Daylesford and off to Tassie

Daylesford and then to Tassie

11 - 12 December 2015

We drove to Warrnambool and it continued to rain. Stopping to check out a record stall in a market place, we were assaulted by an icy cold wind - again. We didn't hang around long, and set off for Ballarat after a hot coffee and a very quick walk back to the car.

As we drove, it continued to rain - it wasn't looking good for a dry overnight stop. We had lunch at the local take-away cafe in Lismore, then arrived in Ballarat and it was still raining. The forecast map had suggested there wouldn't be any rain there so we checked the rain radar, forecasts and considered our options. Back on the road, on our way to Daylesford, we started to see clear skies. Yay! 

Once in Daylesford we checked out one caravan park, before settling on the other. We were greeted by friendly staff, and informed that firewood had been left in the stone hut for the use of campers if required. The forecast overnight temperature was 4 degrees, so we were sure it would be used.

Bright sunshine ensured the camper trailer was completely dry when we retired for the night - all rugged up against the cold. We couldn't confirm the overnight low, but my little clock/thermometer showed 6 degrees at about 2am. 

When we rose the sun was still shining - thank goodness - and we packed up as more clouds gathered. We set off for Clarkefield where we would store the camper trailer while we went to Tasmania. We found our way easily to the storage facility. We were advised that there was a big shopping centre not far away, and the GPS suggested that we were only 1/2 hour from Melbourne so we decided to spend the afternoon at the Craigieburn shopping centre. Lunch, a movie and a spot of shopping filled up the time before we needed to make our way to the Spirit of Tasmania.

We found our way to Melbourne easily enough, but navigating the freeways and on-off ramps, with the tangle of streets proved very problematic. We did get lost! Eventually we started to see familiar things and arrived at Station Pier in plenty of time.

Where's the Spirit? Easy enough to see from the Westgate Bridge but not that easy to get to.

First we queued for the quarantine inspection, then we queued to check in, then we queued to board. Eventually we made our way to our cabin, left our gear (took a sea sick tablet) and set off for a drink in the bar. The boat has been recently refurbished and the public areas are vastly improved. After a couple of drinks and a light meal, we headed back to the cabin.

The journey was fairly calm, with some higher swells just out of the heads. We both managed to sleep quite well. The ship was due to dock in Devonport at 6:00am with 6:30am disembarkation. A wake-up announcement was made at about 5:45am. We were already up, so we headed out in search of coffee.

Once off the Spirit of Tasmania, it was only a short drive to eldest daughter Julia's house in Devonport.

Melbourne

12 – 13 April 2015

After a calm trip across Bass Strait, on a beautiful day, we arrived in Melbourne and made our way to St Kilda to stay at a backpackers’. We thought we might be too old for this sort of accommodation but our kids had stayed there on their way to Tassie and this particular one offers motel style rooms – just perfect for people like us. The nearby pizza place served a tasty pizza at a good price.

Leaving Melbourne on Monday morning, we (I) made the mistake of not getting onto the motorway soon enough. Who knows how much time that added to out journey! We made the usual stops – coffee, op shops, picnic lunch, visitor information centre – before choosing to camp at Croajingalong National Park.

Melbourne

14 - 15 March 2015

Leaving our beautiful campsite, we again stopped to photograph resident koalas - they are such beautiful creatures. We headed back to Apollo Bay for morning tea and had a walk around the markets in the park. There was some local produce as well as arts and crafts. 

Next stop was Lorne for lunch. It was so crowded - not sure if it's like this every weekend. On to Airey's Inlet and a visit to the Split Point Lighthouse. This lighthouse featured in the popular children's television series "Round the Twist". There are walking paths around the headland, and lots of low coastal scrub that should have been home to birds - but they were all hiding when we were there. We did notice some surfers on the water below but they seemed to be doing more bobbing than surfing.

Split Point Lighthouse

The Great Ocean Road ends at Torquay and you start the journey into Melbourne, passing through Geelong. We took the motorway for most of the trip so probably missed most of the city traffic - although there were lots of cars on the motorway. Fortunately we had booked our accommodation in advance earlier in the week, and that's when we discovered it was Melbourne Grand Prix weekend - the $500 per night tariff for city hotels, and no caravan park cabins at all, was a dead giveaway. We ended up with a motel room out near the Sandown Raceway. Clean and tidy, and very reasonably priced, it was perfectly adequate for our needs.

We had a very early - 5.00am -start in order to get to the Spirit of Tasmania for check in which commenced at 6.00am. With little traffic that early on a Sunday morning the drive took about 35 minutes - and the GPS even knew the way!