A Rocky Start
The Livschiz visit had a bit of a rocky start. Due to events that no one could control their visit intersected with Glenn and Judi's so they had to wait for us in Sydney. To start with, there was a cyclone that changed the weather to rain and cold and by the time we saw them they were tired and sick of Sydney. It was a little bittersweet for me to see them, as seeing Lena and Lenya made me miss my parents even more. We had to have a late start leaving Sydney because we needed to do an oil change as a condition of our warranty and we didn't get on the road until about one in the afternoon. As we were driving through the city, a guy one car in front of us decided that he missed his exit and slammed on the brakes almost causing an accident and scaring the life out of us. It took several minutes for the situation to resolve itself and everyone in the car was on edge. We then got stuck in a tunnel where there was an accident and got to sit in a hot car with the windows up for a little while. The hits kept on coming as I got a massive migraine that evening and had to skip dinner, then we needed a jump to get the car started the next morning, and finally as we made it into Melbourne right before rush hour the motorway we had gotten on had to be closed down completely due to a gruesome accident there. It took us three extra hours to get out of the city. Not the best start to a trip :(
Our car failed to start for the second day in a row without a jump so we had a late morning because we had to get a new battery. It cold have been much worse than it was, but we could get to a mechanics and be seen right away. We had a new battery and were on the road faster than some of our gas station stops. After days of bullshit we were finally at our first road trip destination. The road kept getting more and beautiful as we started on the Great Ocean Road. According to one of the signs we saw along the way, The Great Ocean Road was built as a monument to the Australians from Victoria who died in WWI. The project started in 1919 and was only completed in 1936. It's the best war monument that I have ever seen, although I don't think Australia does a particularly good job advertising it as such.
Our first stop was at "Separation Point Lighthouse" and that is what really made it feel like the "Great Ocean road" rather than just a "Good Ocean Road". Even with the crazy amount of tourists there it was still somehow peaceful and serene there. To me, going to the lighthouse was the real start of our journey. Even though we had a picnic by the lighthouse we had to make a u-turn and come back down the road when we saw a restaurant advertising fresh seafood on the pier. Those appetizers were absolutely delicious. We had oysters Kilpatrick (bacon over oysters with some amazing sauce on top), a crab bisque, and Thai style prawns. We polished everything off with a couple of beers and walked off our second lunch by a little mini hike to some falls we saw on the road. It was a very nice day and we stopped for the night right by the twelve apostles.
The 13th Apostle
Once everyone managed to slow down their pulse we made it to the Gibson Steps and took a walk in the sand. Originally we thought we had gotten to the 12 apostles, but later found that we didn't quite make it there yet. It was an amazingly beautiful place and a lovely walk after our morning ordeal. We walked around in the cold ocean water and took some pictures before heading to the real 12 apostles. The day was sunny and absolutely beautiful and we could see surfers nearby catching big waves. As we were coming up to the staircase to lead us back to the car park, Lena suddenly appeared behind us soaking wet. Apparently she found a shell and was trying to clean in the water when a wave came, knocked her down and started dragging her in. She managed to get back up, but was pretty shaken by the whole thing. The worst part was that none of us saw it because she was walking behind us. One second she was with us, and the next she was running up to us dripping water everywhere. Unfortunately she also took her purse and her camera with her so everything got ruined in the process.
Thankfully that was our last unfortunate event of the day. Lena was OK once she changed and got her bearings again. We spent the rest of the day walking around an awesomely beautful place and taking in "The Twelve Apostles" and "The Loch Ard Gorge". We finished off the day by eating a delicious meal in Port Campbell at a restaurant called "The 12 Rocks" where the Livschizes finally tried some kangaroo. It turned out to be a very successful day even though it had all of the potential of ending up an absolute disaster. I will also add here that I was dealing with my Chicago renter who had not paid rent for April yet, so my spirits were slightly dampened, but I got a text the next day that my very stern email worked and this was just a temporary issue.
Grampians National Park
We woke up to rain and were already lamenting the weather, but the skies started clearing before 10 so we had some hope that the weather would hold. We started the car with no problems and just as Lenya commented that our luck had changed I slammed my thumb knuckle in the door. I saw more stars then there are in the outback on a clear night when that happened, but since I iced it right away I hardly felt it the next day. Our campground gave our visitors their encounter with kangaroos, because it was completely covered in roo shit :). They didn't seem to mind too much, and we joked about it on our way to the park. I did see and photograph a wallaby on our hike later in the day, but I was away from the group so no one else saw it. The little guy was so fast I didn't even know what it was until it stopped. It was just a grey blur of fur.
After dealing with my thumb and getting our bearings we went into the town of Hall's Gap, got maps for the Grampians National Park which Lena was very excited about, and went for our hike. The weather was perfect. Once in a while the sun came out and it was a cool breezy day, which is perfect for hiking. The place that we hiked was really beautiful. Our hike took us to the "Pinnacle" which gave us great views of the surrounding area from up above. My favorite view was actually right by a narrow stretch of the hike called "Silent Street". The rocks in the area look like boulders that have been stacked up on purpose and there is an area that looks like Mayan ruins that have been taken over by the jungle. Mike told me that he had the same association and we both reminisced about our vacation in Guatemala when we went to Tical to see the on the hike was called "The Great Canyon". I feel like there were come illusions of grandeur with the people naming this particular portion, but it was very nice and very beautiful. I must go to the real Grand Canyon someday to compare :)
Mayan ruins. Lena said that to her the rocks look like reptilian skin and some rocks looked like snakes and turtles. It's was a very different landscape for all of us. I was really happy when Lena and Lenya both commented on the fact that I was in great hiking shape because I love me some validation once in a while and they are seasoned hikers :) The other great place
The hike was a moderately challenging one and it took us 3.5 hours to hike 3.5 miles (with breaks of course). At the end of the day everyone was very happy and very very hungry. We ended up eating dinner in Hull's Gap and then driving out as far as we could to make the next day of driving easier on all of us.
The Unplanned Winery
We had a very pleasant morning where no one got hurt and there was no car trouble and then started on the long drive to White Cliffs. Mike was trying to break up the drive so we stopped at a national park and walked a 15 minute "Nature Walk" loop. It wasn't very exciting but it gave us a chance to stretch our legs. Once we started driving again we saw a sign informing us that there are wineries in the area and stopped so that I could Google what was available. Imagine our surprise and delight when we found that Lindeman's, Lenya's very favorite brand of Shiraz was a mere 10 minutes out of the way! We were a little concerned that the winery would be closed, but everything ended up working out and we were in and trying wines faster than you could say boo.
I have never been to a tasting so generous! I actually had to cut myself off before the lady poured me more wine because it was before lunch and I got really drunk on an empty stomach. Everyone had an absolutely amazing time at the tasting and it ended up being absolutely free. The lady doing the pouring was really nice and pleasant to talk to and we even took a picture with her. Between the four of us we ended up buying 9 bottles which were super reasonably priced. My parents will be getting the 2012 and the 2013 Shiraz personally delivered by Lena and Lenya in the very near future. I really liked the Merlot, so Lenya bought a case for us to drink in the remaining 10 days. I think I will be permanently hung over :)
The winery find was the stroke of luck Mike and I had been waiting for. The unplanned side trip always turns out amazing because there are no expectations, and this was no different. I don't think we could have planned it any better. Unfortunately for me, the restaurant in the winery was closed for Easter, so I embarrassed myself a little in front of my in-laws and sang some drunken songs until we found something for me to eat so that I could sober up. I don't think they will hold it against me ;)
White Cliffs (again)
This time as we made out way to White Cliffs there were very few kangaroos on the road. Our luck continued to hold as we managed to get two rooms at the Underground Hotel on Easter weekend. The one strange thing was that while we were talking about whether or not to drive out to White Cliffs Our phones showed that the time was 30 minutes earlier than what the clock in the car showed. This 30 minute difference made the Livschizes opt for the long drive and the stay in the hotel rather than stopping for the night in a different - but much less awesome town. I assumed that the problem was with the car clock, updated it, and made the reservations. As we started on our drive the time suddenly went forward by the half an hour on the phones and I again had to update the car clock. It's almost as if something wanted us to stay in White Cliffs. (My real explanation is that the phone company towers had the wrong time in the town that we were passing where I had enough reception to reserve the room, but isn't it more fun to think that it was meat to be?). Mike was really upset because wanted his parents to experience the roo obstacle course, but a combination of heavy truck traffic and weather kept most of them out of the headlights. Lenya did count around 20 that he saw so it was't a total loss :). This time we saw a lot more foxes on the road though. Apparently the colder wetter weather suits them better then the roos. Lenya also saw some Emus so I feel like overall our start at the outback drive was pretty successful. We got in to the hotel late but it was really really nice to sleep in a big warm bed. Lena loves the hotel. She has compared it to Hobbitton and it's great to see her so excited. She has told me that she has photographed every portion of it, so I recommend tracking her down when she returns for detailed documentation of our stay. In the morning Mike took his parents opal mining, and I stayed in the hotel, relaxed, and caught up with the blog. It's still important to write it as often as possible, even though I can't really post anything for a while :(
The Road to the Reef
We opted to drive through the outback with the and saw all sorts of animals to their great delight. There were emus, kangaroos, wallabies, wild goats and black cows, foxes, eagles, and rabbits. As we drove closer to the coast we even saw read headed cranes and pelicans. The road brought all sorts of excitements as we knew it would so mostly it was very successful (I think). On our second day of driving I started the day by checking the oil and coolant in the car and topping off the oil, and later taking over as driver for a little while. This was my first time driving a stick left handed and I am proud to say that I did not stall out, although everyone in the car may have needed some fresh underwear by the time I was done. I originally wanted to avoid driving stick with while we had visitors, but the road forced my hand as it was either drive or stop and regain some semblance of normalcy from the car sickness.
I have noticed a pleasant development that I am attributing to this trip, I am no longer as scared to fail which
makes learning new things, or doing something new much easier. Even with my in-laws in the car and the fact that I have never driven a stick shift minivan with no power steering on the left side of the road before, I was not as nervous as I thought I would be. I think that this travelling year has not only taught me that its OK to not be the best, and that it's OK to fail at first, but also to give me the confidence to do it in front of people that I want to like me (AKA my in-laws). I need to give them credit, they were very supportive of my efforts, and I hope that I didn't scare them too badly. I repeated the driving experiment the next day as well and this time there was a steep downgrade in a mountain range that I had to get through. We are all alive and that's what matters. Mike decided to let me know while I was driving that I didn't have to go own the slopes as slowly as I was going, and I told him that I knew that I didn't have to, but i wanted to. Take that husband! When he relieved me at the wheel I sucked down half a bottle of water, so it's not as f I'm completely at ease with everything, but I m getting better at this stick thing.
If me driving wasn't bad enough, towards the evening the GPS took us to a road that tapered into one lane in places and then became a dirt road periodically. Trucks have complete right of way on the road which meant that we would have to pull over to the grass and watch a truck speed by us. Lena and Lenya thought one of the trucks was a little close, so they had a little bit of a fright at some point. I will also confess that we met a suicidal rabbit on the road. We were trying our best to avoid him, but he rushed back under the wheels at the last moment and there was no time to do anything but run him over. I really hope that this is our one and only mammal kill. (there have already been a couple of frog casualties)
The Adventure of the Great Barrier Reef
- It was a better boat - barf bags were not already folded into the seats
- It was a smoother ride - the reef protected us from a lot of the turbulance we experienced on the Lady Musgrove tour
- The reef itself was absolutely stunning - I don't think its even fair for the Lady Musgrove tour to say that they show the reef. Although technically that's true, its not the same as what we saw this time around. There was coral of all shapes and sizes and colors. My favorite were the corals that looked like underwater trees that had phosphorescent tips on the ends of each branch. Mike and I asked if we could swim right above the coral (the water is only a couple of feet deep - and it was amazing. I even saw that poisonous fish that looks like a rock while I was snorkeling. Once again I felt calm and happy. It was also really cool to snorkel in the rain. You can feel the drops hit your wetsuit and the water all around you, and the fish come out and frolic more. It was a lovely day. Nothing could be complete without some adventure, so on the way back we hit a storm and it felt like we were riding a mechanical bull rather than a small cruise boat. Mike was nice enough to pack extra slothes for me to wear so I wouldn't be cold, but he got completely soaked by the rain. We polished off our day with a nice thai takeout meal. Overall, it was a lovely lovely day
Noosa and Brisbane.
Our original plan was to drive to Noosa on Friday, drop the Livschizes off at the beach, and get our necessary oil change while they are splashing around - but we didn't know that Friday was ANZAC day and all of the mechanics are closed. ANZAC stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps in case you are curious. Friday morning we had a flurry of morning activity trying to find ANYONE who would do the oil change - but no luck. I finally found someone in Brisbane who not only picked up the phone, but told me that he would do the oil change at some point on Saturday - but we would have to leave the car.
On one hand this was great news because we wouldn't void the warranty, but on the other hand it could cut significantly into our busy day and potentially we would have to give up on something that we had planned on one of the remaining days of the trip. We took what we could get and drove to Noosa which reminded me a lot of Miami. The other awesome thing about driving to a resort town on a three day holiday weekend is the insanity once you get there. We dropped Lena and Lenya at the beach and then took forever to find parking a mile away. By the time we found parking it was time to get the Livschizes and continue to Brisbane, so Mike went to get them and I stayed int he car and read for a little bit. The day soured for me when I got another migrane as we pulled into our campground. According to Mike the rest of my companions made friends with a local couple who were staying there and were slightly too chatty. Perhaps the migraine was not so bad....
The next morning we got up at 6 and were at the mechanic's at 7:30 am. He told us he would do the best he can in terms of time and we went to a lovely cafe and had an amazingly delicious breakfast. The interior was very quirky cool and even though we were the first customers they filled up early and quickly early on a Saturday morning. The best news was that at 8:40 am the mechanic called and told us that the car was
ready! It basically meant that we were leaving Brisbane earlier than we have left anywhere else on the trip - no time was lost at all. The mechanic filled out the necessary paperwork and only charged us 50% of what we paid previously because he only did the basics and no other frills. This was the best luck we have had on the whole trip. We had a pleasant journey with a nice lunch on the road and stopped at Port Macquaire for the night. Right now everyone else is at the Billabong Koala Sanctuary petting cute animals and feeding roos and I am at a coffee shop finishing this blog. Life is good. I probably won't post this until we are back in Sydney so the blog continues for you, as for me - I will be finishing my soy latte and watching the rain from my table.
Goodbye
The last couple of days were pretty uneventful. We drove down to the Blue Mountains which looked absolutely beautiful with the colors changing, but didn't get there until very late at night. The next morning we attempted to do a proper hike, but the place we went to was closed for maintenance so we had to scramble at the last second and did a short walk in a different spot. The walk was nothing special and I think by this point everyone was just tired and ready for a break. We spent the last night with the Livschiz clan eating thai takeout in our hotel room and we saw them off at the Sydney airport the next morning. Thank you guys for coming and sharing our adventure with us. We miss you!!!!
Goodbye
The last couple of days were pretty uneventful. We drove down to the Blue Mountains which looked absolutely beautiful with the colors changing, but didn't get there until very late at night. The next morning we attempted to do a proper hike, but the place we went to was closed for maintenance so we had to scramble at the last second and did a short walk in a different spot. The walk was nothing special and I think by this point everyone was just tired and ready for a break. We spent the last night with the Livschiz clan eating thai takeout in our hotel room and we saw them off at the Sydney airport the next morning. Thank you guys for coming and sharing our adventure with us. We miss you!!!!
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