Persistent rain and strong winds were a feature over our King’s Birthday ling weekend drive to Port Campbell and the Shipwreck Coast but this did not pour cold water over our enjoyment.
Read our member's reports below.
1. Lawrence Glynn #3
Peter Williams produced another set of fabulous roads where we could enjoy driving our cars without falling foul of the law or risking life and limb. Jo Mawson organised excellent dining spots where we could enjoy some food a bit different from usual pub fare and, perhaps most important, each other’s company.
The scenery was spectacular even when viewed from the shelter of a car, but most of us braved the elements for an even better view and a bit of a laugh as we were blown around.
We met up (close to my home) at Geelong we made our way in a zigzag tour to a delicious lunch in Colac. Travelling on through Forrest we joined the Great Ocean Road after the stretch frequented by most tourists and thus a lot less “cluttered”. We passed briefly explored the overly full car park at the 12 Apostles on our way to Port Campbell, elected to leave that for Sunday when plenty of time, and hopefully better weather, was available. Dinner at the 12 Rocks. Lovely meal again and even better with a great bunch of people to spend the weekend with.
Sunday did not have any scheduled activities and a bit of a lazy start for most of us before spreading out and exploring the area.
Some went East some went West and some stayed in town.
Bit of a damp day, but that doesn’t stop us getting out and enjoying the day.
The day ended with another lovely meal together, this time at a different restaurant. Another great night had by all.
Monday started with a photo shoot in the car park at Port Campbell before we headed off to the Bay of Islands for visit before starting our winding way back towards home along some more lovely driving roads with a couple of stops to admire the scenery and more group photos.
After lunch at Camperdown some took a direct route to the Queenscliff ferry and the rest enjoyed exploring the Lake Corangamite area and the Red Rock volcanos.
‘Twas another fantastic weekend away with an awesome bunch of people, lots of laughs and fun and interesting places to visit.
Thanks all for coming, or following along and thanks again Jo and Peter for the faultless running of these events. It takes a huge amount of organising, and you do it so well.
2. Adrian White #606
After travelling down to Port Campbell on Saturday, Sunday was a free day which allowed the group to do whatever they wanted to do.
Sunday started off wet and windy. John and I had spoken about what was likely to happen the night before so when he called after breakfast it was time to call at Graeme & Jo's room to collect a travel snack bag and head off.
We decided to head to Warrnambool so the first stop was London Bridge. London Bridge is close to the road so we donned our coats and took the short walk to the look out. It was raining and windy with an angry ocean and waves breaking over the neighbouring point. It was interesting watching the ocean and the waves breaking. We had talked about having a coffee before we left but John mentioned that he was refreshed after being at the lookout and didn't need the coffee.
We moved on the short distance to the Grotto carpark. This time the walk was 700 metres down into the grotto. The section after the board walk was potholed gravel which meant dodging or trying to dodge potholes but the final section was boardwalk again before going down the steps to the Grotto. It was raining and the waves were crashing into the coastline. A couple of times when we were at the viewing point waves crashed into the bank and filled the grotto with water and water splashed over the top in our face. After walking back John was now completely refreshed!
We then moved through Peterborough to Warrnambool and by which time the need for caffeine and coffee was more urgent. Service station or takeaway store coffee was not good enough, boutique coffee was required. We passed through Warrnambool without seeing a real coffee shop but when we started driving out of town John turned around and we headed back to try again. I got on trip adviser and found that some of the more highly recommended shops were on Kepler St. Tour Boss had taken over John's Sat Nav and google wasn't working so we found our way back off my phone. This is something that would plague us for the afternoon but for now we found Kepler St and in a quieter area after the main shopping strip we found Bohemia.
We were fortunate to get a park and although we were there before 12 there were no tables left so we knew our choice was correct because the locals were supporting it. John confirm ed this when his coffee arrived. We had some lovely chicken and corn soup for lunch then started heading back to Timboon to visit the distillery.
On the way John mistakenly turned left before the map instruction which started a small adventure inland. Google was working now and re-plotted a route which turned out to be main road, then single lane bitumen, then gravel roads before entering Timboon. When we got to Timboon I took over as I knew where the distillery was. We arrived travelling past the Railway View Hotel and met Paul & Jo at the Railway Shewd distillery who were enjoying a tasting flight.
After talking for a while John ordered Tom's flight and I ordered Jim's flight . John's was various types of Whisky, which I had tried the night before, and mine was Gin, Lemon spritz and Strawberry schnapps. Paul & Jo left heading to the cheese factory and we finished our flights. John left with a bottle of Christie's Cut whiskey under his arm.
It was about quarter to three and when I looked on my phone we saw that the Schulz Organic Creamery was closing in 15 minutes. We made the 6 minute drive just in time and had a look at their selection which included mainly soft cheese like camembert to quark. I got a tub of quark before we headed to the Apostle Whey Cheese factory which was still open.
Paul & Jo were still there but about to head off. We did the sampling and both John and I purchased some camembert which really expensive. I had some sorbet as we headed back to Port Campbell before going out to dinner. Looking at John's WhatsApp message last night John's purchases may be gone already!.
