We left Lorne on Saturday morning, and the plan was to head through Geelong to get to Melborne, however, the weather seemed to thwart our plans again! As I was checking out of the campsite I overheard a man saying that the road through Geelong was impassable due to flash flooding, and there was no way to get to Melbourne! So we headed to the information centre to find out what route to take, or if we had to stay put! Thankfully they told us the road was now open again but that we would need to take care and look for local signs. Luckily the road wasn't too bad, although flooded in the left lane often and you could see how much rain there had been, but we got to Melbourne in one piece! Found the nice campsite we stayed in last time and pitched the tent.
Sunday was NEIGHBOURS day! We had booked on the tour for 12pm, so got the tram in nice an early to find the place, which was easy so we had some time to kill. Wandered down the road and saw a big travel expo going on with free entry, so went to check that out. Got a free cotton bag each on the way in which comes in handy as a beach bag! There were stalls for all sorts of places, and since we are heading to NZ, Fiji and Hawaii we hit those ones! Some great info and brochures which we picked up, so that was great that we accidentally found that!
The Neighbours tour was amazing! We arrived and the weather was looking iffy, which disappointed me as I didn't want to visit Ramsay Street in the rain! Then it started to pour down when we got on the
bus!!! The 'star' we got to meet was 'Janelle
Timmons', who was in it a couple of years ago! Not Susan or
Toadie, but still fun to meet her! She was great, talked lots about the show, and the people who played certain characters, and who her favourite was etc. We ended up going back into the office for that bit as the rain was so bad, and she posed for photos and signed neighbours postcards for us! She was great fun and there was definitely a bit of 'Janelle' in her!
So, back on the bus, which had a TV playing old Neighbours episodes! Our driver and guide was a lovely girl who had been a fan for life, and worked on the show in the arts department, and was now doing the tours! She gave us loads of gossip about up coming
story lines and characters etc, which was great! She did check first that we didn't mind hearing any plot spoilers before she told us! Luckily as we drove the weather really cleared up and the sun came out so I was very happy! Because we were doing the
weeken
d tour we got to visit the set of the
Lassiters complex, where we saw the lake,
Lassiters hotel, Harold's store,
Toadie's Law Office and Charlie's Bar! I loved posing for photos outside each one, but it felt very surreal!!! It was so weird actually being there and walking around, but also knowing that there was actually nothing behind the door, as they film the inside stuff in the studios! We also got to see the Garage, Grease Monkey's and the Police Station, and a new set they have built which hasn't aired yet, Sonya's Grandma's house!
After the tour, with lots more info and gossip, we headed to the actual Street!!!!
We pulled up and some friend's of the real resident of Harold's house were leaving, so the woman who owns it was stood in the drive! So strange! We had to wait until she'd gone inside before we took pictures. So we went about having photos in front of all the houses and holding the 'Ramsay Street' sign (the real street is called Pin Oak Court)! I loved every second of it! My favourite picture is Ben and I under the trellis of Karl and Susan's garden! I am so pleased we got to do this!
On Monday and Tuesday we didn't really get up to much, lazing in the sun by the pool and Ben swimming in it! On Wednesday we had a great night out with friend's who have been travelling in Oz too. A couple from Ben's work, and the Uni days and their friends and partners too. We met at the night market, consumed a lot of wine and had a great night out! Unfortunately we both suffered the next day and felt rough as rats! We met up with the crowd again for lunch and hung out in the city for the afternoon, then it was back to the campsite to jump in the pool to refresh! Spent a couple more days in Melbourne than planned, as Ami and Pete who had come for the night out were also camping at the same place, which was nice! Had some good evenings with a box of wine and card games! We left Melbourne on Sunday morning and it was cold and overcast. We are heading inland to go through Canberra and onto the coast at Bateman's Bay to follow it up towards Sydney. we looked in the Big 4 book for places to stay and chose a campsite near Wodonga, and we're so glad we ended up here! It's a beautiful campsite right on the waters edge of Lake Hume, and also has a great swimming pool, it reminds us of being in Mexico! The weather here was so dramatically different, blue sky, sunshine and super hot! We had a lovely afternoon by the pool and it was so hot that even I had to get in!
Monday morning we got up early to Skype with Carol and Mike and then hit the road. It was great to speak to them and see them, and we managed to get over the signal problems in the end! After the skype chat we decided that it was such a nice day and we didn't want to spend it in the car, so we booked in for one more night! So, we've had another lovely day by the pool! Ben has been busy emailing and calling people for a job, as it is becoming a bit of a desperate situation now, but hasn't had much luck which is a shame. Seems that there are lots of newly qualified's around, and lots of people on the sunshine coast were made redundant, and with the flooding, it's not making the job searching very fruitful! Sure something will work out!
Sarah x
The title of this blog refers to the temperatures of this week! So, it has been a week since shark day! On Friday we had a rest after our eventful day! We enjoyed a laid back day in the sunshine and spent the afternoon on a little patch of beach a short walk from our tent. It was secluded and we were the only ones there all afternoon, it was bliss! We heard that the next 2 -3 days were going to be very hot, and the weather was issuing extreme heat warnings. We were travelling back towards Adelaide, and were originally going to stop at Port Augusta again for one night as it cuts the journey nicely into 2 four hour drives each day, however, that was where it had been really hot on the way up, and when we saw temperatures of 47 degrees on the weather map we decided to drive all the way to Adelaide in one day as we didn't want to stay there. However, travelling 8 hours in the crazy heat all day with no air con was not much fun either, and Adelaide itself was about 40 degrees! However, we made it in the end, having drunk about 6 litres of water between us and headed straight for the pool! once we had cooled down a bit we went to the beach and enjoyed going in the sea! We didn't put the tent up until much later, waiting for it to cool down, but even overnight it was 30 degrees! I didn't sleep as well as I normally do! The next day was even hotter, hitting 42 degrees, so we decided not to drive anywhere, and sought shelter in the air conditioning of the shopping mall! Ben had to get some new flip flops, as after 3 months of wearing his faves daily, they finally died! Shopping was a success, he picked up a bargain and we found Beach Boules to play, which they call Bocci (pronounced Bochi) here.
We spent more time in the sea and watched the final of the Australian Open in the lovely air conditioned TV room!
The next day we were supposed to go to an aboriginal camp and stay overnight and take part in bush walking and 'dream time stories', which I was really looking forward to. I had read about it in our guide book and found out about it online, and you could camp for just $10 a night, and take part in the activities and there was a restaurant serving aboriginal food which it said you had to book, so off we went. However, when we got there the campground was empty, and there was a big car full of aboriginal men. As we walked towards the entrance of the building, one of them shouted over to us and we told him we wanted to camp and he showed us inside. The place was a dump, with their crap everywhere, and it transpired that this building was also the restaurant. I asked him about the bush walking and what time it was, he said anytime, so we figured it would just be him showing us around, and the 'dream time stories' thing wasn't what I was hoping. Both of us were getting a bad vibe and didn't feel comfortable but it was hard to say to each other in front of him! We asked to have a look around, and when we did we both quickly said we didn't want to stay!!!! So we told them we were heading to the museum down the road and would be back, but with no intention of it! Luckily the museum at the next place was worth a visit, and I am glad we got to do that, however, I was really disappointed that the aboriginal camp was such a let down. I was really hoping to find out more about the Aborigines, they are quite a 'hidden culture' here. The museum was good, however I would have loved to speak to some of the people and found out how they feel, what they do now and more about their culture.
So, as we were not staying there we drove on further than expected and went to Robe, the little place where we had the nice fish and chips on the way up. To cheer me up we had the nice fish and chips again, and enjoyed them by the beach in the same spot!
The next morning we drove to Mount Gambier, where we stopped for lunch on the way through, which has the Blue Lake, that is indeed Very blue! We decided to stay a couple of nights here as it seemed a nice spot to explore. There are lots of outdoorsy things to do and lots of walks which we took advantage of. Mount Gambier is all built around an extinct volcano, and the Blue Lake is in one of three craters. We did a walk all the way around the edge of one of the craters which took about an hour and a half and hopefully burnt a lot of calories! We also visited the sunken garden. The whole area is limestone, and the sunken garden is where long ago the land caved in, and it is now a beautiful garden in the middle of the city! The next day we visited Engelbrecht caves, which is a cave system underneath the city! We had a tour which was fascinating. The area is one of the best for cave divers in the country, and we were shown where they would enter the water. One of the caves was only for VERY experienced cave divers, as it is very narrow and has no air pockets for much of it. I couldn't even imagine doing that, but as usual Ben was really up for it! Luckily (for me!) you can't just do cave diving, you need a certain qualification here so it was not on the agenda! We also visited the free wildlife park in the afternoon, but didn't see much wildlife at all, which was a bit disappointing, but the walk was beautiful. We decided to go back after dinner when it was cooler and much later in the day, and we saw loads of kangaroos and wallabies! We could not believe they had all been hiding in the day, goodness know where!!!
On Thursday we drove to Warrnambool and stopped over ready to drive the Great Ocean Road again on Friday and Saturday. Had a lazy afternoon in the park and played some Bocci! This morning we drove some of the Great Ocean Road to Lorne and are staying in a lovely camping spot right next to the river! Unfortunately one of the tent poles that was damaged in the severe wind in Port Lincoln actually snapped today, however, with some strong tape and a bit of luck we have managed to make it work, let's just hope it's not windy tonight!
Luckily we have been unaffected by the terrible Cyclone that hit Queensland, it has been an awful time for the people who live in the north. They have just started to recover from the flooding, and have now been devastated by the worst cyclone in nearly 100 years. We are hoping to go north in the next few weeks, as was our original plan, but we will have to see how passable the roads are, I expect it will be a long road to recovery.
So, tomorrow we finish the Great Ocean Road and return to Melbourne. On Sunday we will be visiting Ramsay Street, which I am very excited about! On Wednesday we are also meeting up with friends who have also been travelling, and we are all managing to be in Melbourne at the same time which will be fun! After that, probably Sydney, but who knows?!
Sarah x
I love scuba diving and I'm also fascinated by sharks! When you think of sharks, the Great White automatically comes to mind. The brutal mindless killer!? I'd quite like to get in the water with one of those! After reading that you can dive with Great Whites in Australia I decided that we must do it while we are here. It turns out that the one and only place in Oz that you can dive with them is in the Neptune Islands 40 miles off the coast of a little place in South Australia called Port Lincoln. Up at 0530 on the day of the dive to be at the marina for 0630, it's been a long time since I've seen the sun rise so that was cool. We were greeted by a lady with a video camera, you can buy a highlights package at the end of the day. We boarded the Calypso Star and set sail for the Neptune Islands. We were fed croissants with ham and cheese, which was nice. They put on a DVD (not Jaws) about the company and what we were going to see, 
the rest of the DVD was clips from TV shows that they've been on, like Top Gear Australia. The hostess was asleep on the sofa next to me. A bit strange i thought. They could have spent the time telling us about the sharks! So after 2 and a bit hours we arrived at the Neptune islands. They put the cage in the water and the captain explained a few bits and bobs about safety, i think he said something about not putting you arms or head through the gap in the cage. Not sure why!? He asked who wanted to be the first in the cage, obviously I volunteered Sarah and I. They send in four people at a time so we had to share the cage with two Germans who had spent the boat trip eating sour crout and bratwurst, then feeling very sea sick, more on this later! Off we went to sign our insurance wavers and put on our 7mm wet suites. Then from the crows nest someone shouted 'Sheep' I was very confused by this, it turns out I'd just misheard them and a shark had actually arrived. I jumped into the cage, Sarah and ze Germans followed swiftly behind. We all stood there waiting for the shark to swim past. We waited... and waited after about 20 minutes of not seeing anything Sarah and I started sharing 'looks' I was getting a little worried at this point. One of ze Germans kept going to the surface. I thought they must be eating more sour crout, turns out it was the opposite! They were sick right above our heads! Chunks of cabbage and bratwurst were floating around us! disgusting! We continued to look around and then finally without warning. A Great White came from nowhere and smashed into the cage right where Sarah and I were standing. It really got the adrenaline pumping! Sarah being Sarah was screaming alot. Captured on video but it won't let me upload it. Rubbish! After that the action came thick and fast. The captain and a deck hand stood with bits of tuna attached to rope baiting the sharks.
It was one of the 
best 30 minutes of my life! They are so graceful in the water, 
t
hen in a flash they turn on the power. Sadly we had to get out of the cage, i could have stayed 
there all day! The action didn't stop all afternoon. It was almost as good watching them from the surface breaching the water to munch on some tuna. I'd been watching the action for so long that I missed lunch! I don't miss lunch, it's one of my favorite times of the day. We set sail back to Port Lincoln most of the others on the boat had a sleep. I just sat and looked at my photos! They put a highlights DVD together and played it on the way back. You could buy it for $50, It was shite! All the footage of sharks was library footage, they didn't even film underwater that day! I didn't buy it. We arrived back in port and decided in the spirit of the day we'd visit the local Michelin starred sea food restaurant! We both had shark steaks! Only kidding! We went to MacDonald's. I had a Big Mac! We were both knackered after getting up at 0530 so had an early night. What a great day! Oh wait how could I forget, after being asleep for a few hours we were rudely awoken to the tent being almost blown over. It was blowing a hooley as Sarah would say! I ended up having to drive the car in front of the tent and tying guy ropes to it! So there you have it. Today will go down in the annals of time as the day that Ben and Sarah dived with Great White sharks. 
After the skype date with the family on Monday we packed up in good time and got on our way, however it was slow going getting out of Adelaide! Once we were out of the city and on our way it was plain sailing all the way to Port Augusta, stopping for lunch in Port Pirie which was rather nice! We have managed to stop in lovely places for our lunch everyday, and Port Pirie was no exception. We sat by the water eating out sandwiches (made there and then obviously!) and watching the world go by for a few minutes.
Port Augusta is a very hot place, and is referred to as 'the gate to the outback' in this region, so you can imagine the landscape! We couldn't do anything before getting into the pool as it was far too hot! After a refreshing dip in the pool we felt ready to attack the tent. We pitched the tent in bright red sandy earth that was very hot and hard! It was incredibly dusty! The campsite was not busy at all, as it really is not a place many people would ever go to, we were only there on our way to the sharks! Had the ferry been running that takes you across from Adelaide to Cowell, we would have been on it, as it's only a short drive to Port Lincoln after that, but as it was not we found ourselves at Port Augusta driving the 650 km trip! The campsite did have the BEST camp kitchen we have ever seen, and it was air conditioned! It was soooooo nice to go in and sit down for a while, but then absolutely terrible once you came back outside! It was all decked out in stainless steel, and looked like a professional chefs kitchen, so Ben was in his element! After pitching the tent we got back in the pool to cool off! Then off to the supermarket for something for dinner! We could not believe how hot the ground was, and it stayed that way all night! We were just settling down for bed at about half ten, when Ben complained about how I had not pumped up the bed enough. However, we had both been sat on it reading and emailing etc, and it had been fine, then we suddenly realised it must have a puncture, and it started to go much faster and we could hear it! So, I had to get out of bed and hunt around in the car for the puncture repair kit, then we had to get all the air out, and patch it up and wait, sat on the hot ground, for half an hour before we pumped it up again! We decided to put our sleeping bags under our sheet as a small comfort incase it deflated in the night! So, off we went to bed not knowing what state we would be in come the morning! It became apparent after just five minutes that it was now a very slow leak, and we were glad we had put the sleeping bags underneath for the little bit of comfort they might provide! Come the morning the bed was pretty flat, but not completely, and remarkably we both slept ok which was a blessing! We googled K Mart (a cheap shop here) to see if Port Lincoln had one, and it did, so we knew we'd be stopping there for a new bed!
So we got up very early as it was going to get pretty hot very soon! The guy in the office said we had been lucky yesterday as the temperature had only hit 37 as there was a good wind, but today was going to hit 45, so we thought we'd better get moving pretty quick! We drove all the way to Port Lincoln, stopping off for lunch by the sea again! We arrived at Port Lincoln in the early afternoon and were pleased we would have a whole afternoon to relax, but alas that was not meant to be! The camp site is a big site right on the sea, and it's a tiered site up the cliff side and it is pretty windy! We took a while working out which way to face the tent, and once this was decided we got on with it, but the more we put up the worse it became, the whole side of the tent was folding completely in on itself under the wind. We were both very concerned, it was crazy windy and the tent was becoming half the size being battered by it! The tent was mostly up apart from a couple of pegs, but we decided to go and ask if there was a more sheltered spot! There was inbetween two big vans so we decided to relocate! So we put the tent down, quite tricky in the crazy wind, and moved over to the other spot! We began putting it up, and it was a much more sheltered spot, still with a bit of wind, but the issue we had here was how hard the ground was! Ben was having great difficulty banging some of them in, as it was gravel and rock hard underneath, and many pegs got bent! A kind man who had lent us his mallet (as we only have a hammer!) came over to see how we were getting on, and had a go at the last peg that was not going in at all and couldn't do it either! He bought over a really thick peg, and even that bent! We ended up banging it in slightly in the wrong place, but at least it was in! So, tent finally up most of the afternoon had gone! However, we ventured to the information centre to find out where the K Mart was, and what else there was going on here. The lady was really helpful and informed us that it was the 5 day festival of 'Tunarama' here!!! They are big on tuna here, and have this festival every year, and this year was special as it was the 50th anniversary! We had missed the big stuff over the weekend like the tossing of the tuna! But we were in time to see the watermelon eating contest on Wednesday and the slippery pole contest! We bought oursleves a new bed and had a relaxing evening. We went for a walk along the sea front and Ben threw stones and rocks into the sea, what is it about boys throwing things?!
On Wednesday we enjoyed not having to get up and pack up the tent etc!!! Had a lazy morning and after smelling bacon on lots of mornings and wishing we had some, we got some yesterday and enjoyed a bacon and egg sandwich for brunch! Did a load of washing and then got everything sorted for the next day - Shark day! We went to find the parking for the place, and found the office but they were shut for lunch and it said be back at 1pm, it was now 1.15pm, so we left and went to check out the Tunarama festivities. On our way we had the radio on and the lady said something about coming up to 1pm, and we both looked at eachother and wondered if we had missed a time change when we crossed over into South Australia days ago!!!! We really needed to find out as we had the shark dive the next day!!!! We went to the information centre and asked the time, and it was half an hour earlier than we thought!!!!! We had spent days on the wrong time zone, but had never noticed! Lucky we did today, or we would have been very early for the shark dive and might have thought it was cancelled! No wonder the shark dive office was still shut for lunch when we turned up! After moseying around the Tunarama and seeing a bit of the slippery pole contest and the kids watermelon eating contest we got dinner for the evening and tomorrow as we could be back late, and packed our bags up ready for the early start! We had to meet them at 6.30am, so alarms were set for 5.30am!!! Definately on the right time! Three alarms to be precise! I had a skype chat with school which was excellent! It was my old class, now in year four, and the next door class too! They all looked grown up and it was so funny feeling like I was back there, but I was sat outside in a campsite in Australia! They had prepared some questions for me which I did my best to answer! They were celebrating Australia Day so it worked really well! After that was done it was time to shower and get to bed ready for the day ahead!
I will try and get Ben to blog about shark day very soon!
Sarah x
On Saturday we got up and did our little routine, shower, put tent down, breakfast and get on the road. We can usually achieve this in under an hour now, getting good! We were headed for a little place called Robe for the night, and when I enquired at the campsite office about any roadclosures that might affect us, she asked if we had booked at Robe as it is very popular! We had not, so first job was to call ahead and book a spot, which we did not problem!
After a quick trip to the supermarket we were on our way. Ben likes to take
the first shift of driving, and got us all the way to Mt Gambier where we decided to stop for lunch. Mt Gambier is famous for it's Blue Lake. There is an extinct volcano there, with the Blue Lake in a massive crater. There is a road that goes all the way around the 5km circumference, so we came upon it, and it shocked us just how blue it really was! The info said that through the winter it is a steely grey colour, and then as Summer comes it changes over a couple of days to this amazing cobalt blue, it is absolutely s
tunning! So we found a nice patch of grass and had our little picnic Mum style! This basically means make it on arrival and not before, and if you have no 'sad table', a lap will do! After yummy 'made on the spot sandwiches' we got back in the car and I completed the last leg of the journey to Robe. Robe is a lovely seaside place famous for it's crayfishing. We had a scout around and looked at the beach and then went back to the site to put the tent up. Once
that job was done we headed back to the beach for some relaxing in the sun! It was a very windy little place and I did get covered in sand as it blew across the beach, but it was lovely anyway! We had a wonderful evening, and Ben joined me to eat a 'Fisherman's Basket', as it was the same price as two lots of fish and chips, but you got loads more! For those of you who don't know, Ben does 'not like fish', however, he gave it a whirl, along with the scallops, calamari, and salt and pepper squid and found he actually didn't mind it! Of course we had Heinz ketchup and coke, and a perfect view, bliss!
The next morning we completed our pack up routine (with a wet tent as it had rained in the night!) and were on our way to Adelaide! We booked our campsite and were on our way. We stopped at a nice spot called Tailem Bend for a quick sandwich and headed on into Adelaide. It was a very hot day! We decided to change the campsite we had chosen as it was inland and didn't have a pool, for one on the beach with a pool for a few extra dollars. We are SO glad we did! It was an enormous campsite, but very nice. We were just over the sand dunes from the beach, which we opted for as the pool was very busy! Had a lovely afternoon on the beach and we both had a little doze in the sun! We got to Skype with Carol and Mike in the evening which was great, so we caught up on all their news and vice versa. In the morning I also got up early to Skype with Mum, Dad and Emma which was lovely. It had been a while since we last skyped so I really enjoyed it! Although we are having an amazing time, I am already super excited about the day we get home and all the hugs and catching up that will be done!
So, on our way into Lorne on Friday we went past the campsite turning and had to carry on the road to find a place to turn around, and there on the roadwas a policeman stoppi
ng people and pulling them over to do random breath testing!! So Ben was breath tested and I managed to get a photo (I asked permission first obviously!) and a little bit of video clip by accident! Ben was so funny, he told the police officer we were trying to turn around, which made it sound like we were trying to avoid the road block! So I quickly explianed that we were trying to find the campsite, not avoid the police! Here is the picture, and Ben wants me to stress he had a reading of ZERO! So we were allowed to go on our way! Another experience to add to the list!
Posted by
Sarah O'Neill
,
03:34
So, it's now Friday and I need to recall events from Tuesday onwards to update the blog! Tuesday was a great day, we went to the Australian Open and got to see Andy Murray play! I have never actually been to a big sporting event, so this was quite a big deal for me! We got the tram into the city and it was a short walk to the arenas. On our way Ben discreetly informed me that Andy Murray's mum was walking towards us! It felt like a celeb spotting moment, then I realised that it really wasn't, but pretty cool all the same! 
So, we had a look around the whole place, which was huge, lots of advertising stalls and sponsors etc, and then we found our seats. We were in the Hisence arena. First on was Tomic (a young Australian who obviously had lots of fans in the crowd!) against Chardy, a French hopeful. Tomic won much to the crowds delight! Then we had Jelena Jankovic against some Russian woman, Jankovic won! Then what we had all been waiting for! Andy Murray against Karol Beck. There was a lot more noise from the crowd and Murray had lots of supporters! It was a good game, however, Beck had an injury and had to have treament to his shoulder for a while. We were entertained by Murray's supporters in the audience who had lots of chants to keep the atmosphere going! Beck did continue after this and I reckon Murray was going to win, however, we did not get to find out, as Beck had to retire due to his shoulder, which was a bit disappointing! But it was a great day and I am glad we went! Headed back and decided to stay another night before driving the Great Ocean Road as we had a few things to do and also wanted the best weather day for the drive, which looked like it was not going to be Wednesday!
So on Wednesday we paid in the money from Gunther's sale and posted all the car paperwork and boring erands like that and I had a lazy afternoon by the pool sunbathing while Ben watched the tennis in the TV room! That night we went to the night market, (recommended by our friendly old neighbours) and had a great time! It was very busy, but had a great atmosphere, and we had a lovely chocolate brownie from a cake stall that was divine!
On Thursday morning we packed up the car, and said goodbye to our friendly neighbours! We decided to just drive a couple of hours to get to Lorne and stay overnight. That way we could do the Great Ocean Road over two days and enjoy the scenery and stop at all the lookouts etc! We stopped at various places along the way and enjoyed the beautiful weather! We stopped for lunch in a small place called Anglesy and got to Lorne not long after. After heading to the orginal camping spot we had booked and finding a tent already in it, we went to the office and asked for one closer to the beach, which we got, so that worked out well! We put the tent up and then headed to the beach for the rest of the afternoon! It was a lovely lazy beach afternoon with lots of reading of my book, and a bit of playing catch with Ben to keep him happy! On our way back to the tent we saw a big screen had been erected in the field next door, and found out there was an open air cinema night that night! So, we got to watch The Goonies at the outdoor cinema which was fun! We were both pretty cold, so we had our sleeping bags wrapped around us! As we go further south the nights are getting colder, so we are glad to have sleeping bags and a duvet on top!!!
This morning we got up and packed up the tent (which we are getting quite good at now!) and got on the road. Before leaving Lorne we haded to the 
Erskine Falls, which is a 30metre drop waterfall. We walked down the 250 steps to the lookouts and took some pictures and it was very pretty, but then had to walk back up the 250 steps! We drove along the coast, which was spectacular all the way to Apollo Bay where we stopped for lunch! We saw meat and veg pastys that had won 3rd best in Aus, so we thought we had better try them! We took them to the beautiful beach, which was gorgeous! The pastys were ok, but nothing compares to the real thing!!!! We drove on along the Great Ocean Road and stopped at The 12 Apostles which is a famous landmark rock formation. 
The whole coast is limestone, and the erosion has left huge stumps of rock along the coast, and on this stretch there are, you guessed it, 12! It is a spectacular sight and well worth the visit. The photos just don't do it justice! We also stopped at 'London Bridge', which used to be a bit or rock making a 'bridge' out to a large stump which you could walk across on. However, in 1990 it collapsed just after a couple had walked across it!!!! They were rescued by helicopter, and ran away from the media as they were actually having an affair and were both married!!!! We also drove out to a lighthouse we h
ad read about and saw signs for the turn off, but when we got there it was nearly $20 each to look at it, and you couldn't get anywhere near it without paying, and we didn't think it was really worth it, so we headed back to the main road. It seemed a bit of a waste of our time, however, it turned out not to be as we read that the stretch of road was good for spotting Koalas in the wild, so we stopped and saw loads!
So, after a day of fantastic driving and amazing scenery we arrived at Warrnambool and took the last camping site they had at the campsite! It was 
an 'ensuite' suite which means you have your own little toilet and shower block next to your site! Lovely but quite un-necessesary, we only did it because there was nothing else! Musn't get used to it!!! Headed to the little market we saw going on and moseyed around before pitching the tent and sorting dinner! Then spent the evening reading, blogging and emailing as we have a powered site, yay! Must go now as it is very late and I have been on here far too long! Will add pictures tomorrow!
Sarah x
bus!!! The 'star' we got to meet was 'Janelle Timmons', who was in it a couple of years ago! Not Susan or Toadie, but still fun to meet her! She was great, talked lots about the show, and the people who played certain characters, and who her favourite was etc. We ended up going back into the office for that bit as the rain was so bad, and she posed for photos and signed neighbours postcards for us! She was great fun and there was definitely a bit of 'Janelle' in her! 
d tour we got to visit the set of the Lassiters complex, where we saw the lake, Lassiters hotel, Harold's store, Toadie's Law Office and Charlie's Bar! I loved posing for photos outside each one, but it felt very surreal!!! It was so weird actually being there and walking around, but also knowing that there was actually nothing behind the door, as they film the inside stuff in the studios! We also got to see the Garage, Grease Monkey's and the Police Station, and a new set they have built which hasn't aired yet, Sonya's Grandma's house! 
