Wending, windy and wild

 We could be as leisurely as we liked today. So why did we set off at 8:30? Getting increasingly difficult to put it down to jetlag. Minutes after setting off, we stopped in Emerald at a bakery/coffee shop I spotted when we arrived

 I decided it was time for a coffee. Come on, we had been on the road for four minutes. The bakery was full of seriously good looking bread and cakes. Somehow, we managed to avoid them. The shopkeeper said that was rare. The coffee was sublime and cost the equivalent of £2 for both!

We then wended our way back towards Melbourne on our way to the Great Ocean Road. Wended is the word which best describes our progress. We tried coming off for a loo stop in the middle of some very complicated motorway junctions and ended up going to and fro in the Melbourne area. However, this did afford us wonderful views of the city as we crossed huge bridges revealing wonderful outlines of the skyscrapers. After eventually finding some loos, we put aside all wending for a while and made good progress until we reached the outskirts of Geelong. (Pronounced jalong)

We came off the M1 and after some googling, went into a suburb and found a little cafe in a shopping precinct.

We love doing that... finding somewhere in the heart of a community and getting the local vibe.

But then it was time for the great ocean road. It didn't disappoint. All three words of the great ocean road were very present. It was stunning and both of us contributed involuntary 'wow's at regular intervals as yet more impressive scenery came into view. Every now and then, we would pass a sign saying, 'In case of fire, place of last resort'. That sounds pretty final. Sometimes, the place of last resort was the beach. It is a stark reminder of the danger of fire in this region.

There are regular signs along the road with a dial for how serious the threat of fire is. The top level is labelled catastrophic. Yesterday, my uncle told me how they had to escape fire where they lived. They tried going back for the animals - unnecessarily as it happens as a neighbour rescued them - but when they then fled from the scene, it was so hot their tyres burnt off and they drove away on just the wheel rims. 

These scary scenarios seem difficult to contemplate today because of the current weather. 

I haven't mentioned the current weather yet, have I...

This is some of the worst weather Australia has had for a long time. We are sat in a lovely air bnb but the wind is howling and the rain is pelting. It reminds us that we are at pretty well the southern most tip of Australia. When you look out to sea from here, the next land mass is Antarctica. 

The weather forecasters are delighted. The forecaster today described it as a gorgeous squidgyness of rain. 

We're hoping it won't be too gorgeously squidgy tomorrow as we don our walking boots and explore this wild and well, wild place.

Come on! The way all coffee shops should be!

Getting the local vibe near Geelong.

Jolly wild....

Fancy a dip?
Space. You can spread out in Australia. 


Comments

  1. Dunc and Pam20 September 2024 at 09:57

    Looks great! Sandy beaches - told you should have taken your ‘budgies’ 😀

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jennie Williams20 September 2024 at 10:21

    Wow! Wow and well . . Wow!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Strange milkman

Image
 Yesterday saw a massive tick on Kate's bucket list; We drove up to my cousin, Joy's house and the garage door opened as if by magic as we approached allowing the car to drive into the basement of the house. The trip to Australia has already delivered, therefore.  We have now been upside down for about 14 hours and, so far, the blood isn't running to our heads.  We awoke after a short but inevitable sleep to the sound of kookaburras. It is the most extraordinary bird song I have heard. It sounds like someone whistling softly who has the ability to yodel whilst whistling. Dawn was just beginning to break and I found the sound both spine chilling and hilarious - not something I thought possible up to now. It was like there was a creepy and psychopathic milkman circling the house on his deliveries. The whistling is soft, melodious and mournful - typical of psychopathic milkmen, I find. Brisbane is tropical. The humidity suggests warmth regardless of the temperature. Today, a...
Read more

Signing off

Image
 OK, so it seems that merchandise which winds up in an airport goes through some sort of 'size-warp'. Toblerones are prone to expand and apparently, 'Pringles' shrink. Both in circumference and thickness. But don't worry, the price has increased, presumably to cover the cost of the different sized product, the different sized packaging and so on.... Airports are obviously very significant sources of revenue. It's Brisbane airport that we're sat in now as we await our flight to Dubai, and so, home. It is quite late in the evening and the departure lounge is quiet. The high ceilings which they favour these days, give the space a hushed, almost reverential feel, as people glide by, their cases gliding obediently by their sides. This is the sterile space between worlds where we 'limbo dance' until we reach our gate and exit it. Only people's dress might give a clue to the country that they call home. It's a good time to reflect on the past month....
Read more

Bruce

Image
 This entry starts with an apology to all kookaburras. The birds which sound like a disturbed milkman are magpies! This is much more believable when you consider the nature of a magpie but it is a far cry from their British counterparts. (See what I did there...) Today we climbed a mountain in the Glasshouse range. Saying we had a smashing time would be such a dad joke that I shall avoid it. The mountains are a series of volcanic lumps which stand in a loose huddle, allowing plenty of flat land between each one, ensuring a great 360° view from each one. They all rise to satisfying points with only a few requiring ropes. Satisfied with the view from Ngungun mountain, we climbed down to a pub lunch. I had a sheep. On a plate. I certainly didn't do justice to it but it was delicious.  I also had a small beer. Rather chilly, I thought... I love that we drove down the Bruce highway to get there. I practiced the word Bruce in my best Australian for much of the journey. I don't know ...
Read more