Victoria, the Garden State

Wednesday, March 07th 2012, this is it. This is now. The Long Way Home starts now. One last stop at SCS to fix the aircon belt and off I go. The start of, perhaps two years of, driving, discovering, learning. This is happening now.

First few kilometers to Geelong and there she is : the Great Ocean Road. I feel free. No ties, no commitments, no due date. The only date I have is with myself. It’s hard to put to words what I really feel. It’s a mix, it’s also not much at all. Freedom, exhilaration, my mind is empty. I feel good. I can’t say if I’m fearless or have no clue at all, time will say.

I stop at Split Point Lighthouse, where we stopped a year ago with Melissa, Jonathan and Maelle. It was cold and gray that day, today is beautiful. This is actually the fourth time I drive the GOR, and the very first time it does not rain. What a pleasant change.
I stop way too often to enjoy the view, take photos, more photos, most of which will end up in the trash. Nevermind, it really is great.

Tonight I camp at Aire River West campground, a free campsite. I have a chat with the neighbor, from Tasmania, he reminds me of Jock. No luck catching a fish, he’ll have to settle with canned tuna I suppose.

Windy and cold at night but it’s calm and quite pretty. I celebrate this first day with a Delirium Tremens beer, Chili con carne for dinner, with wild-berries yoghurt for desert. Who said camping had to be uncomfortable.

Distance today : 253km.

Day two.
I left at 8:30, early morning. I stop again way too much for even more photos of the Twelve Apostles, or the few remaining anyways. The sun shines again. Lunch at Logans Beach and I take a 30min nap, and so I get sunburn. It’s funny how I seem to bump into the same people, we all drive in the same direction and seem to stop at the same spots.

The GOR ends at Warnambool and I make my way to the National Park. 13AUD to camp in a great spot by the river, and since I’m here early there is still enough sun for a dip and a wash. It’s salt water, I didn’t realize that at first but, well, I started to smell and there are no salties in Victoria, right?
Another couple share the campsite, they have their dinner by the fire, I finish my leftovers from last night and enjoy the sunset with my book. A couple of very cheeky birds pick on my dinner and crisps as soon as I’m not paying attention. No fear these guys, hop on the table and pick pick pick through my plate. Shuush !

Oh and I fixed the fridge earlier on. It’s those little annoying noises and bumps that drive you mad after a couple of days. Nice. Another lesson learnt : when breaking hard, make sure the overhead storage is f**ing locked ! Or you’ll end up with all sorts of books hitting you on the back of the head.

Last night in Victoria, tomorrow: South Australia.

Distance today : 467km, total 720km