Back in Victoria!

25 April 2011
Trip 5 has started. We left Melbourne heading to meet Greg at Barwon Heads so Trox can try his hand (foot?) at surfing. We just arrived at our destination and found Greg's car - now to find a place to park Bunyip and then to find Greg.

Later
Trox and Greg suited up and headed for the water.

a little surfing lesson first

oh! this is easy on the sand

now to get wet

and wetter

After a few hours they trundled out of the water. Trox had fun and got a few rides on his knees and a few dunkings on his feet. After packing up we headed towards Forrest where there are lots of bike trails.

I spotted this car before we left
the surfing area

26 April
We were hoping to stay at a reservoir just outside of Forrest but there were way too many "NO" signs. NO Camping, NO golfing, NO shooting, NO this, and NO THAT! We found another place near a little lake that was a tent camp area so Greg set up his tent and we found a level spot in the carpark to park Bunyip. The three of us had a nice dinner and we had coffee waiting for Greg when he showed up this morning. We packed up and headed for the bike trail head where they made a 20k ride and then back to the beach for more surfing.

now THIS Trox is good at

27 April
Greg and Trox had fun in the water and Greg got a few nice rides. We parted ways with Greg heading back to Melbourne and us heading to the Great Ocean Road (GOR). We found a place to stay in the Great Otway National Park between Aireys Inlet and Bambra.

While in Melbourne we went to the science museum and the Planetarium. While there the guy gave us a complimentary star chart and some star maps for the planets. Last night was very clear and very dark so we spent some time finding constellations and finally are sure we know how to find the Crux (the Southern Cross).

This morning we got up and fiddle futzed around the campsite. We are now getting ready to head back to the Great Ocean Road (GOR) with a stop by some water falls.

28 April
Here in Australia it is Sloany's birthday. FIVE! WOW!

We never made it to the water fall - the trail was closed - but did find a good surf beach and a nice place to stay the night.

We got up this morning and headed back towards Melbourne. We are going boating with Doug and Eileen tomorrow. We met then on TAS at Leven Canyon. We contacted them a week ago or so and they invited us to join them on their boat. On the way back to Melbourne we stopped so Trox could try to hone his new surfing skills. He is getting better.

a short ride

30 April
What a wonderful last 24 hours. We left Greg and Chrissy's early yesterday morning and drove to Doug and Eileen's. We left Bunyip and drove to Lake Eildon with them. Their little "boat" is actually a wonderful house boat. We arrived yesterday about lunch. What a wonderful relaxed day. It was sad to leave Bunyip behind but we know he'll be waiting for us tomorrow. Today we are floating down the lake for a water bound lunch.

pulling away from the pen

our Pilot

getting the tour

There are potentially 800 house boats on this lake (which is huge) but this weekend there are virtually no one but us.

5 May
Happy Cinco de Mayo! We had such a wonderful time with Doug and Eileen. They have a small plastic "kayak" that we took out to play and Trox actually did 2 long rows using it to explore part of the lake.

towing me isn't easy

this is fun

hmmmm i'm not so sure about this

and the Unit does NOT help

okay, i got it!

coming back from his first long trip

Doug and Eileen were absolutely wonderful hosts. Doug drove back from the lake using a different route to show us more of the country. Once back in the Melbourne area at their home Eileen put a wonderful lunch on the table and Trox and I got Bunyip ready to travel. We decided to spend the night in front of their home and the next morning we said our thanks and byes and headed out.

Once we left their home we headed back to Forrest where we spent a few nights and Trox made a number of wet rides. Yesterday we took a dirt road from Forrest to Lorne and because of the rains the road was pretty muddy. Poor Bunyip he is soooooo dirty.

We are now officially traveling the Great Ocean Road (GOR) heading towards Carol's. She is about 600 kilometers away. This is a wonderful time to travel the GOR as there is virtually no traffic. During peak time (last week) there would be bumper to bumper vehicles.

Erskine Falls just outside Lorne

the arch introducing the Great Ocean Road

the lighthouse at Airsey's Inlet

The lookout over the Great Ocean Road in Lorne

We have made a decision to stop in Apollo Bay for 2 nights. I managed to add a new cold on top of the one I had in TAS and need a few days to try and shake it.