Now I know what happens to old caravans. They pack them up and send them to the Apollo Bay Caravan Park where they attach them to big pieces of ply board and call them holiday units! There’s a whole ghetto of them here! I’ll have to get a snap shot for prosperity. I’m sure they’ll be heritage listed one day.
We’ve come a long way since the last blog. We stayed at Hahndorf for two days and soaked in the German atmosphere (perhaps it’s all that German sausage that creates the atmosphere) but it was great. The van park was no great shakes but it did the job for us. We then drove down to Robe and on the next day to Mount Gambier. We stayed near the Blue Lake and took in those sort of sights. I hadn’t been to the Gambier since 1971 when Petar Nikolic and I toured there. They didn’t quite know why the Blue Lake was so blue then (theories abounded) and after 41 years of extensive research they still don’t seem to know. Certainly no explanations were forthcoming around the place. It’s still spectacular though.
After Gambier we set off for Warrnambool Victoria and on the way there we stopped off to see the Princess Margaret Rose Cave near Nelson (just on a whim – it looked interesting). It’s only a small cave compared to some but it has some fantastic formations and is really worth a visit. The whole area begs further exploration – camping there for a week would do it. There was a story there about the small daughter of the guy who found the cave writing to Buckingham Palace in 1940 asking if it was all right to name the cave after the little Princess Margaret. When you think about it, 1940 was in England’s darkest hours - bombs raining down from the blitz – defeat after defeat from the Germans - mayhem everywhere – and some palace official having to sit down and consider a serious reply as to the naming of a cave. “Can you give me two ticks on the Balkans crisis old boy, I just have to finish orf this letter to Australia.”
At Warrnambool we caught up with Jodie and Chris who have given up the Perth lifestyle for the “Bool”. It was good to chat and share a glass of wine. They have an impressive vegie patch and chooks and we scored 6 eggs from the girls and some tomatoes as well. Scrambled eggs the next morning were distinctly the deep yellow colour of contented hens. So good.
Next came the Great Ocean Road experience and we dutifully turned off at every brown sign with all the other campers to check out the Bay of Islands and London Bridge and the Twelve Apostles of course. It sure is a beautiful seascape through there. One place we visited, I renamed the Cliff of Dead Caps as on the leeward side of the viewing platform was an array of caps and hats that from their owners’ heads were “untimely plucked” by the capricious winds off the Southern Ocean. I can imagine much gnashing of dentures from some poor old coots whose favourite chapeaux were now lying within sight but, what with arthritis and artificial hips could never be retrieved.
The Thirteen Apostles? Perhaps?
Wheres the famous vegie patch pic!!!?
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