Mike had made arrangements for us all to meet on the outskirts of Anglesea at 9am on Saturday morning.  Most of us had arrived by that time, except Allen Tyrrell, who apparently had mixed up the dates on his calendar for this weekend, so sadly he didn’t join us this weekend after all.

We had a couple of hours ahead of us to get to our intended camp spot, so without any further delay we put the pedal to the metal and headed west along the world famous Great Ocean Road.  It had been at least 15 years since we had last travelled along this road, so I was looking forward to reacquainting myself with the area.  This is such a lovely drive with spectacular views of the rugged southern coast around almost every bend.

We drove through Lorne and I was quite disappointed by the “concrete jungle” that this little town has been developed into.  The question begs to be asked why the local authorities have permitted those concrete monstrosities to be built in Lorne.  Luckily the other seaside townships along the way have so far resisted the urge of this urban development. 

A couple of kms before Apollo Bay, we headed up a very steep hill to the Marriner’s Lookout and we were rewarded with 180 degree views of this lovely sheltered bay.  On the way into the township Ron & Rose’s Toyota developed some mechanical problems and although the boys fiddled under the bonnet for over an hour there was nothing they could do and the RACV had to be called.  The RACV mechanic agreed with the verdict - the car was “DEAD” and would need to be towed home.  Rather than miss out on the weekend, Ron & Rose’s belongings were distributed between our various vehicles and they jumped in with Keith and we set off once again.Our next port of call was intended to be Cape Otway Lighthouse and we did actually make it to the car-park, before Ted & Peg’s starter motor decided it didn’t want to work any longer.  (Jeepers Mike, what kind of trip are you running here –you’ve now got 2 cars out of action J)

Ron & Ted took a hammer and some pliers and stuck their noses underneath the car and Ted started bashing things, whilst Ron shot off a few sparks with the pliers and Hey Presto we were off again – well done boys, that fixed it. 

With the 4x4s ready for a challenge and the Commodore safely parked in the car-park, we planned to drive down an alleged 4x4 track to Blanket Bay to have lunch before heading back to look at the lighthouse.  The 4x4 track turned out to be non-existent, but the lunch spot was a pretty little spot and lunch was had by all.  After lunch, Ted & Peg opted to head directly to camp, rather than tempt fate with the starter motor problems, whilst the others went back to the lighthouse car-park to pick up the Jess’ commodore.

Steve and Angela had arrived the day prior at the designated camp spot, the Princeton Recreational Reserve, and it was here that we finally caught up with them.  We said our hellos, we set up camp and then sat around chatting and listening the last quarter of the AFL Grand Final (poor Saints).  Strangely our starter motor had stopped playing up, so we relaxed and waited for the rest of the group to join us at camp.

Mike soon arrived, followed in by the rest of the convoy and after setting up camp, we all sat around the campfire.  Later in the evening Mike & Andrew cooked up enough delicious Marinated Pork Ribs to feed 20 people & Mike even had some yummy home made potato salad to go them, well that was a feast and now dinner was taken care of for tonight – bewdy I didn’t need to cook.

Nina, together with their daughter Carmen & friend, Brenton, joined our group quite late on the Saturday night, after they missed the turn off to the camp site and ended up in Port Campbell before they realised they had to turn back.  We sat around the camp fire trying to keep warm and enjoyed each others company, before retiring to our nice warm beds for the night.

After a chilly night, we woke to another glorious day, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and only a mere hint of a lovely warm breeze – beautiful, now that’s what I call decent spring weather – bring it on J

We had some sight-seeing to do today, and the first spot was the Gibson Steps, where there are 89 steps running down the side of the cliff face down to the beach below.  Most of our group walked down to the beach, though some of us opted to offer moral support from the top instead.  From the look on everyone’s faces, the 89 steps back up to the top got the blood pumping.

Next stop was the Lock Ard Gorge, the site of the ship wreck for which the gorge was named.  After walking around the various tracks, we then headed into Port Campbell for a cuppa and some 11s’s.

Heading back in the easterly direction, the London Bridge (which fell down a few years back) was next and again we walked around the various tracks and took a look at the various views of this stunning coastline.

Next point of interest was The Grotto, where I was assured was a magnificent specimen of a merman waiting for me, however all I found was Ted.  Now granted he does have a cute little tail, but it just isn’t that scaly J (I might get shot for that one!).

The tourists obviously are drawn in their thousands to the 12 Apostles because, since our last visit, a large tourist information building/kiosk and an even larger car park had been built here.  There must have been 300 cars in the car-park and the crowds of people, walking through the underpass to get to the cliff side for a photo op, was a little overwhelming.  We, of course, joined these hoards and got our photos too, including our group shot.

We left the coast and headed inland for about an hour to the Fly & Tree Top walk.  After a late lunch, our group walked down the hill to the start of this steel structure, a series of suspended walkways which hang in amongst the tree canopy and overlook the ground below, it certainly gives you a different view of the world.  It was a lovely walk, though walking up the spirals of the Fly made me very nervous, as it swayed around in the wind.  At this point most of the convoy said their goodbyes and left us to head back home, however Mike & Andrew, Stephen & Angela and Ted & Peg headed back to camp to spend one more night.

We sat around the campfire and this time Stephen & Angela provided our little group with enough gourmet sausages and hamburgers and salad, so that again Ted & I didn’t need to cook – we actually took most of our food back home with us and I had somehow got out of cooking for the whole weekend – bewdy.

Monday morning, we packed up in the rain and then headed off to Timboon to check out the cheese factory.  After some delicious samples, we stayed for lunch and enjoyed gourmet pizzas with the local cheese and various other toppings & a delicious coffee – yummy.  The rain had now stopped and the day was again quite pleasant and warm, which made the trip home quite enjoyable.

It was a fantastic scenic & social weekend and on behalf of us all, thanks to Mike & Nina for organising it.

Written by:

Peggy Lee