After weeks and weeks of Landrover mechanics, body work and interior building, it was time to take her for a test run for a few days. Luckily, we live right on the doorstep of forest and sea - some great drives through bush tracks would put her to the test. We decided to start at our old favourite - Hordern Vale.
Hordern Vale is just past the town of Apollo Bay, and a fantastic place to camp because you get the best of many worlds - a riverside beach to swim in, a bridge to dangle feet off (and jump, though you shouldn't, and there ARE signs saying not to!), fishing, boating, plus a good twenty minute walk to the wildest of beaches. You can paddle board all the way to the sea, or kayak, if you like - just keep an eye on the wind or it'll be a struggle back! Like many national parks in Victoria, you do have to pay a small fee of 14.50 but there is fire wood there and unlike some places, you can have fires. There are actually two campgrounds here - east and west. No fires at east, and you'll find more school groups there so keep an eye on the booking site.
Koalas are absolutely guaranteed here, and the Otways black panther, but that's a story for another time, or you can read the news report below. Time passes, and both think that maybe it was the tail of a black wallaby after all. The mind plays tricks. Maybe the boys had had too many beers that night. Or maybe they've been laughed at enough that they've changed their own view of what happened. I like to think it was a panther.
From Hordern Vale, we headed back toward Apollo Bay to the Cape Otway road, which leads down to a pretty spectacular lighthouse (if you want to be amazed, do climb up it and experience the insane wind at the top) and to a few great camp grounds. The Great Ocean Road has a walker's trail where people do week long walks all the way down the coast, and there's many hike in camps as well as camps for people in cars. Blanket Bay is fantastic - great for kids, but a bit close to the beach, which means it's often more crowded. We chose Parker's Hill campground and tucked in a small spot near the edge of the cliff.
Looking toward Crayfish Bay and Cape Otway
The walk down to the beach is down some 300 stone steps, but the beach is fabulous. There's a brackish river that joins the sea, rocks to clamber up, and lots of sheltered nooks to put down a picnic in. We lounged for a long time on the rocks, watching the waves and feeling relaxed for the first time in ages. In the afternoon, after dinner, we walked the few kilometres to Crayfish Bay, another lovely beach with rock pools to explore, sandy beaches and beautiful views. We got back on dark, exhausted, and snuggled up in the back of the landie to read for a few hours before bed.
Wallaby on the track
We awoke in the morning to the most awesome thunderstorm - like some pesky god was thumping merrily on the side of the Landrover. Being on the edge of a cliff, the lightning was quite dramatic - as I was making tea, Jamie caught one spark not 25 metres from the van, wisps of smoke and all. There was a bit of a leak from the back corner, but nothing too dramatic. People say old Landies leak, but that's only because they haven't used enough silicon :P.
It was a great drive out in the rain, driving down some more 4WD tracks to test out Buttercup the Landie a little more. The Otways rainforest looks all the more spectacular in that weather - the colours are richer, and the weather gives it a kind of mood. I particularly loved the fog, although we didn't slow down enough to get a shot of it. Kangaroos bounded across green hills and thirteen black cockatoos screeched over head. The view of Apollo Bay as you come down the hill is worth stopping for usually, but this time it was covered in rivulets of fog. It seemed a good day to be holed up in a shack with the fire on - EXCEPT it's kinda tropical at the moment. It's the oddest weather this summer.
All in all, we're feeling grateful that this kind of country is right on our doorstep. We've come home to wait out the storms which are booming overhead and we'll repack the Landie for one last little trip before we head to India.
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