We had a couple of long days driving ahead of us fortunately our first day involved driving the entire length of the Great Ocean Road. This has to be one of the most beautiful roads in the world built by returning servicemen from war who constructed the road as a dedication to their fallen comrades. Started in 1919 the road was chiseled out of the side of the cliff and finally completed in 1932. The result being a truly inspiring road trip where around every corner is another fantastic view and concentrating on driving is a real challenge. Along the way there were plenty of stops to take in some of the natural wonders including the famous twelve apostles and the less known but equally impressive limestone arch. The only problem with having such an awesome start to your journey is that all other roads are mind numbingly boring by comparison. We were glad to finally arrive at our next destination a small town called Mount Gambier. The second part of the drive had been our most remote to date with hundreds of kilometers of semi arid landscape. We passed very few other cars and with a very inhospitable feel its really not somewhere to run out of fuel! One of the highlights was to pass a collection of salt lakes where the water from the lakes has evaporated leaving behind a crust of bright white salt crystal and it really is a sight to behold if a little eerie! After what seemed like an eternity we finally arrived at our destination. This town is a tourist destination due to its lakes, craters, caves and walled gardens so we figured while we were here we might as well visit some of the highlights. Due to a very early start we had arrived in time for a late lunch so we got some picnic supplies and headed to one of the walled gardens. The garden was produced many years ago when the ceiling of a limestone cave collapsed resulting in a giant hole in the ground which with private funding was converted into what is known as a walled garden. We had lunch on the bank of the garden before making our way down to explore the exposed cave. Not one easily impressed by gardens it was a really pretty use of what was essentially a giant hole in the ground. It also gave an insight into the many cave networks that run underground throughout the town. After lunch we went for a drive out to the "blue lake" a crater lake famous due to the marked change in the colour of the water with the changing seasons. Having seen unusual blue lakes in Canada and New Zealand we weren't expecting much however it is without a doubt the most unusual shade of blue we had ever seen, Being summer we were seeing the lake at its most unusual with it emitting an amazing bright cobalt blue that even in photographs isn't fully appreciated. With plenty of vista points we drove around the crater edge taking in the sights of both the blue lake and the surrounding lakes and craters. We then make our way to the town centre for a look around the shops as well as more gardens and natural formations of which there were plenty in this small town!