DaY 025 - The Great Ocean Road

Hi All,

Before I start, something came to mind. Whilst I'm travelling, if you have any suggestions or ideas about the places I'm heading to, let me know. You can email me at monty_os@hotmail.com.

So, for today, I did lots of different things. Predominantly I drove the Great Ocean Road, well most of it. Where does it actually start and finish anyway? And why does about 80kms of it not actually follow the coastline anyway?

So I'm in Port Campbell, a lovely little town, right in the middle of it all.

I've been to the Cape Otway Lightstation, a lighthouse built in 1848 ( I think it's the oldest in Victoria). Quick nice, but probably not worth the price of entry, and the driving required to get there. But on a strange note, there's plenty of Koalas out there, every 2 minutes there's a whole bunch of cars stopped on the side of the road with people taking photos of them.

I also went to the Otway tree top walk. It's a stroll through the rainforests of the Otways, with the main area of it being a walk through the top of the trees, thanks to the sometimes moving, sometimes swaying metal walkways, that take you up 50 metres. And yes, I'm still scared of heights.

By the time I got the the 12 Apostles, and Loch Ard Gorge, it was later in the day, so the photos weren't great, so I'll have to go again tomorrow, along with 27,000 other sites to see. btw: the 12 Apostles is so much different than the last time I went. hundreds of car parks, filled with cars. And helicopter flights. Mmmm, might have to do that tomorrow, but $100 for 10 minutes, is it worth it.


anyway, time to go and relax. Hope you are all well.

Day 024 - Bells Beach Pro

So, starting the day off with a bit of shopping, no, I haven't had an operation, I headed up to all the surf shops in Torquay for a little purchasing. With new clothes in hand, I then headed off to Bells Beach, to watch the beginning day of the Bells Beach Rip Curl Pro. Unfortunately I didn't get to see Kelly Slater, or any other male surfers, as it appeared to be a female day only. So I stayed there for about 2 hours, before heading off. It was nice to sit down on the beach and relax whilst watching.

From Bells Beach, I headed down to Lorne, where I did a few things. Firstly, I headed up to Erskine Falls, a lovely little waterfall up in the hills. Secondly, after all that exercise, I went to the beach to go for a swim. Lots of people, including myself, doing bodysurfing. Lastly, went to the Pier in Lorne, which is almost brand new, and has been rated in the past as being a great place for fishing. Well, in the 3 hours I was there, I was the only person to catch not 1, but 2 fish, a little leatherjacket and the biggest Trevally I've caught not in Queensland (they grow big there).

Oh, and finally, I had a Parma at the Lorne Hotel. I commented on this, as it was fantastic (top 5 of all time). Must come back.

Catch you soon.

Bells Beach Pro

Trevally

Days 19 to 23 - Have you missed me

Hi Everyone, I hope you're all well. It's been a few days since I last created one of these, and already my fingers have forgotten how to type.

So what have I been up to? Well, since I got to Bendigo, I've done the following:

1. Went to the Central Deborah Gold Mine in Bendigo. That was really cool, and I got to go down 60 odd metres in an active underground gold-mine, and get an understanding of what happened back in the old days, as well a what still happens now.
2. Drove to Kyneton where suprisingly enough, the Victory Hotel, the pub from the VB ad, is. And another surpise, it's not a pub, it's an old hospital.
3. Went to Hanging Rock, where I did a bit of a climb up the hill. No, I didn't get lost.
4. Caught up with Faye and Peter, and had a lovely night with them. I also had the best sleep since I started on my holiday, must be something to do with having a nice bed, rather than a blow-up mattress to sleep on.
5. Came home to spend a couple of days with Mum, family and friends. That was no relaxing 2 days, as I didn't settle down at all.
6. Went fishing for Elephant Fish with a couple of friends, and managed to catch one. Ok, as per usual, Cade caught more than me, but did he catch a shark as well?
7. Went to the footy to see the "Pies" beat the Doggies. Gotta love football.

And now I'm back on my holiday trail, and have travelled far. I'm staying in Torquay, on the start of a few days travelling down the Great Ocean Road. I'll be site-seeing and fishing along the way, as well as going to see the start of the Bell Beach Rip-Curl Pro, which started today. Hopefully I can get a photo with one of the surfers there. I also did a bit of Snorkeling today, down at Queenscliff, where I saw lots of lovely little animals.

Dafydd with "Jaws", a School Shark

Dafydd at the Victory Hotel

Day 018 - B to B

Hi All,

For today's adventures, I drove from Ballarat to Bendigo. To get there, I had to go via the following:

1. Tangled Maze - one of those mazes created with bushes. Lots of fun, it took me about 40 minutes to get out.
2. Hepburn Springs - had to catch up on a little natural water. Should have brought my toggs though, they've got a nice spa resort there now.
3. Daylesford - I don't know what all the fuss was about. Nice town, but where isn't.
4. Castlemaine - so it always concerns me when the tourist office says "not much" when you ask them what's to do in their home town.
5. Bendigo - so I'm here now, and I couldn't not go by Pugg Mahones, for old times sake. I also took a few hours out to go see a movie, it mustn't have been that good, I can't remember the name of it already.

This will probably be my last entry for a few days. Stay tuned though, I'll be heading down the Great Ocean Road next Monday.

Have fun.

Olympic Symbol - Lake WendoureeTangled Maze

What day is it now??

Hi Y'all,

So I've moved on from Halls Gap, and have made it to Ballarat. I know, I'm soooo far away from home now. But not for long...

Bill, I decided to think of you this morning, and went to climb Mount William, before I headed out of the Grampians region. I have to say, you beat me, it was a too steep a climb, but still, nice views.

From there I headed down south, looking for a couple of Volcanic craters. The main one in the area, suggested by the local information desk, was called Mount Elephant, so I headed down there. Unfortunately, I didn't get told that I couldn't get to the top, so I just had to appreciate it from a distance.

After that, I had headed down to Ballarat, to do the Sovereign Hill thing. Lovely place, much better than it's Swan Hill equivalent, but I guess it could be, it had so many staff. One thing to suggest, make sure you see all the timed events, it certainly makes you feel like you're back in the old/gold days.

So I finished the day off, walking around the main strip of town, where I found a restaurant that I love and adore. See photos below.

Days 15 + 16 - And along came a spider....

Hi everyone,

So, to improve on my last day, I decided to start the day well. Not!! So I get up out of bed, and you know how you feel, not quite fully there. I walk into the bathroom, and find myself covered with spiderwebs. Not so bad. I look around, trying to find the culprit, and there it is, a red-back spider, crawling along the floor. I wake up immediately, and squish the little fella. So much for just checking under the toilet seat.

But that was the only bad thing for the day. Since then, I've done lots of things. I've driven more than 600 kms, done about 7 bush walks, both in Wyperfeld and Grampians National Parks.

I'm not up for writing too much today, but will put some more in in the next few days. Off to Ballarat tomorrow, might even go to Sovereign Hill.

Oh, I also am too tired to add some photos, as I've only taken about 120 in the last 2 days.

Have fun

Days 12 to 14 - Swan Hill to Hopetoun....with a whole lot inbetween

Hi everyone, I hope you're well. Me, I've had a mixture of relaxing and enjoyable times, along with some not so nice times.

The good stuff first. I drove from Swan Hill to Mildura, one to see Mildura, but mainly to catch up with some old friends, the Isaacs. Originally this family lived across the road from me, back when I was a baby, then as joint Easter holidayers when they moved to Mildura, I hadn't seen the girls since I was about 15 years old. And funny, they're all still exactly the same as I remember them. It was so great to catch up with them, and hopefully will catch up again in a shorter time frame (did I say 23 years) than the last one.

The bad stuff. On my thoughts over the last year, I'd thought of the "top 5" places I'd like to see in this trip and one of them was Mungo National Park. And I guess I might have thought too much of it, as I was fairly dissappointed with it today.

Firstly, the Visitors Office was only open between 11:30 and 12, 30 minutes.
Secondly, my accommodation that I organised there wasn't organised, and I couldn't ask anyone about it, as I wasn't there between 11:30 and 12.
Thirdly, they weren't answering their phone (and no mobile reception).
Forthly, there's a 70 km circuit track to go and see all the sites, but it was closed off after about 15kms.
Lastly, it's all now restricted in where you can go, you can't actually go walking through the main tourist site.

So feeling let down, I only spent about 90 minutes there, after it took me about 2.5 hours to actually get there. And then I just decided to keep driving, so here I am, in a little town called Hopetoun. Hopefully my day is better tomorrow.

Me, Ray, Jenny and Sandra

Carolyn and me

Mungo - Walls of China

Days 10 and 11 - Cobram to Swan Hill

Hi Everyone,

Well, what's been happening since I last wrote? Well, I've travelled a bit, going from Cobram to Swan Hill, about 30 kilometres, stopping in Lake Charm for the night.

As you can see by the pictures below, I've caught a few fish, unfortunately the Murray Cod has still avoided me. But Perch, at least I think that's what they are, have come to my table. A couple of things of note in fishing in the country.

1. Locals don't know where to fish, I ask people, but they don't know.
2. There are no fishing charters in the country on the Murray, could be a retirement job me thinks.
3. They use anything as bait. The last bait I used was Coon cheese, recommended by not 1, but 3 different people. Did it work, no. Witchety Grubs worked today, but at $2 a grub, it's an expensive business.

What else did I get up to? In Swan Hill, I went to the Pioneer Settlement, which is like a small version of Sovereign Hill. I also took a steamer boat along the Murray, a lovely relaxing trip.

In Lake Charm, I put up a tent, the only one in this caravan park along the lake, so very busy. Had lots of swims in the lake, but only caught 2 fish.

So what's next. Catching up with family friends for the next 2 nights in Mildura, and then off to Munga National Park I hope. Then homeward bound by the next weekend, before setting off on the actual big trip. Stay tuned.

Mini "perch" fish in Lake CharmLarger "Perch" fish from the Murray at Swan Hill

Day 9 - Rutherglen to Cobram

Hi All,

Another day where I'm not working. It was a lovely relaxing day, going from Rutherglen to Cobram, a drive of just over an hour (as I was cruising). As I said yesterday, I returned to Pfeiffers today, and had a short spell there, chatting away to Kylie, Chris and Jen. Like usual, I spent just over 2 hours there, but luckily got away without buying lots of bottles. btw: Cade, you'll need to pay for a purchase I made for you, nothing big, just a couple of dozen.

I found a place to stay in Cobram run by the RACV. A lovely place, I feel a bit underdone though. Every other person/couple has a caravan there. But lucky me, I've got 3 beds to choose from, I might sleep in all of them.

I spent the afternoon in and out of the pool, nice and relaxing, before heading off for a few hours of fishing. This time no success, I think it was due to using Yabbies as bait. I think they bit me more times than I got fishing biting my bait. I really need to hunt down a charter boat in the next day or so, I really want that Murray Cod.

Anyway, here's some pictures. I probably wont be online tomorrow night, as I'll be camping.

Stay tuned.

Mmm, Parkers Pie.

Cobram Resort Pool

Giant Strawberry

Day 8 - Mount Beauty to Rutherglen

Ok, so after just one night, I've decided to leave the ever peaceful (ok, not much happens there) Mount Beauty, and travel on to Rutherglen. Along the way I visited a number of little regions, including Yakandandah, a lovely place for all those 70's people, Lake Hume and it's associated Dam, and Wodonga. I have to say, I was pretty impressed with the Hume Dam, not for it's water use, but from the fact that I could see all these "big" fishes swimming around, if only I could have gone fishing from the top of the dam.

So Rutherglen. It's definitely different being here when it's not a "festival" weekend. I popped in to Pfeiffers (as if I wouldn't), and all the staff still remember me by name. Unfortunately Jen was away today, so I'll have to go there tomorrow morning, as see if she can convince me to buy some wine (hah!).

I also talked to some yokels about fishing, and they all gave me some tips on what to use, and where to go. Bottom line, I fished for 2 hours, and caught 1 fish, which I've attached a picture off. Anyway, it's my goal this week to catch a Murray Cod, I'm going to see if I can get an
expert to take me out at Cobram tomorrow.

Check out the photos.

Days 5 to 7... Mount Buffalo.

Hi Everyone, I hope all is well. It's been 3 days, so I'll try and summarise what I've been up to, for a change.

I've spent the last 3 days up in Mount Buffalo, camping for the first time on this trip, before now being situated in a caravan in Mount Beauty. A summary of what I can tell you:

• In 2.5 days in Mount Buffalo, I did 11 walks/hikes, which added up to approximately 40kms.
• I saw all sorts of wild life and great scenery.
• I met all sort of different people, most of which were either german, swedish, or old.
• I slept on top of the mountain, where it was warm in the daytime, and freezing in the nighttime.
• I went for a swim in the lake next to the campsite, all for about 10 seconds before I had to jump out.
• I spotted a 3-4 pound brown trout on one of my walks, and was upset that I didn't bring the fishing gear on the trip.

Anyway, I've now left that area, and have moved on to Mount Beauty, which isn't really a mountain at all, but a small town. It's surrounded by all the well-known mountains, and the main people I've seen are bycyclists, so I've been taking corners a lot faster now.

I'm off to Rutherglen tomorrow, via Wodonga (apparently there's a big show going on there.).

Take a look at the photos below. And in case you haven't worked it out, I definitely loved Mount Buffalo, a mountain that everyone should go to at least once in their lives.

See ya

the little cricket ground at the top of the mountain

all the walks I did.

From Eildon to Porepunkah

Day 4 started badly, with my stomach not feeling well, and not getting any better. That's right Steve, Mr Whippy was returned. But apparently it was only short lived, hey, I come prepared these days.

So, after leaving Eildon, I did lots of travelling. First port of call was to go through/past Bonnie Doon. And no, I didn't see the "The Castle" house, thanks to my NavMan that said it was in Mansfield. So I went to Mansfield as well, lovely little town.

From Mansfield I drove through Benalla, and then headed to Lake Mokoan, you know, that really big lake that you see on the left side of the road when you head up the Hume. Well anyway, all it was was a huge bunch of dead trees, damn water shortage. Getting very short on fuel, I headed in to Glenrowan, to have a chat with Ned Kelly. Funny, he wasn't very talkative.

From Glenrowan, I drove through Wangaratta, and headed to Beechworth, my planned night-stay location. After walking around the town for an hour, and it still being reasonably early in the day, I decided to drive on to Porepunkah, the town at the bottom of Mount Buffalo. It was lovely to have swim in the pool there, and kick back and relax.

Tomorrow I'm heading up onto Mount Buffalo, and plan to be there for either 2 or 3 nights. While up there, I'll assume that I'll be out of contact. Stay tuned for my next location entry, either Bright, or Wodonga.

See ya.

Day 3, and the rain clears, almost.

Well I woke up today, and loy and behold, it's raining. But by the time Cade and I had showered and eaten breakfast, the weather had come good.

So after some friendly advise from the locals, we grabbed our fishing rods, and headed down to the water. Although we were aiming for something bigger, catching 3 redfin, sitting around near the water, a lovely morning was had. And yes, I caught the first one too.

After saying goodbye to Cade, I decided to head back to the Cathedral Ranges, which I'd driven past the day before. It's amazing, that last year over 90% of the Cathedral Ranges was involved in the bushfires.

I did two walks/hikes whilst I was there, and probably mis-judged it a little. The first walk, up Sugarloaf saddle, was closed about 200 metres up, but I went through it and went almost to the top. Just as I got near the top, it started raining, and as I'd need to jump from rock to rock, I decided against it.

The second walk as even harder. Very much like Mt Oberon, it was a consistent climb uphill, at about 30-40 degrees on angle. A number of times I almost chose to give up, and should have, cause at the top, it was too hard to take in the beautiful scenery.

Anyway, I'm back now in my hotel, and will be off to Beechworth in the morning. Stay tuned.

And so the trip begins, along with the rain.

Hi Everyone,


The day has arrived, and I've now been on the road 2 days, and have done quite a few things. Firstly I'd like to thank all the people who came along for my first night away, you know who you are.....

So what have I done....

Well the first day involved driving the long distance to Healesville, where we went to the Healesville Sanctuary. I believe it's been over 20 years since I was there last, and a lot has changed. My only critisism was that I didn't get to see any Echidnas, but oh well, I'm sure I'll get a chance to see them again in the next few months. After that we sent a lovely few hours at the Innocent Bystander, for drinks and a meal, a place that everyone should go to when they head that way.

My second day involved recovering for too many wines, and then heading out to see a few things. We then headed off to see and walk around Maroondam Dam, getting lost in the process, before heading off to Marysville for lunch. I was last there in August, and at that time is was totally missing as a town, but now it's starting to come back, with a few buildings returning. From there, Cade and I said good-bye to the other travellers, and headed off to Eildon, and on way going to the Buxton trout farm, a few non-exciting place to catch fish.

From there I we went to on the way going to Snubs Creek Falls, a lovely waterfall up in the hillls near Eildon.

Anyway, just kicking back now in the motel room, and planning my next few days. It should look like the following:

another night in Eildon, trying to catch some fish.

a night in Beechworth, before heading to Mount Buffalo, for a few days of relaxation and hiking.

Catch you soon.

One more sleep to go

Hi Everyone/someone,

I hope you're all going well. At stated above, I have only 1 more sleep to go until I head out on my journey. This time tomorrow, I'll be at my first location, Healesville. Ok ok, I know, it's not that far, but I'm doing it for 2 reasons.

1. I've wanted to go to the sanctuary there for a long time and;
2. A few good friends are coming along for the ride (at least for the first night anyway).

Over the next few days I'll be moving up towards Albury/Wodonga, before heading up towards Mildura.

Stay tuned for my next, and most likely more interested blog.

2 days down, 253 to go

Hi All, well, this is officially my first entry post starting my long service leave. The last 2 days I took my mum to Warnambool, to visit our closest family relatives, Glynn and Carol. And a lovely time was had. I have to say, they're two of the nicest people you could meet.

Anyway, a trip to Warnambool wouldn't be right without me doing a little fishing, plus that gave the adults a couple of hours without me. And a successful fishing trip was had. See images below.

Oh, and my car went the whole way (600 kms) with one tank of gas, I'm pretty happy with that.

Finally, 5 sleeps to go till the big trip begins. Any final tips?