit it out.    It was pretty incredible, particularly on passing lanes when the big B-double trucks overtook and sucked us in with the disturbed air they created.   The rain and wind was relentless for about 200km when we finally lost the rain and traded it for the cold!   Well, we are in Victoria after all!   Finally to Torquay and poor Bill was pretty tired, with all that concentrating.   Thank God he is such a great driver!

We set up camp, and thankfully it wasn't raining – it was cooler for sure – around 17 degrees.   A bite to eat, a bit of a rest and then we decided on a drive to check out the surrounds.    We are staying on Bell Street with Front Beach at our door.   The waves were pretty big with high winds, it was really just storm surf.   There are many lookouts and paths along the cliffs and we braved the winds and walked to several lookouts and were totally awestruck by the size of the surf.

Only 3 kite surfers were out in these seas and they were having a ball.   Man, can they move!   A sign on the pathway at Jan Juc showed that Bells Beach was only a 3.5km walk.   Note to self.   Awesome scenery, great track, I will do this tomorrow when the weather has hopefully settled a bit.   Too late to do it now.   So we drove on and soon found ourselves at Bells.   Oh wow!   I have seen this on TV but to see it in the flesh, so to speak, is pretty special.   Bill had a dumb smile on his face for the whole time we were there!    He was frozen to the bone, as only a true Queenslander in Victoria can be, but he was in a great place in his head.   All along the cliffs and down on the beach everything was being set up for the Rip Curl Pro Bells Classic with trials starting on Monday 21st and going through to the big Easter main event starting on the 25th.  

We walked to Winkiepop, the first alternative for competition if Bells isn't surfable during competition.   The judges box is all set up – a lookout on the cliff, boxed in as a temporary building.

The next day, Saturday, dawned black skies, bloody cold, blustery winds and driving rain.    Time for Bill to sort out our photos from the last week or so and for me to get writing and get up to date with my blogs.   You need a day like this every now and then I suppose.

Sunday wasn't so bad, still blustery but not so cold and it cleared more during the day.   Off to the Australia Surf Museum, which was really great.   Brought back a lot of memories for Bill even so far as the old surf wax he used to use back when he was a teenager, plus so much more.    It was interesting to read of and see old photos of the beginning of surfing.