Warrnambool to Johanna Beach: The Great Ocean Road

This section of the road was quite a drive, with the first lot of really winding roads and where we saw a lot of the sights that makes The Great Ocean Road so popular. It was spectacular scenery for much of the way and thankfully, the rain cleared up and we had great views and sunshine. It was a bit windy, but you can't have everything can you?! We had a recommendation to visit Cape Schank lighthouse which is in the Great Otway national park and on the way, we noticed a couple of people had stopped beside the road, pointing their cameras into the trees. They had seen koalas snuggled amidst the branches so we quickly pulled over to have a look. They didn't seem too bothered by us and one of them woke up for a moment and blinkingly looked at me as if to say "I was having a really good dream until you came along." Thankfully, they didn't make the noise of our previous koala encounter in the Narrawong forest nor did they aim their poop in our general direction. In fact, they were more interested in rearranging themselves in the trees to continue their sleep and who can blame them? They looked so comfy and it was early morning after all. On arrival at the lighthouse, we climbed the spiral stairs to the top to hear the stories of the shipwreck coast and the history of the lighthouse and admire the spectacular views. We also took time to wonder around to see some former defences and communications from WWII as well as some Aboriginal artefacts and information which was all fascinating.
Onwards to The Great Ocean Road and we saw the incredibly beautiful rock formations that make this coast so dramatic. The Bay of Islands, the Grotto, the Arch and of course, The Twelve Apostles. We didn't stop at London Bridge as it's no longer a bridge, it collapsed in the early 90's leaving two tourists stranded! All these sights are absolutely stunning rock formations caused by the unrelenting winds and the waves of The Southern Ocean pounding the cliffs. Apparently, Australia is the only country to recognise The Southern Ocean, so to the pommies reading, it's the Indian Ocean, OK? This is what we've read here so if in fact you are a pom that recognises it, please let us know!! There aren't Twelve Apostles but more like 9, apparently they were given the name to make them more appealing to tourists, something which was pretty successful judging by the number of people there.
That night we stopped at Johanna beach, a free campsite that was nestled in the hills next to a beautiful sandy beach. The relentless wind and strong currents meant it was too dangerous to swim but we had a paddle before setting up camp for the night.

Port Fairy to Warrnambool - We slept in a shed

Port Fairy is a lovely little town on the coast, on the estuary of the Moyne river, recently voted one of the most liveable communities in Australia. It's easy to see why as everything about this little fishing community is rather charming, from the lovely shops and harbour to the occasional power cut. As has become habit, we headed straight for the tourist info to find out about the area and to see what our options were for free camping. The man we spoke to came up trumps when he suggested a nature walk around the nearby island to see the lighthouse. It was sunny and dry which was a nice change as we'd seen a fair bit of rain so far. Not only that, he also let us know we could camp for free in a small public park area by the river so if we're only there for the one night, we'll probably get away with it - which we did. Conveniently, there was a public toilet there as well as a BBQ, so we spent what we would have paid at a caravan park and bought a massive steak to cook on it. So apart from the devious Raven which insisted on landing on the car repeatedly and giving me the evil eye and the heavy rain for most of the night, a small leak and being freezing cold, it was a decent place to be.
The next day it was onto Warrnambool and for that I've copied Tom's diary entry from our interesting stay there:

Thursday 17th October
It's raining and we're in a shed. The wind noise is overpowered by the rain (hail?) On the wooden roof and I'm starting to believe the comments about there being six seasons here (in Victoria at least) with March winds, gusts in spring and why the "Shipwreck Coast" isn't just a fanciful nickname. This is Warrnambool a pleasant-if-quiet town in South West Victoria, 300km from Melbourne. The shed we're in is one of 6 that formed the soldiers barracks as part of the Warrnambool battery. They are replicas of those used by the artillery circa 1887 during the height of Anglo-Russian aggression in Crimea and the related home-guard suspicions in a relatively poorly-guarded colonial port and we're spending the night in one of them. Our thinking being that it would be warmer and dryer than the car (it rained so much in Port Fairy we had a small leak in the rear passenger window).
We woke in Port Fairy to rain, departed Port Fairy with hail and arrived in Warrnambool with yet more rain, and despite the best efforts of some valiant blue skies in the afternoon, will probably fall asleep to the stormy sounds as well. Annie seemed to be under the impression that the forecast for today was good, well that may have been the case in Darwin, but not down South. [Annie would like to add that we've since realised that Australians describe any amount of rain as "a shower or two" whether it is a shower or two or in fact torrential rain.] Today was a bit of a wash out. We visited the replica historic port (and location of the sheds) as it would have been in 1887. Had tea in the cafe there before heading to the town's art gallery comprising two rooms to escape the rain before negotiating various tat shops ( including one that was amusingly called 'The Reject Shop') before making an essential purchase of some warmer socks. The art gallery here punches well above its size due to well-curated and engaging themes. I enjoyed the conservation exhibit which showed damaged works and what would be done to repair or restore them alongside restored works with photos of their damage so you could see if you could spot the repair. Interesting stuff.
Tomorrow we're off to the Warrnambool cheese factory and we'll be making our way to The Great Ocean Road, Port Campbell and the 12 Apostles (yeah yeah, there's only 7,8,9 something) one of Australia's best known drives and most popular tourist destinations. The enthusiastic Michael (he's Canadian, which probably goes some way to explaining the enthusiasm) suggested the cheese visit and as this isn't outdoors weather and Annie loves cheese, we'll have to stop by. Apparently the milkshakes are the best in Australia, so it won't hurt to try those either!

So it was certainly an interesting place to stay. Thankfully the weather broke for just enough time to sort out dinner and so on and though it was noisy, it was comfy, warm and dry. We did visit the cheese factory where there's also a museum of farming and dairy equipment and we did some tasting of the Warrnambool flavoured cheddars which were interesting, we bought some herby one that'll be great on pasta. We did have a milkshake and it was delicious, though the best in Australia remains to be seen... Our next stop: Johanna Beach
x Tom & Annie