4 people, 9 days, 1 campervan

Hi friends!

And so another portion of our trip is in the books….the Great Ocean Road!

On our way to pick up our campervan, we grabbed breakfast at McDonalds, or Macca’s as they call it. Our first stop in our campervan was to get supplies. But more importantly we had to find a parking spot that would fit our newly acquired oversized vehicle. After going around the block and much searching, we found a spot in
the back of the car park (as they call it). All stops take much longer than allotted for with little kids. Then onto the Great Ocean Road and to see Bell’s Beach. This is a huge surfing spot and there were tons of surfers. We were wearing light jackets so brrr in the
water!

Our first holiday park was also a learning experience. Cory was going to fix supper only to realize we didn’t have any propane in the tank (even though they said it was 3/4 full). So we punted with sandwiches and microwaved beans…good camp food. 😉 Then he proceeded to get the van ready for bed while I corralled the kids at the playground. In order to go to bed, he had to take out both car seats and basically unload all our luggage outside. Then you set up the top bunk (which I got up there only once to put Teddy to bed and was so incredibly claustrophobic) by pulling out boards and putting cushions on top. Then he put Teddy’s mini tent up there and Bea sleeps beside him in a sleeping bag. Ok, so they’re settled and now for us. We also had to pull out boards and cushions to make our bed. Then Cory had to figure out where all our luggage would fit….mostly in the cab and under our bed. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle. As it turns out, it’s quite a system to set up both for night and day time in the campervan but we’re getting more efficient each day. Even though it’s a tight space and lots of unloading and loading, we think it was still a good idea for the kids to have consistent sleeping arrangements for this part of our trip.

We took a couple serene rainforest walks. The fern branches/leaves are the biggest we’ve ever seen! On down the road, we stopped to see koalas in the wild. As it turns out, it’s the same stop I took with my friend Katelyn (on our day trip down the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne) 11 years ago! We did in fact see a couple koalas and cockatoos along with a kookaburra (bird native and only found in Australia) and other radiantly colored birds.

Next up was viewing the magnificent Twelve Apostles….and they were magnificent! We got supper from a pub and had a picnic while we enjoyed the beautiful scenery! We wanted to stay and see the penguins return from their fishing for the day but decided to get the kids to bed instead. So we proceeded to take our first ‘campervan’ shower experience. Teddy proceeded to scream (Bea and I could hear him from our showers) the entire time. Poor Cory! This was a mom and pop park like the previous one we had stayed in.

The next day was what we called our best food day to date. It started at the Do Duck Inn Cafe in Princetown where we had toast covered in two fried eggs, spinach, ham and tomato and sausage….delicious! Then we enjoyed the rest of the Great Ocean Road highlights: Loch Ard Gorge, London Bridge and Bay of Martyrs. In 1990 a part of the London Bridge fell into the ocean and I can see why. The waves here were unbelievably strong! I cannot imagine how fish stay alive with those waves! Continuing our yummy meals was lunch at Simon’s on the water in Warrnambool (the names of these cities are starting to get hard to pronounce). ha We sat looking at the ocean while Cory had the best fish and chips (thus far in Australia) and I enjoyed a salmon and mango salsa meal. Wow!

We ended our official Great Ocean Road travels in Port Fairy where we thought we’d hit the jackpot for two reasons. One was The Stag; a restaurant clearly not intended for children but amazing! We first had a purple carrot (didn’t know they existed) for an entree (as they call an appetizer here), cheesy cauliflower and wallaby. It tastes
like cow. 😉 Two is we finally stayed at a Big4 holiday park. They had a ‘jumping pillow’ and both kids loved it! Check out Cory’s Instagram for a video of Bea jumping. The park also had a playground and indoor bounce/play area. I mean, it was the jackpot for these children who had been living in a campervan.

We were amazed at the beauty of the Great Ocean Road! Here are some photo highlights of our trip!

Love,
Cory, Millie, Bea & Teddy

Bell’s Beach (see the surfer’s behind them)