AUSTRALIA - DAY TEN - Road to Apollo Beach

Previous Blogs: Day 1 Portland & Honolulu | Day 2 Oahu | Day 3+4 Melbourne | Day 5 Williamstown | Day 6 Launceston | Day 7 Cradle Mountain | Day 8 Road to Hobart | Day 9 Port Arthur | Day 10 Apollo Beach | Day 11 Port Fairy | Day12+13 Southern Ports | Day 14 Kangaroo Island | Day 15 Kangaroo Island | Day 16 Kangaroo Island | Day 17 Adelaide | Day 18 Adelaide | Day 19 Adelaide Hills | Day 20+21 Uluru | Day 22+23 Alice Springs | Day 24 Darwin | Day 25 Darwin | Day 26+27 Port Douglas | Day 28 Daintree | Day 29+30 Gold Coast | Day 31+32 Brisbane | Day 33 Brisbane | Day 34-36 Hawaii

Click photos for a larger image...

We flew out of Hobart at 10 am with Quantas back to Melbourne. My very first time flying on a Boeing 717-200.

Interesting plane, two rows of seats on port side and three rows of seats on starboard. Seats 150 passengers.

The first 3 days we spent in Melbourne on arriving in Oz was quite chilly and overcast with temps not getting over 18C (64F).

Now we land in Melbourne and it is sunny with temps at 38C (100 F). Crazy!!

No upgrade from Thrifty this time - in fact we got a downgrade at Wendy's insistence.  We had an intermediate booked and paid but Wendy FrEaKeD on the roads in Tassie.  They are very narrow.  EXTREMELY narrow.  Having in intermediate SUV is not for the faint hearted to say the least!  She is happy with our Toyota Corolla Hatchback. 

Our goal over the next few days is to do the Great Ocean Road. This is an Australian National Heritage listed road that is 243 kilometers (151 mi) stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Allansford. Built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932 and dedicated to soldiers killed during World War I, the road is the world's largest war memorial.

So we took the highway from Melbourne to Torquay (104 km, 65 miles) and then as pictured on the left started the Great Ocean Road.

Lots of beautiful views along the way. Lighthouse stop of course, is always required.

Here's a funny one. We stopped off to see a waterfall, but our GPS mislead us and we parked in the wrong spot. We walked the path and saw these stairs. Figuring it was the way to the waterfall we followed it for half a mile up and down countless stairs, only to find ourselves in the actual car park!! We now had to retrace our steps back over all the the stairs back to where we parked and had another 1/2 mile walk to the waterfall!! ARGH!

Our hotel in Apollo Beach is quite comfortable with a private patio.  Wendy LOVES Jacuzzi hot tub. Note the strawberries and grapes on the side! TOO comfortable!  This is our second hotel with a jacuzzi - fantabulous for weary travelled bodies.

We walked to the local grocery store to buy food and booze. What is the deal with sizes in Oz? Wine boxes come in 2 and 4 liters (we have 3 and 5). Liquor comes in 700ml and 1.25ml (we have 750 and 1.5). I don't know any place that sells booze in a 700ml bottle. That's weird.

So the one thing about Australia we are not liking is the flies. They are everywhere and overwhelming! Buzzing around your face, no matter where you are: city / country no difference. Apparently this is a thing in summer in Oz, you just have to deal with it, its the reason the Aussie hats have corks hanging down, it keeps the flies away from your eyes. They fortunately go to bed at sunset. We have long daylight hours here being this far south. Sun rises before 5am and sets well after 9pm.

And finally...

Thanks for the warning...

Didn't see a single cop. Still wondering what "High Risk" really means!

So would you really considering entering an ocean swimming competition that not only has "DANGER" in its name but the logo is a skull and cross bones?

I think NOT!

You know you are in a major foreign tourist area when you see a sign like this every two miles!!!!

G'nite Mate.