I wasn’t going to write about this trip since it’s a one-week away to Adelaide, not as epic as previous trips, but then thought why not?
So, took a Friday off from work (but they still called me about something), up early because my internal clock obviously thought it was a normal day.
Finalised packing – we are taking more with us than we did for our 5 week trips to Europe and Canada, mainly because we’re driving, so in went the laptop and the tablet, food and drink.
Left the dog with the next door neighbours (we did ask them first), said goodbye to the cat and headed off at around 09:35. Turned around after 500M because Song did’t remember locking the front door (she had).
Traffic wasn’t bad and we were soon on the Freeway heading towards Geelong, took a left turn and set out for Mortlake where I reckoned we’d end up around lunchtime.
The road was a ‘B’ road, but I was surprised at how little traffic there was. We stopped for a leg stretch in Lismore where I got a coffee from a very chatty woman who wanted to know where I was from, where I was going, what the weather was like in Melbourne, did I have kids and would I like sugar.
Back in the car and on the country road, the scenery was very green – it had rained a lot, and in fact earlier in the week we were not sure if we could go because a lot of roads were closed due to flooding. The Great Ocean Road was closed in part due to a landslide.
The hills were very lush and there were tons of sheep – I don’t know why they wanted to clone them, they all looked the same to me and there were plenty of them. We could have been in New Zealand or Ireland. There was also lots of standing water in the fields and some signs warning that there was water on the road, but it hadn’t rained for a week and the roads were clear.
We arrived at Mortlake and looked around for somewhere to eat, and found a cafe that was very busy – because it was the only place there. It was a pretty average place and I had a meat pie, Song had a chicken sandwich and a Chico Roll (a deep fried thing filled with some grey stuff – very uncharacteristic of her). I can honestly say it was the best pie I’ve ever had in Mortlake. I can also guarantee that it will be the last pie I ever have in Mortlake.
Back into the car and onward, we passed a sign for a waterfall (Nigretta Falls), and decided to have a look. I figured that with all the rain it might be quite good. Drove down the small road and nearly missed the turn-off, but when we got there it was pretty spectacular. We’ve seen a few waterfalls this year, including Niagara and some amazing Icelandic ones. This wasn’t on the same scale (obviously), but was equal to those we saw in Canada. Lots of water and noise. It was at this point that I realised I’d left my camera at home on the cabinet. Luckily Song took a few hundred photos with her phone to make up for it.
Drove another 10 minutes and found another waterfall called Wannon Falls, again pretty impressive.
Carried on to Mount Gambier where we were staying (getting to Adelaide in one go is do-able, but there wasn’t any point in pushing it).
I kept my eye out for wildlife, there were loads of signs for kangaroos and koalas, and I did see 3 kangaroos and 1 koala. Unfortunately they were all dead by the side of the road so it didn’t count.
However, as we drove through a forest I saw a mob of kangaroos (yes, that is the correct term, I looked it up), about 20 or so, sitting and laying down behind a wire fence just at the side of the road. I drove past so had to turn around and go back. As soon as I stopped they all got up and hopped off into the trees. Bastards. All except 2, who sat there looking at us. Song got out of the car to take a photo but they were just teasing and they bounded off as well. Bastards. So we didn’t get any photos but at least we saw some.
We arrived at Mount Gambier and pulled in at an attraction – a sinkhole in a park. Yes, a hole in the ground counts as an attraction here.
Drove around the corner to Blue Lake – this was nice, a huge lake (blue) inside a volcanic crater. Unfortunately you can’t get close because it actually supplies the town with water, but there was a lookout with a nice view.
Song had booked the Park Hotel which sounded nice, until we drove up and discovered it was a pub, complete with Pokie Machines. In 10 years of booking hotels Song had finally slipped up. However, the room was good – clean, comfortable with all the stuff, and to be honest was perfectly fine.
Decided not to eat at the hotel / pub and instead went to a Thai restaurant that was no 4 in Tripadvisor and was busy, a short walk from the hotel. I had Phad Thai and Song had pork. It was average at best.
Feeling pretty drained after the early start and the driving, walked back to the hotel and crashed.
Tomorrow we’re getting up early because we want to visit Naracoorte (Song said there’s some interesting things there) and drive along the coast.