The Great Ocean Road is one of Australia’s most iconic roads to drive. Renowned for its endless winding roads and dramatically breathtaking ocean views, it brings tourists from all around the world to experience the beauty. Not only for the views, the challenging twists and turns make it entertaining for motoring enthusiasts. Construction of the road by 3,000 returned World War One servicemen, began in 1919 and finished at Lorne in 1922. The road continued construction to Apollo Bay and was announced officially completed on November 1932.
 We have driven this road to access many of our adventures whilst living in Geelong. The start of the drive welcomes you with a large Great Ocean road sign, which welcomes you with a warm up of slight bends before large cliff edges and hairpin turns. There is an endless array of natural beauties to witness along the drive like waterfalls, beaches and unique Great Otway National Park rainforest. Although congested with a lot of traffic, the views make the drive worthwhile. Our greatest distraction on the drive is the Great Ocean Road Chocolatier, not just for the chocolate, but the amazing scones, which concludes our day adventures out this way. Teddy's Lookout LorneThe lookout is a large viewing area that lets you see out over the hills, beaches and winding roads of Great Ocean Road. The amazing weather that day brought the view to life, boasting a rich variety of blue, green and sand.
We will forever enjoy our times travelled on the Great Ocean Road, it can sometimes be very busy, but we always come home fulfilled after a trip out to our Great Ocean Road and Otways destinations. It’s a pure Australian icon that everyone should experience once in their lifetime. Check out some of our Great Ocean Road and Great Otway Adventures
Two kilometres out of Lorne is a walking track that starts at the Sheoak Picnic area that takes you to a well-known Phantom Falls. Fed from the St George River, the falls are 15 metres high, which on paper would make for quite a spectacular view. Our day out began with beautiful weather and gorgeous views over the horizon of water on our drive through the Great Ocean Road. Turning off from Lorne with a couple of hills and turns brought us to the Sheoak Picnic area. We began our walk from the picnic area, our first stop was Won Wondah and Henderson Falls, when looked at hard enough you could see rocks were damp, giving indications of the dry season. Venturing on we walked through beautiful luscious green rainforest that passed through a shallow but spectacular canyon. As the Canyon disappears, the Phantom Falls sign arrives. As we see the falls in our sights there is not a drop of water, leaving a big stagnant pond with a 15-metre cliff behind it. Even with a lack of running water, you can imagine how spectacular the falls can get in the wet season. Our walk looped around and went back on to Allenvale Rd, taking us back to Sheoak Picnic Area making for a 9 kilometre walk.
It was another great day along the Otways, a solid walk in the rainforest and breathtaking views over the ocean. Phantom, Henderson and Won Wondah falls weren’t too exciting over the dry season, but we’re sure they are a different story in the wet season and the walking track is good fun regardless. As this is blog on Otways, it means it ends with…… scones at the Great Ocean Road Chocolateria.
The 35 kilometre rail trail stretches from South Geelong to Queenscliff. Shovel and I rode the rail trail from Coppards Road to Curlewis and returned by the same route. Riding about 17 kilometres round trip. 
Located in the sleepy bayside town of St Leonards, approximately 40 kilometres out of Geelong on the Bellarine Peninsula is the fascinating Edwards Point Nature Reserve. The nature reserve is the last remaining area of coastal moonah woodland on the Peninsula and reaches out between two bays, Port Phillip and Swan. The low lying shrub protects the sand from erosion and is protected under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.
A road can take you directly to Erskine falls, but we pulled up at the Blanket Leaf picnic area and walked the 14 kilometre return trip on the Lemonade Creek track. The track is worth the walk, spoiling us with gorgeous ferns and other thriving Otways flora. Arriving at the falls is a rewarding experience after walking the track, the water was running steady proving us with a soothing soundtrack at the bottom.
We strolled back on the same route back to the Blanket Leaf picnic area feeling more refreshed than when we started out the walk. That’s just what nature does to you. We highly recommend taking the track instead of driving to the falls, it makes for a different experience. At Blanket Leaf jumped back in Cherry and retired for the day at the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie for Scones.
 Wild weather the night before our departure from Bendigo determined our 190 kilometre route, via the Calder Freeway, around the Western Ring Road and onto the Princess Highway into Geelong. Strong winds and intermittent rain left another scare on Florence, a second roof hatch blew off at some stage during the journey leaving another gapping hole in the roof. Thankfully Shovel, having had practice with the first missing sky light roof hatch in Emerald, was able to efficiently fix a piece of perspex with the help of his trusty go to Sikaflex. We were fortunate to pull up at Gumby's parents place and were welcomed after two months on the road with a beautiful home cooked meal, a continuous hot shower, flushing toilet, lots of hugs and of course an excited Snoopy aka The Poop, a 13 year old kelpie/labrador, who Gumby hadn't seen for over two years.
I have to be honest, Bendigo didn't live up to the hype. My expectations were high, given that I'd heard when previously living in Geelong the town had completed extensive restoration works to preserve historical buildings, injecting a new vibrant atmosphere into the area. Admittedly I didn't feel this new energy, probably because I had a sore knee, but I wasn't sold on the town's preservation of history. Having said that, what I did enjoy was the talking tram and felt this was an interesting feature and quirky tourism done well, thanks to a dedicated team of volunteers maintaining, driving and conducting the trams. In 1972 the original passenger tram system was closed due to dwindling usage. News of the closure was met with wide criticism and people took to the streets, approximately 20,000 to say farewell. This overwhelming response prompted local government to implement a 'tourist service' that would see the restoration and preservation of many trams (there are currently 45 trams in the fleet) from all around and the Heritage Registered Bendigo Tramways Depot is now the oldest operating tram depot in Australia.
What was once a British settler sheep station first established in 1837 dramatically changed to a bustling township in 1851 with the discovery of alluvial gold. In less than a year the population had swelled to approximately 40,000, of mostly prospectors looking to stake a claim and strike it rich. Underground quartz reef gold was then discovered and during the 19th century the Bendigo gold mine was one of the highest producing in Australia. It is said the name of the near by creek derived its name after a local English bare-knuckled prize-fighter, nicknamed 'Bendigo.' In 1863 Sandhurst became the official name of the town, but was always unofficially Bendigo until 1891 when it was officially changed.
Glenrowan was the scene of the 'Final Shootout' between Law Enforcement and the Kelly Gang. Ned and the crew had devised a plan to derail a train carrying Police Officers. The cops found out and foiled their attempt, but not before an epic gun battle ensued at the Glenrowan Inn. During the seven hour siege, Dan Kelly, Joe Byrne and Steve Hart died. Ned was shot several times, but fought right to the end, eventually being detained by the cops and was later hanged in the Melbourne Gaol on 11 November 1880.
 
The township of Glenrowan boasts an animatronic reenactment of Ned Kelly's final stand, which was closed on the day we visited town and a massive sculpture of Ned in his trademark homemade armour. Shovel seized the opportunity to have a photo with the original hipster himself. The road from Glenrowan towards Bendigo called the C345 was horrendously bumpy and narrow with barely a shoulder. Had we had known we would have looked into going through Shepparton instead. During the ordeal we heard a thud. We pulled off to the side where we could to discover the door to the front side compartment had broken off. Further back along the road we found the door in multiple pieces, one larger piece baring the marks of tyre tread from a truck. We picked up the pieces and made our way into Bendigo, thankful no other damaged was done or no one was injured.
Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town that thrived in the gold rush days back in the 1850’s. The region was originally known as Mayday Hills until regular findings of gold transformed the grazing land into a thriving gold rush town, officially being called Beechworth on the 1st of January 1854. The boom times brought in a large variety of industries to the town, this included a tannery, jewellers, boot makers, a brewery, blacksmiths and livestock sale yards. It had schools, a convent, hotels, a prison with imposing stone walls, a hospital, a mental hospital, court house, police barracks, stage coach companies and a powder magazine.
Echos of History Guided Walking TourThis is an Apple Box, But But Eucalyptus Tree measuring approx. 8m in diameter and standing at 23m high. It is said to be over 300 years old and the result of two trees merging together. In the gold-rush era the tree was used as a message board, with messages nailed to the tree. Evidence of which is still visible and is listed on the heritage national trust database.
The gold rush days brought people in from the United States, United Kingdom and China, all to try and get a slice of the golden cake. Mining Camps and leases popped up around the region, seeing a population of 3100 soar to 22000 people. Two well known figures of Beechworth are bushranger Ned Kelly, who had many links to the town and Robert O’Hara Burke, the local police officer who embarked on the ill fated Burke and Wills expedition from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. The winding narrow challenging roads from Canberra brought us into Beechworth in the afternoon, which welcomed us with blooming autumn flora and streets filled with Victorian Colonial architecture. It was extremely pleasant and even the caravan park was nestled in behind the local Lake Sambell, giving us a beautiful place to stay.
Ned Kelly Guided Walking Tour
The cell in the Beechworth Courthouse where Ned Kelly spent time prior to sentencing. It is still in the original condition, with the addition of electricity.
The our day kicked off with a run out to Lake Kerferd, which provided great views and a hard fall to the ground that left Gumby with a few nasty scars on the leg which are still with us to this day. The injury brought her much pain but she soldiered on refusing to let it stop any exploring. We got ourselves out to the town and enjoyed a walking tour by a knowledgeable local. The tour was hours of information on Beechworth’s eventful history. Every part of the town had a story to it, of course every building does, but things you would just walk past like an apple box butt butt eucalyptus tree that was used to pin messages on, or a hook on the wall of one of the shops, used to hang dead cattle so it could get pickled to avoid maggots and flies.
We got to know the notable locals a bit better. Robert O’Hara Burke was not just a famous explorer but one of the local policemen of the town. Although known for leading explorations, he wasn’t too good of a navigator when finding his way around Beechworth constantly getting lost out bush. Another well-known figure in Beechworth was Ned Kelly; the notorious bushranger had many links to the town. He was a regular visitor of the courthouse and spent two years in the local HM prison, where four of his other gang members and his mother also spent time. Beneath the town hall is a cell where Ned Kelly’s mentor and Bushranger Harry Power spent time in 1863 and 1864. One of his most famous Beechworth events was a boxing match with Isaiah Wright to settle an argument over a horse. The bare-knuckle match endured for an astonishing 20 rounds seeing Kelly come out on top. He created a lot of history in the region with countless acts against the law, from as small as riding over a footpath drunk to being part of one of the most famous gangs in Australian history. His life of 25 years has more documented history than Queen Victoria and most of it lies within the region. It was a big day on the history so we thought the best way to see in the night was a pizza from the local Bridge Road brewery. We also had our first ever beer together, which was the Bridge Road Robust Porter, unbelievably delicious! The only thing that we found disappointing about Beechworth is that we only spent one day there, we were in love with the town. It surprised us with beautiful architecture, scenery and endless chapters of history. The food is amazing and local beer so good that we even gave it a try. |
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