No Pockets in Shrouds #4: September 30th, 1999
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Stumble It!September 30th, 1999
As I was waiting to be picked up by the tour bus, I reflected on my first few days in Australia. I was very concerned at first that I would be an old wrinkly in amongst a lot of young kids but that was not the case. There were people there a lot older than I was and everybody was very friendly.
The tour bus picked me up at 7.30am for my trip along the Great Ocean Road and The Grampians before continuing on to Adelaide. The company I used was Wild-Life Tours. I was looking for a tour that lasted 2 days and they fit the bill. A lot of the tour companies took 3 days and I wanted to be in Adelaide for the Saturday. I can honestly say that Wild-Life Tours were excellent and the tour guide, Cameron, was a great guy. After picking up the rest of the party we set off in pouring rain.
Our first stop was at Bells Beach. This is a world-famous surfing beach but the day we went it was pouring down and there was not a wave to be seen. Not a good start to the tour, I thought. Cameron was aware of our disappointment so took us to a golf course round the corner and there were kangaroos running all over the place. We stopped and took a few photos, which made us all a bit happier. Then an incredible thing happened. The rain stopped, the clouds disappeared and the sun came out.
We stopped for lunch at a little roadside caf�. We ordered our lunch and whilst it was being prepared Cameron took us into a forest and pointed out wild Koalas. They were really docile and didn't move when we got out and photographed them. On returning to the caf� we were given bits of raw meat which kookaburras flew down and took out of our hands. It was the most fascinating lunch I had ever had.
After having lunch together everybody was now talking and it transpired that the group were from USA, UK, Japan and Sweden. We got to know each other very well and by the end of the trip we were all good friends.
We set off inland to the Otway Rainforest. This is only a small rainforest in comparison to some of Australia's forests but the plant and animal life were fascinating. Everything is so large. The ferns were about 10 foot high and the trees seemed to reach the sky.
After the rainforest it was back to the coast and on to The 12 Apostles. These are pillars of rock that stand in the sea just off the coast. There are in fact only about 7 Apostles, so God knows what happened to the others. I dare say they have eroded away. The sun was behind the Apostles shining in our faces and reflecting off the sea - what a fantastic sight. I can't wait to get the photos developed.
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It was then on to London Bridge. You will be able to see from the photo that there is a gap between the mainland and the Bridge. This collapsed in the early 1990s. Cameron told us that there was a well-known Australian TV personality on the Bridge with a lady, both married but not to each other, when the piece between the mainland and the Bridge collapsed. I don't think we need much of an imagination to guess what they were up to. I wonder if he said "Did the earth move for you?"
We moved on to Warrnambool for our night's stay at The YHA, but first Cameron took us to the beach just before Warrnambool in the hope that we might see a whale. He felt that we were probably about a week or 2 too late but lo and behold there was one. I have never seen a live whale before and it gave me and everybody else a real thrill. The last whale I saw was in Free Willy - which I thought was a porno film when it first came out (only joking).
When we got to the hostel it transpired that it was the birthday of one of the girls on the tour. This was the excuse for a party. After having our evening meal at the pub down the road - 12oz sirloin steak with chips and salad for A6$ - we all ended up drunk which was a great end to a great day.
Friday, October 1st 1999
Geordie Debbie, whose birthday it had been, started the day off with another bottle of Victoria Bitter - Ugh. We set off for the Grampians at 9.00am with the sun shining and everybody in a good mood after the party the night before.
Stopped at a place called The Balconies. This is a piece of rock about 5 foot wide that juts out about 20 foot. It gives you quite a thrill to walk to the end of the rock and if you are a little afraid of heights it would act as a good laxative. I loved it and the rest of the party were just as enthusiastic as me. The views over the valley were stunning and you could see for miles. I would have loved to have gone walking in the valley for a few days. That is one of the things I've written in for my next trip.
Our next port of call was the McKenzies Falls. We had to take a short stroll here but unfortunately we were only at the top of the falls and couldn't get to the bottom. There was a beautiful water hole at the bottom and it would have been great to have had a swim in there.
The Grampians were over and it was then the long journey to Adelaide. This gave everybody the chance to catch up on some much-needed sleep. I did my nodding dog act but didn't really fall asleep.
Cameron dropped us of at our respective accommodation at approximately 9.00pm.
I had had a wonderful 2 days along a fantastic coastline and countryside with some great people. I hope the rest of the holiday is as good. I would recommend anybody to take in Great Ocean Road and The Grampians even if you do it as a Melbourne to Melbourne trip rather than on to Adelaide. If you miss this tour then you will miss the thrill of a lifetime.
Thanks to the people that have e-mailed me at golf.diving4fun at virgin dot net.
Please keep sending messages.
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