The Great Ocean Road Trip- Part one - Sydney to Lorne

Recently we went to a wedding in Sydney. As we haven't had a long holiday for a while, we decided to do one of our "must do trips" The Great Ocean Road

We started off staying with our daughter in Sydney,  the first 2 nights while the wedding was happening. The groom is our youngest son's best friend and spent more time at our house than his. I call him my 6th. child. John read the full version of "Oh the Places You Go" by Dr. Seuss.
It was a lovely ceremony in a nice old church, followed by the reception at Curzon Hall.
 

The Bride's  dress was absolutely beautiful.

Curzon Hall Sydney - Finished 1899. Early home of a wealthy business man.

 
 The following day 3 we drove to Bega via Goulburn and down through Berrima, to visit John's brother and partner in their new house.

View of John's brothers'  back yard and beyond.

 One night stay with them and it was then  onto my brother in Traralgon for day 4. We had a picnic stop at Orbost, over looking the Snowy River

Van and Ute.

 

Lunch by the river.

To get to our overnight stop on day 5 at  Lorne we went down along the Mornington Peninsula, lots of vineyards, along here but we went straight to Sorrento where we caught the ferry across to Queenscliffe. It was very interesting driving on the the enormous ferry and only took 3/4 hr. to get across, Port Phillip Bay. I wrote my first postcard to mum, while enjoying the scenery from inside as the wind was a bit brisk and chilly.

 

My Normal View of John

 John on the other hand was madly dashing here and there taking photos with his new camera and having a ball.

Matching Ferry travelling from across to Sorrento on the return Trip.

Our Car and Van parked on the Ferry lower deck.

Braving the wind outside.

Bathing boxes along the Beach of Sorrento from the Ferry.

A stop on the way, after we drove off the ferry for a look at the iconic Bells Beach, famous for very large surf carnivals. Surprisingly it was a long way down to the beach and a long small road up to the top area, where I am standing. It was hard to imagine all the hundreds of surf fans driving up for the carnivals and then walking down a steep set of stairs.

Overlooking Bells Beach.

  To get to Lorne you officially start the Great Ocean Road with a Grand Entrance. This road was built as a memorial to those who died in World War One, by the soldiers who survived and needed to be employed, on their return. Started in 1928 with picks and shovels, and it was finished in 1932 and is

 243 km long.

A Statue of  the soldiers.

Very poignant   

 After viewing we drove straight on to Lorne  along the seaside cliffs. A great many tourists drive along this narrow road, and signs are all along it to remind them of which way to go. Many accidents have happened and you have to keep a sharp eye out for silly mistakes. We nearly saw an accident happen with some Japanese tourists who just pulled out  from a viewing platform and didn't check behind them, and a local ute, who swerved to the wrong side of the road. Luckily there was no one on that side.The road winds around and sometimes you cannot see around cliffs. Bypass stops for slow cars are built along the way, as well as viewing sites.

Says it all.These are placed about every 3 - 5 kms.

Finally we got to our first night stop of Lorne.

First Night Camping.

Crimson Rosella in the Trees near us.

In total we did 5500 kms. we booked our caravan sites mostly for one night, for the whole trip being a busy time for grey nomads and tourists just before Easter. I planned all our meals both breakfast, lunch and dinners and had to be fairly organized to take them out of our portable freezer for the next day.

Stay tuned for the next update.