Victoria First

19/1-26/1 2015

After leaving behind our home turf it was a bit hard to decide which way to travel. Initially Collarenebri and Wilcannia where tossed around as options but the heat really killed those for us. Down south we went in search for the ocean and some cooler weather. We found both including an unusual amount of wind. 

The great ocean road is a true icon and because the children had no memories of the times we visited the 12 apostles before it seemed fitting to start with one of Australia’s true tourist highlights.  They were again as beautiful as we remembered and the parking lot in the park was our first night camping “wild”.  Lovely.

Christel had to finish off her research project in Hamilton and so we followed the coast and parked our bus next to the oval of Killarney. It was a short walk over the dunes to the beach where the waves were fun to ride boards on and we were even able to do some snorkeling. There was not much fish to catch despite our efforts and the weather had actually turned cold. Never did we think we needed coats on our travels around Australia but we soon went shopping for some in Warrnambool. During our time on the camping the kids had a great time riding their bikes around and Hugo could not stay behind. With a little help from Laura and Peter Hugo started peddling and he hasn’t looked back since.

On the 21^st we had our first birthday in the bus. Christel turned 39, which we celebrated with a hummingbird cake and a present for every one.  As a birthday outing we visited the shipwreck museum in Warrnambool which gave us more insight in the early settlers and the dangerous coastline of Victoria.  This sparked new interest in the lighthouses along the coast.  There is a nice walk to the one in Port Fairy. It was fun to climb to the top and look out over the ocean.

The time had come to leave Victoria to the West. Just before the boarder we realized that there are restrictions on what to take across. You cannot take fresh fruit or vegetables. This led to the great Australia day cook off. Parked next to the playground in Heywood we cooked up chili con carne, Tuna and leek pasta, as well as a banana cake and the biggest fruit salad our children will see in a long time.  Lessons learned for the next boarder crossing. No one complained, particularly not after tasting the banana cake. Please find recipe here.