The last days of our 2012 Road Trip - Dubbo to Brisbane

Leaving Tocumwal early morning we continued our journey on the Newell Highway through the parched and potentially explosive land stopping at Narandera for morning tea at a very nice and busy bakery. 

Near Jeraldie

Returning to the highway we noticed the Tiger Moth Museum beside the Information Centre and decided to delay our departure to take a look. Our very dear friend, Joe, once told us that he had spent some time here training with the Air Force during the Second World War and, as he is no longer with us, we paid a heartfelt tribute to the lovely man he was and the great friendship we enjoyed with him.

Tiger Moth Museum, Naranderi, New South Wales

As we were keen to get to Dubbo as quickly as we could to have time with our family we stopped only briefly in a park at West Wyalong for lunch and arrived at Dubbo early in the afternoon. Dubbo has a great outdoor water complex so we took advantage of that to swim a little, play around a lot and to enjoy our reunion.

Family time over we separated and travelled in opposite directions - homeward for us. We chose to continue on the Newell Highway with plans to branch off to explore a different route further along the track. Approaching Coonabarabran we came across the Warumbungles again, this time the southern view. How lovely they looked!

Warrumbungle National Park

On previous trips up and down we had merely passed through Coonabarabran so, as we were in no hurry now, we decided to stop and take a walk around. There is actually a lot to do from this endearing small town and I noted a pleasant looking caravan park for future reference. There's not much walking needed to take in the main street, however we had an appetite and discovered a friendly cafe, Cardian's, where we enjoyed the best Big Brunch scrambled eggs I've had at any cafe. Scrambled eggs are a bit too fussy to make when camping so the choice was an easy one!

Main Street, Coonabarabran

Back on the road, we were soon passing through Narrabri looking for a small road that would eventually lead us to the most challenging and potentially disastrous experience of our trip, the road through Mt Kaputar National Park.

Road into Mt Kaputar National Park from Newell Highway

At first the road was wide and flat with a few cattle here and there but we were soon winding our way uphill on a narrower road. There were a few places where we could get off the road to stop and look around. The day was very still and there were butterflies all around in places and birds high in trees calling out. This was well worth deviating from our easiest route home!

Mt Kaputar

On the other side of the mountain we came into a wide, lush valley with a river wandering through. The greenness surprised us after the hundreds of kilometres of tinderbox yellow and brown. At the end of the valley we arrived at Bingara, a pretty place on the Gwyndir River. 

By this time we were in need of a rest stop and a cup of tea and thought that a spot on the riverbank would be great. I then spotted a sign indicating a lookout a kilometre along the river and, as that sounded a great place to enjoy our break, I pointed the van in the direction indicated and off we went, following the river. Another sign was spotted indicating a right turn up a slight slope. Below it was a small addition "Not suitable for caravans." 

Up I drove, around a bend, to discover that I was now driving UP the steepest road I could ever imagine, bar one. [ When I was a child my father drove us all down a stock route on Banks Peninsula, New Zealand. I have never forgotten that long tense ride with my terrified siblings huddled in the back of the Studebaker.]

To make the right turn I had changed down into third gear but I was soon down, very cautiously, into second. The road ahead seemed to be totally vertical and I had someone having a massive panic attack in the passenger seat. I remember feeling very calm and clear knowing that I needed to get that vehicle to the top or we would have no hope of avoiding a nasty and helpless situation. I shut  out everything going on around me, determined to coax the engine that really wanted to stall, to crawl excruciatingly up, up, up.

We made it. Just.

The problem now was, how were we to get down? I suggested that we have our cuppa and work out a plan.

Bingara from the Lookout

While we were having our tea we heard motorbikes below and three bikers on Harley Davidsons appeared on the road below. Only one of them made it to the top without completely stalling. That proves it really is steep, I thought.

Other side of Bingara from the Lookout

After our break I walked a few metres down to take a photo of the Lookout sign.

H.F Battersham Memorial Lookout, Bingara

Going down proved to be easy - in first gear all the way.
On we went, along the Gwyndir Highway stopping overnight at Inverell before joining the New England Highway to Tenterfield. A short stretch along the Bruxner Highway came next with a deviation along a road we had never travelled before through Benalbo, Urbanville and Woodenbong.

Near Urbanville, New South Wales

From Woodenbong we were on familiar territory as we have camped there several times. Today, however, the goal was to get home to welcome in the New Year.

New South Wales - Queensland Border

After a couple of stops to try to capture an image of the songful birds that always fascinate us along the Mt Lindsay Highway, we were soon back home after the longest road trip we had ever made - 5,378 kilometres.

As always, home looked luxurious, familiar and comfortable. We were soon sitting, wine glass in hand farewelling a very difficult and challenging year but one that had ended very happily.

Plans for another road trip were already being made!

[These last two posts have languished in the edit box awaiting photo selection from the 2000 pics taken. ]

Hopkins River, Gnotuk, Ballarat, Bendigo, Echuca and Tocumwal

Time now to head for home! Someone was missing his family and wondering how his garden was surviving without water and tender care. Hearing that the Grandchildren were staying at Dubbo to see the zoo there made Sam determined to get there to see them before they continued their holiday elsewhere! Urgency reared its head for the first time on our trip!

We left Hopkins River and followed the Princes Highway passing Terang before stopping at a tiny place named Gnotuk where we had a cuppa under some shady trees in a roadside park. The day was really hot and, as this was the last shade we saw for some hours, it was a good decision!

 At Gnotuk we left the Princes Highway and took a very quiet and less travelled route, seeing only one vehicle, a farm ute, along the full length of the road. The road, although a minor route was very easy to drive, mostly rolling hills sparsely covered in electric, parched grasses. When I got out of the van to take a few photos I felt that I and the grass under my feet could easily blow up in flames. At the southern part of the route there were a few small lakes where a few waterbirds could be seen gathered around the edges. From the map we knew that there was a much larger lake, Lake Corangamite on the Eastern side of the road and at one point we caught  a glimpse of it. Or so we thought! It could have been a mirage as the heat bounced off the land tricking our vision along the way.

Lake Gnarpart, Victoria

This road ended at another tiny place, Duverney, where we briefly joined the Hamilton Highway as far as Cressy where we again took a minor route passing tiny settlements such as Rokewood and Enfield before arriving at Ballarat. 

Some years ago I was fortunate to have a few days in Ballarat with my sister and her girls and we took in the Sovereign Hill night show. I  had hoped to share this experience again with Sam as it had given me a real appreciation of the fight early Australia immigrants, miners, had put up to secure the political rights we enjoy today. These rights need to be actively and vigilantly safeguarded - my travels overseas have shown me how easy it is for them to be sneakily eroded. This re enactment of the colonial government's savage response to the gold miner's rebellion, in December 1854, against the corrupt and arbitrary treatment they received by soldiers collecting taxes gave us our Southern Cross flag and hastened the end of colonial rule. The pull of grandchildren for Sam was too great so we gave this enlightening show a miss and hurried through the town.

During this road trip we passed through many very small settlements and places that would be called "villages" in many other countries and it always amazed me just how many churches even tiny places had. Then I remembered that many of those now small or even tiny places were, in times past, very much bigger and also that religion dominated lives far more than it does today with strong demarcation lines between churches. No inter denominational services those days.

Cathedral at Bendigo

Bendigo was an interesting looking town with many colonial buildings that I'd like to get into however time was short so I stopped only to take a look at the impressive Cathedral. It reminded me of the Christchurch Cathedral in New Zealand where I often attended Sunday Evensong to enjoy the music. Sadly that Cathedral is no more as it came tumbling down during the recent massive earthquake that wrecked that city.

Church at Echuca

Stop we did at Echua though! This is a very pretty little town on the Murray River and it used to be a busy inland port in the 1850s. Sadly we didn't have time to take a paddle wheeler steamboat river cruise or explore the cute river houseboats tied up at the wharf. Once again many churches stood out. The one above now has a life as a childcare centre. Echuca is definitely on my list of places to return to.

Onwards we went and across the State Border into New South Wales where we stopped for the night at a place with an unusual sounding, almost Mexican, name - Tocumwal. I checked to find that Tocumwal is an Aboriginal word meaning a deep hole in the river. The river is the mighty Murray and the hole must surely be deep, judging by the number of fishing and boating people with camps set up at the water's edge. The famous Murray cod had pride of place alongside the banks.

Murray River, Tocumwal

Murray River Cod

After a very pleasant night among the gum trees we took a last look at the Murray. 

Murray River, Tocumwal

 Next stop - Dubbo. And Grandchildren.

Warrnambool and Tower Hill

As we were now well into the peak holiday season with tourist operators scaring Freedom Travellers such as ourselves into believing that there was absolutely no accommodation available anywhere we prudently accepted the first campsite we came across at Hopkins River. This suited us very well as, being a few kilometres away from Warrnambool, it was in a wide open space and, being bordered by the river with farms all around, also allowed us to forget that we were in a big park with hundreds of other holiday makers.

Hopkins River, Victoria

Except for fishing, for which you need a boat, there's nothing to do in the immediate vicinity at Hopkins River so we headed to Warrnambool just five kilometres away. Situated on the mouth of the Hopkins River Warrnambool is a pleasant city of about 34,000 people with trees and parks providing eye appeal. The seaside was rather breezy and holiday makers were instead enjoying the fun parks and cafes, leaving the beach for all but a few brave souls.

War Memorial, Warrnambool

This Memorial sits high on the hill so cannot be missed. I was pleased to see that the Warrnambool women who lost their lives received a mention.

I'd only heard of howitzers so I was interested to see these from the 1914 - 1918 war. The killing machines certainly have become very much more accurate and efficient in the past hundred years. I was interested to learn that the modern howitzer was invented in the late 1600s by Sweden, a country that is not nowadays quickly associated with war.

Howitzer 1914 - 1918

The port at Warrnambool had its hey day during the Victorian gold rush period in the 1850s. Today we saw leisure craft and a couple of tourist cruise boats.

Warrnambool

As it was just a little windy to walk on the beach we decided to head for Port Fairy however a sign indicating a Reserve caught my attention and I turned down a narrow, twisty one way road, much to the consternation of my spouse who likes to know exactly where we are going!

Tower Hill Road

His protestations ceased abruptly when he spotted this emu on the road and reached for a camera. From that moment on I had made a good choice!

Emu

We had previously seen wild emus only twice - once from the train near Rockhampton and once north of Port Douglas - hence the excitement.[ Once we were settled at a picnic table the enthusiasm wore off as several of them tried to snatch the food off our plates.]
The road continued, passing small lakes until a sign informed us that we had arrived at Tower Hill Reserve. This seemed to be just the kind of place we liked - a peaceful place with trees and water and wild life all around. Noticing that we were sheltered from the wind, we decided to have lunch and then visit the Information Centre to get an idea of what this place was all about.

Koala in a gum tree

Our visit here lasted three hours or so and koala slept the whole time, occasionally opening an eye and shifting a little to offer some excitement to the multi national visitors' clicking cameras.

Wagon Bay Walk, Tower Hill

Our visit to the Information centre informed us that Tower Hill is the site of a volcano that erupted about 32,000 years ago forming a shallow crater which later filled with water. The conical shaped hills [ see the emu on the road photo] are the result of subsequent eruptions. 

There are several different walks visitors can enjoy and we selected the easiest of these, the Wagon Bay Walk. Our leisurely stroll took us around one of the small lakes, small birds flitting away as we approached and things rustling in the undergrowth - echidnas, I thought, as the rustlings were too noisy for snakes. A one point a fallen tree crossed the narrow track so some contortionism was required to get under it!

Wagon Bay Lake, Tower Hill

Near Tower Hill, Victoria

A very pleasant afternoon in a special place, Tower Hill features on our list of trip highlights.

The Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road

 The Great Ocean Road hugs the coastline from Torquay to Apollo Bay where it climbs the hills to transverse Cape Otway. There it briefly rejoins the coast at Glenaire before again climbing to Lavers Hill and again returning to the coast. It was a very enjoyable and varied route passing through National Parks and forests as well as providing brilliantly coloured sea vistas. We stopped briefly at Lorne and found it to be a laid back holiday town with the seafront lined with cafes, restaurants and holiday apartments. There we obtained very useful maps and other items from the Information Centre in the centre of the town. Our lunch stop was at Otway Junction where we found another delightful cafe with a small historical museum onsite.

Gibsons Steps

Travelling east to west, Gibsons Steps lookout was our first sighting of the limestone cliffs that are a feature of the landscape since crossing the Otway. The name apparently came from a settler Hugh Gibson, who maintained the steps - 86 of them - which were originally carved out of the cliffs. Nowadays they are a sturdy staircase going down to a beach so dangerous that signs warning against swimming or standing under the cliffs are prominently displayed. 

Limestone sea stack

There are two sea stacks known as Gog and Magog! I have no idea who got the naming rights! They are not considered to be part of the Twelve Apostles which are a very short distance down the road.

The limestone cliffs were especially pretty with a range of green hues and flowers. 

The Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road

These world famous limestone sea stacks - some call them the 13th Wonder of the World - shone brilliantly in the bright sun. They were originally called the Sow and Piglets with the Sow located near Loch Ard Gorge and the smaller ones here being her piglets. They were renamed as the Twelve Apostles purely for marketing and tourism purposes despite the fact that there were, at that time, only nine of them. In 2005 one succumbed to the pounding of the sea and blast of the winds and fell into the sea leaving the current eight to fascinate the many tourists from all over the world who travel this famous road. Of course erosion never ceases and eventually new stacks will be formed, probably just where we stand today, breathing in their beauty and gaining a healthy respect for the power of the elements.

The Twelve Apostles

The wind and sea erosion has created wonderful patterns and textures and I am well pleased that my ancient Fuji zoom was able to capture the detail for my continued enjoyment.

London Bridge, Great Ocean Road

A short distance down the road we stopped at London Bridge. This bridge used to have two natural arches until 1990 when the one closest one collapsed leaving two tourists stranded.

London Bridge prior to 1990

 [ I'd like to credit the photographer but unfortunately no source was given.]

The Arch

Few people stop at the Bay of Islands and I enjoyed having the place to myself as I listened to the faint crashing of waves below, my eyes feasting on the contrasting, vibrant colours of the limestone, water and vegetation.

Bay of Islands, Great Ocean Road

How disappointed I was that I didn't have the stitch mode of my G12 to capture this intriguing and beautiful place.

Bay of Islands

I was told that about two centimetres each year is eroded from the base of the sea stacks in this area. This one looks thin at both bottom and top!

Bay of Islands

In the absence of stitch, the picture above is the best I could do to record my memories of this awesome place.

The sights along our world famous road had more than met my expectations! Happily we continued on our way to Hopkins River, near Warrnambool which was to be as far as we were going along this memorable coast.

Aireys Inlet on the Great Ocean Road,Victoria

On our last evening in Lakes Entrance we enjoyed a leisurely time on Ninety Mile Beach appreciating the muted but lovely sunset and calm conditions. During the night, however, a strong wind arrived and by 4am next morning we decided to give up trying to secure guy ropes and poles and take down our camp. Contending with the force of the wind and also trying not to disturb our neighbours was not easy. When they later emerged from their tents it was to tell us that this was their very first tent experience and that they had been too terrified to come out while it was dark!  By 7 am we were waiting for my sister to appear to say our farewells before leaving, our destination for the day being Aireys Inlet on the other side of Port Phillip Bay.

We decided to take the Princes Highway, a decision later regretted as it was a rather dull road with few interesting places to stop to take a break from the wind that frequently sideswiped the van. During our trip we came to the conclusion that New South Wales road signage is far better than that in Victoria with information there of upcoming turnoffs and exits appearing well before their locations. In vain we looked for the exit we needed and in the end found ourselves heading for Port Phillip instead of Sorrento where we planned to take the ferry cross Port Phillip Bay to Queenscliffe. Yet another cup of service station coffee, accompanied by almost accurate directions,  eventually got us to Sorrento.

The ferry runs on the hour and takes just forty minutes and we enjoyed the break in the cafe, out of the wind. Dolphins often play alongside the ferry however they gave that a miss today. Probably it was too windy for them!

Sorrento

Queenscliffe on the other side of the bay is a popular holiday spot and, as I drove through the town I could see its charm in the well maintained buildings, cafes and restaurants and beach.

Queenscliffe

Anticipation rising, we headed for the famous Great Ocean Road and our first stop along it, Aireys Inlet.

Just past Angelsea we had our first glimpse across the sea of the Lighthouse at Aireys Inlet.

Near Angelsea

Our three days at Aireys Inlet were very pleasant despite the ferocious wind that kept blowing for the first two days. The nights and mornings especially cold requiring three layers of clothing which, living in Queensland we were not comfortable with. Now that Sam's back had mostly recovered, mine decided to let me know it wanted some attention so our exploring was mostly by vehicle.

Split Point Lighthouse, Aireys Inlet.

This lighthouse, standing high on the cliff top, reminded me of a tall white chimney. Now known by locals by its nickname "White Queen" it was, until 1913, named Eagles Nest Point Lighthouse. In 1890, the year building started, ten ships were wrecked along this treacherous part of the coastline. The lighthouse was commissioned the next year and was manned until 1919 when it was automated.

Three clothing layers and not that warm!

Split Point, Aireys Inlet

There is another lighthouse at Cape Otway, ninety kilometres away by road with this part of the south coast being known as "Shipwreck Coast". The currents and rough seas of Bass Strait, together with frequent mists, often proved deadly for ships carrying passengers and  goods. There are at least 638 known wrecks from an unnamed whaling ship in 1836 to the famous American naval ship the City of Rayville which was sunk by a German laid mine in 1940. Although it was very windy when we were there and the sea did not look wild, I would not like to be out there in stronger winds!

Aireys Inlet

Our last day gave us easier weather conditions so we were able to take a walk along the lovely beach. The water was surprisingly warm to paddle in - few people were actually swimming however families were having fun playing volleyball and beachcombing.

near Fairhaven, Victoria

near Aireys Inlet

The sight of this house had cars lining up along the roadside to take photos. I don't think that I'd like to be up there on a windy day!

Mt Defiance Lookout, Great Ocean Road

In 1917 the plan to build the road now famously known as "The Great Ocean Road" was put forward by civilians who were keen to make it easier to travel between the seaside towns along the way and a Trust was formed to build it. 

I was horrified to learn that soldiers returning from World War 1 where they had survived those atrocities themselves, losing many brothers and mates, were put to work with picks and shovels on this massive task. I thought of my own grandfather who, falsifying his age to go to war, suffered physically and mentally for the remainder of his life after it and was I glad that he was better treated in New Zealand. The point has been made that these returned servicemen were provided with work on their return however to put them to work in this way still seems ungrateful and harsh to me.

Great Ocean Road Arch

This is the actually third arch here with the first one which was constructed in 1937 being replaced when the road was widened in 1973. Ten years later that was burned down in the Ash Wednesday bushfires and the present one constructed.

Commemorating the returned soldier workers who built the road

Memorial plaques, Great Ocean Road

As we continued along towards our next destination, The Twelve Apostles, we stopped at several plaques placed along the road giving information about the history of this famous road.