Adelaide to Melbourne via Great Ocean Road

Adelaide to Melbourne

It is said that to repeat a procedure a second time is much more efficient than the first because most of the learning has already been done. So it proved to be with this, the return trip after Cooper and I trailed the path from Melbourne to Adelaide during the Easter break earlier in the year.

 Adelaide

30th August – McLaren Vale

Standing on the front door of spring, it was time to raise my motorbike out of its winter hibernation where it had quietly sat at my patient friend Joanna’s house in Adelaide and begin its 3000km journey home to QLD. 

As Eva, Joanna and Elson socialized in the living room I unburdened the bike from its covers and riding gear I had left to dry after my Kangaroo Island experience in early June. To my delight the battery eagerly glowed in all the right places and the beautiful, shiny 1600cc engine sprung to life at its first beaconing. After the usual checks were completed I joined the team for a scrumptious dinner, relishing the opportunity to catch up with dear friends who I usually only get the chance to speak to over the phone.

September 1st – Spring! 

8.00am

As the bulk of commuters headed off to work, we headed into Adelaide with a different agenda.  First stop was breakfast at the  East Terrace Continental (ETC) overlooking the Botanical Gardens.  To prepare ourselves for the 400km ahead we took a walk through Rundle mall and checked out the limestone museum, churches and university that helps make the city the enchanting environment it is.

Following the coast 

Soon enough we found ourselves following the coast down the Fleurieu Peninsular past Glenelg and  Brighton out to the gem of the region McLaren Vale.

McLaren Vale 

The whole region is littered with some of Australia’s best and most renowned vinyards. Mclaren Vale, known specifically for its fine reds and dinning is harder to eat and drink your way through town than it is to walk it! Having satisfied our palettes and sent several boxes of wine to the Sunshine Coast we continued our march east to Victor Harbor.

Victor Harbor

Passing over Mount Compass we wound our way into Victor Harbor for some lunch and a stretch of the legs before heading off to Goolwa. Goolwa sits on the Moyne river and for me is best remembered as the location for the movie Storm Boy, a classic book penned by Colin Thiele which made a big impact on me as a youngster. With the sun making better time across the horizon than us we left the pretty town all to quickly to cross the long stretch of salt land to Kingston, our coastal overnight stop.

On the way over Cooper and I had headed inland on the advice of the touring guides who described the stretch as boring and uneventful. As we raced the sun the salt land had filled with water leaving the Coorong alive with the sounds and antics of the birds on the water turned red from the reflections of the setting sun.

Friday 2nd September – Kingston -  Port Fairy

Having traveled the better part of 500km the day before and still trying to thaw out from the cold overnight air we were a little stiff as we climbed aboard for our second day contemplating  another long run over the border and into the Victorian town of Port Fairy

Robe

Robe should have been a short run from Kingston and the tensions (and sore bottoms) were exposed when I took a route that added another 50km. Having stopped for petrol Eva walked into town to get some feeling back into her posterior giving me a head start on coffee and breakfast! A beautiful town with more to offer than Kingston we reluctantly saddled up and took the scenic route through to beautiful Beachport, the blue lake of Mt Gambier, Neilson and Portland, racing the setting sun into Port Fairy.

Saturday 3rd September –

Port Fairy - Apollo Bay  

Satisfied with a huge steak at the Caledonian Hotel where we stayed and a fitful night sleep it was time to get up and watch the pretty town come to life as the sun heated up the limestone buildings framed in their manicured gardens.At the Hub we conveniently found space on the 

couch by the log fire discussing with the locals the AFL football results and how warm it was with the sun coming out!  The Harbor is a picture of tranquility and serenity lined with boats tied to the wharf straddling to the houses taking advantage of the vista. All too soon it was time to head off to Warnambool, the self proclaimed Capital of the Great Ocean Road!

We brunched at Simons at the local surf club overlooking the bay. We were on lookout for Southern Great Whales but alas none were forthcoming this particular morning.

The Great Ocean Road   

After 900 odd kilometers of relatively unbroken road we wound off the rolling paddocks of cows and farmland into the precipice where the sheer limestone rock rises dramatically out from the unrelenting water creating ever changing sculptures in the rock formations around this spectacular coastline.

Bay of Islands/Martyrs 

Here we were on and off the bike every 300m or so as different vantage points gave different perspectives. The last structure is the London bridge which is still impressive despite having half of its top collapsing into the sea in the early nineties. 

12 Apostles 

The most famous collection of formations on the coastline, there are now only eight remaining but never the less are a major tourist drawcard for good reason.

Loch Ard Gorge.

Named after the schooner that was dashed on the rocks here in a horrible storm in 1878. The ship sailing from England with a crew of 36 was predominately carrying the Carmichael family of 18 to stay with their sick father. With the ship  stuck firmly on Mutton bird Island the few life jackets available were handed out to passengers leaving the crew to fend for themselves. Unfortunately it didn’t help them much and all but 18yr old Eva Carmichael perished, desperately clinging to parts of the ship as it broke up. The fate of the crew was no better with 35 crew doing the honorable thing and going down with the ship. As young Eva drifted between the rock formations  Tom, a young seamen who had miraculously washed onto the small beach saw her plight and swam out and pulled her ashore before scaling the cliff to find help!

 Today, with a light offshore breeze and no swell, it was hard to look past the sheer beauty mother nature had offered us.

Port Campbell

Smack in the middle of the cliffs there is a little oasis called Port Campbell. From seemingly nowhere  man has included a swell prone jetty and surf club  on a beautiful lawn overlooked by a hotel and a variety of cafes and take away outlets. 

Apollo Bay 

Despite having only travelled less than 150km in the day we were seriously running out of sunlight again so we bypassed Cape Ottaway (see easter ride story) and made our way through the State forest and Great Ottaway National Park to Apollo Bay  

Apollo Bay - Queenscliffe 

Seaview Motel.

Set back from the main strip we stayed at the Seaview Motel. I mention them specifically because on both trips they gave us generous rates to their lovely units and more importantly allowed me to park the bike in their garage leaving me a remote key for private access. As both times we had overnight rain it was very much appreciated. Both Tracey and Luke were very accommodating and  friendly to our cause.

A gem of a ride!

 Having donned the wet weather gear with some light rain on departure we enjoyed a sparkling and magic ride as the road hugged the coast. North of Apollo bay the limestone and its characteristics are left behind and replaced with rolling green hills and valleys jutting out in a more random manor into the ocean. The coast from here is known as the Surf Coast with Torquay being the pinnacle as the birthplace for surf companies such as Rip Curl and Billabong. 

Lorne 

 The 45kms from Apollo Bay to Lorne is never more than a stones throw from the ocean and as we ducked and weaved around the headlands and inlets the road slowly dried out leaving us with a spectacular view of the scenery ahead and out to sea. All too quickly we found ourselves at the seaside town of Lorne and warming seats  at the the bathers pavilion right on the water sipping white wine with our fathers day meal listening to french music softly filling the air! Life surely doesn’t get much better than this!

Monday – Mornington Peninsular 

Ferry Ride across the Bay

After  an enjoyable and soothing ferry ride across Port Phillip  Bay from Queenscliffe to Sorrento I was stunned  by the beauty of this eastern side of the peninsular. With its obvious wealth and prosperity it enjoys a majestic view over a waterway which today was bathed in sun and crystal clear water lapping onto its sandy beaches.

Melbourne Revealed 

I have never quite got melbourne. Sydney has the familiarity of home, Brisbane is built around a lovely waterway breaking up its intensity. Adelaide is small and beautiful with its wide, tree lined streets and Perth has a nice ambience to it. I have always wanted to like the capital of Victoria, but I have never felt like I understood it. As we cruised out to Portsea and looked at the spectacular coastline north it was almost matched by the architecture of the mansions sharing the view and the impressive variations of protection from the road and public. Not as much a fronting  as interesting and austere.

The final run 

As we covered the last 80kms into Melbourne we followed the coastal path taking us up through Rye, Rosebud, Dromana, and Mornington. The whole coast was a glut of beauty with its seaside towns backing onto the bay with the famous beach sheds nestled into the tops of the beach lines. I have only ever heard of them so I had a much better appreciation of them and how their owners might come down for a day at the beach already having their toys and necessities waiting for them. AS the traffic slowly built up and the number of traffic lights indicated how close we were to our destination we met up with friends Axi and Farzard back where it all began for me at Easter- the West Beach Bathers Pavilion for some lunch 

on the deck soaking up the sun on this spectacular Melbourne day. All to soon I left Eva,Axi and Farzard  for the storage shed at Tullamarine, a short ride from the airport . Having tucked my bike away it was time to fly home and start preparing for the next part of the adventure. 10 days travelling the 2000km from Melbourne to Brisbane following the legendary NSW  south coast before traversing the great dividing range through to home!

 If anyone has any comments or enquiries about the trip or would like some advice in organising their own adventure here please feel free to drop me an e mail at 

d_shippo@yahoo.com.au

David

Great Ocean Road Adventure



12 Apostles

 

  I blame this bike riding on Peter Moore whose book Vroom  detailed his travels around Italy on a Vesper.. In 2009 I happened to have four free days in the US and was looking for something to do. Inspired by his book I decided there could be nothing more American than reviving my old biking days and heading off for a free spirited adventure. So it was then that I headed off on a Harley Davidson Road King to spend four wonderful days cruising down the West coast of the USA. During that ride I got to thinking about the great riding we had back here in Australia and the top two rides were Melbourne's Great Ocean Road and basically the whole of Tasmania.
Not long after I returned I was seduced into purchasing my own Harley and, despite the Midlife Crisis jokes I endured, I loved (and still do) my riding in QLD. However the "cruising spirit" that still runs deep within wanted to explore further and as I delved into possibilities it happened that work put on a conference in Melbourne the days before Easter! That was it, I booked my bike in with bikenut transport and set about trying to put into place the logistics required to make it happen.
As I sit here in Brisbane airport, my bike almost there, my helmet and gear waiting for me at the conference hotel, and Cooper due to fly in on Thurs morning, my heart is aflutter. Another extraordinary dream is about to come to fruition and also setting off a succession of adventures for the year ahead. We are planning on spending the next four days following the wild Victorian coast buffeted by centuries of weather blown up from Antarctica. We are in the zone of the roaring forties where since my childhood I have read of mariners coping with the cold, wild winds and huge ocean swells roaming  undisturbed with only Tasmania, New Zealand and Cape Horn  to break their relentless march through the Great Southern Ocean.

Ready to leave Melbourne

Our travels will take us into the Great Australian Bite with its dramatic cliffs and sandy protected beaches. A feature is the 12 apostles, 12 giant limestone formations sitting just clear of the cliffs in defiance of mother nature herself. Sadly, four have succumbed to the relentless pounding, leaving eight magnificent structures to brave the elements.
Set amongst the unforgiving territory there stands a tough fishing fleet, hardened by the conditions but coerced by the bountiful fair abounding in the turbulent waters. This has lead to scenic boat harbours nestled into strategic points and lighthouses marking their way.
If this sounds a bit romantic and like a fairytale, then lets wait and see. I have never been there and I am painting my childhood fantasies for you to help set the mood for my excitement. During this time we plan to cover around 1100kms to Adelaide, leaving the coast at Mt Gambier on the Victorian/South Australia border and heading up through the vineyards of Coonawarra before a reunion with my American trips partner in crime!

Coffee on the Bay- St Kilda

The Day broke bright bright in Melbourne on the day of departure. With a few hours to spare before Cooper arrived I made my way to the only familiar bit of Melbourne - St Kilda. In My past days as a professional sailor racing down by the pier it was a pretty seedy part of town, but things have changed now and and has been transformed into a trendy seaside town and I had to while away a pleasant few hours at the West Beach bathers pavilion. The coffee wasn't to my taste but I enjoyed sitting over the sand listening to classical music and watching several energetic dogs doing their best to wear out their owners! 
Soon enough it was time to head out to the airport  to pick Cooper up and and head south where the bells beach bell was tolling! 
The freeway south was both busy and uninteresting. If the rain had drenched this stretch of earth it certainly didn't look it and as the traffic thinned we found ourselves on the genesis of the Great Ocean Road and the Surf Coast entrance to Torquay and Bells.
Torquay is the base for surf companies such as Rip Curl and Billabong and there is a plethora of major outlets sweating on Kelly Slater, Mike Fanning and the crew coming for signing day. We purchased our 50th anniversary competition shirts and made our way out to Bells to check out the action proper!
The competition site at Bells Beach is accessed via several tracks leading down from the cliff tops which provided an excellent vantage point to watch several heats of surfers making the most of the 2m swell wrapping around the point before smashing onto the sheer cliff face stretching North providing a dramatic backdrop to the heat of battle.
I was conscious of how far we had to travel and so all too quickly we rode off into the fading light with ominous clouds building off the coast..
As we reached Angelsea we stopped to put on our wet weather gear and just as we set off again it began to rain and never let up the rest of our ride to Apollo Bay. By Lorne, a really pretty town, the light had all but gone and I was frustrated that we were now not only riding in miserable conditions, but that we were also missing some of the prettiest coast with a great swell running.
Eventually we pulled into our booked hotel and unpacked. Our hosts kindly moved their car from their lock up garage and allowed us to park both locked away and out of the rain!!
Apollo Bay was certainly a beautiful town in the morning light and despite the intermittent rain we walk down to the cafes on the Esplanade and settled down for breakfast.
Here we had our first taste of Victorian hospitality. As Cooper went to order the lady next to us commented on what a good mannered boy he was. this lead to a conversation about or trip and possible future plans. Without hesitation Lorraine gave me her number and e mail address and offered to store my bike at her and her husbands(a bike enthusiast) house!

Apollo Bay

If the stretch between Torquay and Apollo Bay is called the Surf Coast, the next section is as aptly named the "Shipwreck Coast". In the centuries following Cook's discovery of Australia in the1700's, this piece of coast was the first seafarers would come across after 7 - 8 months at sea.  This unforgiving coast made for certain calamity to any unwary or unfortunate vessel and over the years there were plenty. With no escape from the water, most of the crew and passengers met an unfortunate end along with 

At Bells Beach

the floundering vessels.
Several key light houses and signaling posts were quickly set up to help aid ships navigation and one of those was the lighthouse and signaling station at Cape Otway.  We exited off the main road and found our way through the Eucalyptus and Gum trees littered with Koalas happily resting in their Eucalyptus leaf drugged state. Now a maritime museum we climbed the lighthouse and marvelled at the changing ship to shore communications. At the advent of the station, a flagpole was erected to display signals by appropriate flags. This was replaced by Morse code followed by telex and fax. communication now is by long and short wave radio and satellite phone.
Also of note there was also an aboriginal heritage camp their which shed an enormous amount of light on the surrounding area. The region to the north is predominantly sandstone. That changes however south of Apollo Bay where Limestone becomes the significant rock formation which provided both the fabulous formations over the next one hundred kilometers and the stone for the buildings in both South Australia and Victoria.

I liken the Otoway national park to the Big Surr in the US ride. As if anticipating the need for a break from the buffeting the coast dealt out, the highway hits the Otway National Park and immediately furrows through magnificent rain forest offering protection from the wind and giving a treat for the senses. As the aroma of eucalyptus mixes with the earthy natural mulch, it gives off a refreshing and calming change from the salt blowing in with the the heavy maritime air.



Cape Otway Koala

 Although the cliffs remain constant heading south, the waves are broken up before smashing onto the cliff face by enormous pillars of limestone. Immediately south are the famous 12 apostles followed by "London Bridge", all the more apt since half of the structure has since fallen down!
Further south again is the Bay of Martyrs, hundreds of smaller rocky outcrops littering the bay.
Our journey was constantly being broken as we pulled over, removed helmets and gloves, took photos and returned!






London Bridge



Bay of Martyrs

If Torquay is the heart of this coast, then Warnambool is its origin. It was the first bay set up for safe navigation and where supplies and cargo both human and solid were dropped off. I was looking forward to visiting this town and there was a certain amount of anticipation as we approached. In reality though, it was too big to be quaint and full of character, but not big enough to develop its own bustle and personality. We  kept riding around looking for something but alas we found nothing.  There is a laser light show at Flagstaff Pt but persistent rain and desire to get dry and warm kept us tucked in our hotel room. Early next morning we drove down to the harbour and had breakfast at the surf club watching as bare bodies braved the 14 degree temperatures to plunge into the 12 degree water! Adding to that it was the only surf club I have been into with an open fireplace as a centrepiece.
A short ride following the coast we came across Port Fairy. A small coastal town that was everything Warnambool was not. It was a Saturday morning and the town markets were humming with activity and yachts of all descriptions lined the wharfs running through the town, their wet weather gear drooped over the rigging in a forlorn attempt to dry in the weak Easter sun. We were only there half an hour but I was already besotted and vowed to stay here on the return trip.



Port Fairy

 Our next stop was at Portland, a return to the larger commercial town with a huge breakwater enclosing the expanse of water and creating a calm playground for the residents. Here, over lunch we mat John, a visitor and soon to be Harley owner. Waiting on the delivery of his Street Glide we chatted for some time before exchanging numbers and promising to share a ride when back in Melbourne. Here, as  with the whole of the trip the Road King seemed to attract plenty of attention and photographs, with no end of friendly banter and appreciation of what a father and son on a Harley were doing here!





Water frontage - Nelson



From Portland we had two options as we crossed the border into South Australia to Mount Gambier. Off course we chose the coastal path that lead to the tiny town of Nelson with its houses anchored into the riverbank but essentially counter levered over the water. An ice cream and photos and we took our first major turn west, leaving the winding coastal road and blustery maritime air for the immediately more tranquil inland air and long straight roads leading us to South Australia. We covered the 100kms to Mount Gambier in the blink of an eye and immediately came across its gem. Mount Gambier is an extinct volcano and its peak is an enormous crater filled with that volcanic deep blue water that one could only imagine how deep but gives the impression of being bottomless. Around its rim were some really pretty houses.  We were on a mission now to complete the last one hundred kilometers before darkness and the threat of Kangaroos so we left all too soon for Narracorte. The straight, flat roads made the trip pass without incident and after travelling 350km in the days run we were happy to order pizza in house.

 It was a fresh, sunny Easter Sunday that greeted us

entering South Australia

 from our warm hotel room and as we packed  there was a new energy and excitement. The quietness of four days of father/son bonding was to be replaced with lots of children and people. Joanna's children Konnor, Jordan and Elise were waiting with all sorts of balls and games and so we were now on a mission. We did however,  treat ourselves to an Easter Egg having found its way into our packs before we left.

With more long, straight roads I was able to take in more of the surroundings. Coonawarra is a famous wine region hosting vineyards from some of Australia's top drops. Penfolds, Lindeman and
Yallumba are some of the names that have helped made the region famous, and although we didn't stop at any of the cellar doors available, rows upon rows of vines camouflaged by rose bush's, willows and maples with leaves turning gold,  and green pines made for a magnificent backdrop. Approaching Adelaide we began to meander along a broad highway meandering through the green fields and verandered buildings perched on magnificent blocks of manicured gardens. The riding was easy and fun with cornering allowing good visibility and duel lanes  keeping oncoming traffic clear.
Compared to Melbourne and Sydney traffic, Adelaide is wide, relatively free of traffic and generally easy to get around. Its streets are lined with trees and the houses seemed to pride themselves with stone veneer fronts and fine gardens. It is obviously a great climate for growing roses and they adorned the fine gardens in all their array of colours and varieties and scents, making riding through them both visually and aromatically appealing. .

Blue lake-Mount Gambier



Having arrived and immediately being swamped by children, our days consisted of basketball, football, tennis, and general play. Except for some pics of the Panda's at the zoo I will leave our magnificent journey there. Four wonderful days together meeting incredibly friendly and helpful people liiving out childhood dreams and learning some history and geography on the way.
We look forward to many more opportunities on the return home,  but for now we fly back from Adelaide, happy, content and satisfied with an Easter that had a lot of everything.