Finally got underway on the last day of March. That was the first full summer I've had at home in a long time and enjoyed it. Actually didn't want to leave home!?

Boarded the ferry (Spirit of Tas. 1) that night and had an awful nights sleep on one of the "Ocean view recliners" (i.e. a chair). Definitely recommend spending the extra money on a cabin. We got woken up the next morning by a funny man on the PA system saying welcome to Sydney and he went on with details of how to get about Sydney. Shortly after this announcement there was another saying "Aprils fools day" (Har, Har). There wasn't much laughter going on in the chair room.

I decided not to battle peak hour traffic so instead I parked at the Melbourne swim centre near Albert park and had a swim (and shower-no showers are available to those travelling in the chair room). Good pool.

Stopped in at Werribe to visit P. Had a coffee and brunch before travelling on to Torquay. Pulled in to the Torquay foreshore caravan park where I found out it was currently school holidays in Victoria. I asked the lady for a quiet spot away from screaming rotten kids which she provided.

The park is adjacent to Torquay surf beach which was working well when I got there. It was very crowded and I didn't feel like a surf so I had a quick dip instead. Wished I had of felt like a surf that day as the following day the beach was virtually deserted with poor surf and weather. Oh well.

I did visit the surf museum which has been done well, The old boards they have on display are huge and not much like modern boards. Didn't quite realise how big surfing was (well apart from Bells beach) in this part of the world. There is a plethora of surfboard and other surf gear shops in the Town.

Glad I didn't leave a day later as a storm came through causing traffic disruptions all over Melbourne. I was challenged enough as it was-I hate driving in big cities!Luck that my camp site was relatively sheltered too. The van and bike got covered by dust from a dust storm that came through.

Leaving Torquay I went through nearby Jan Juc and Bells Beach. Tried calling D.B. but no answer? Quite a large crowd was gathered on the cliffs at Bells beach all watching the surf. The Bells beach competition had been completed a week before at easter so I was surprised to find so many people there. The waves were huge and there were a few brave souls out surfing. There was some tow in surfing (i.e. towed into waves by a jet ski) going on which was interesting to watch.

The Great Ocean Road is the road between Torquay and about Warnanmbool although some say it ends further on at Nelson. I stopped at a memorial arch which has an impressive sculpture of some road workers. The road was made by returned soldiers from WWI. Apparently it was all done by pick and shovel (and maybe dynamite) too. They didn't call them diggers for nothing I suppose. It is an impressive bit of road and I can see why it gets talked about.

Stopped for a coffee at Lorne. Nice place and would like to stay there some day. I imagine it could get horribly crowded in summer though.

Cape Otway lighthouse was the next stop. After paying the $11.50 (us poor unemployed get a concession) I did the self guided tour. The site is interesting as it was a telegraph station, WWII radar station and lighthouse. All the buildings including the lighthouse itself are open for inspection making it a worthwhile stop. Plus you can buy souvenirs and have a cuppa there too. Maybe something like this could be done at Eddystone point lighthouse in Tassie?

Spent the night just up the road at Bimbi holiday park. The brochure says "Camp under the Koalas" so I thought I would test this claim and sticking my head out the back of the camper there was indeed koalas up above. I saw 3 munching away in the camp area.

From Cape Otway the coast gets battered by huge swells and with the cliffs being relatively soft rock, the formations are quite spectacular. The most Famous is the 12 Apostles. Apparently they were once called something like "pig and sows" but were later renamed the more dignified 12 Apostles. I prefer pig and sows. There are numerous placed to stop and gawk at rocks along this stretch of road so it took a while to travel.

Warnnambool was next for some shopping. I was surprised to see how big a place it is. The Harvey Normans is bigger than Launcestons'! I was in 2 minds whether or not to stay there as the caravan park looked good. Decided not to after finding out it costs $20 which isn't too outrageous but I was going to a free camp further along the road! Wouldn't mind spending a night or 2 here another time.

70km further along the road is Fitroy river which has a small grassy camp area beside the river. Not the best campsite but had it all to myself so not complaining. Oh, and did I mention it was free?