Doesn't time fly....

when you're having fun.....

well it certainly doesn't dawdle.....

I can't believe we are well into January 

and the shops have Easter sweets in already.....

we've just had the best time on a 'camping' trip in the 

Cape Otway National Park.....

we booked into a campsite and because our car is not big enough 

to do the camp thing proper {tent, blow up beds, gas stove etc.}

we booked into a family bunkroom and used the camp kitchen 

for cooking all our meals......

what a splendid idea, I thought, a camp kitchen......

 you get to use all their facilities and you don't have to take any of your own 

paraphanalia with you, just perfect.....

we started by going south-west from Ballarat heading for a place called 

Warrnambool which is where the Great Ocean Road begins.....

we spent a few hours there at the most fantastic childrens playground 

and actually had to drag the kids away so that we could get to 

the campsite in time for dinner.....

we drove the Great Ocean Road from Warrnambool to a campsite 

very close to the Cape Otway Lightstation and were able to take in 

some breathtaking scenery on the way including the Bay of Islands, 

the Bay of Martyrs and, most stunningly, the Twelve Apostles......

 

 

 

anyway, I won't bore you with a blow-by-blow 

account of ALL the stuff we did 

{we did pack a lot into the four days!!}

 so let me just cover the highlights.....

the Otway Fly treetop walk.... 

brilliant, stunning and terrifying for Brian who is petrified of heights..... 

give him his due though, he did the walk 

{missing out the extras such as a 'swaying' 45m high lookout tower 

and an unsupported {and therefore somewhat 'bouncy'} cantilever platform!!}

 and met the rest of us at the end of the walk where he just took deep breaths

 and was very grateful to God to have his feet back on solid ground......

Evie and I however, wanted to go round it all again so 

we could absail off one of the platforms.....

 

For Evie, a BIG highlight was her first horse ride on a 'proper' horse......

for those who know her love of all things animal you will not find it a 

surprise that she fell in love with Danny the horse and 

he in turn enjoyed all the attention.....

 

we had a day visiting a beach which can only be accessed 

by a LONG walk through bush but which rewarded us with miles of golden sand, 

an ocean as blue as you like and fantastic rock pools, shells and a waterfall to boot....

we actually had this beach all to ourselves as it is a bit off the beaten track....

 

Maits Rest, which is a rainforest walk, was beautiful and cool on a hot day 

and then time spent at Apollo Bay playing in the sand on another pretty much 

deserted beach rounded the trip off......

 

all-in-all we probably drove about three quarters of the Great Ocean Road 

and still didn't manage to do all we wanted to so we have booked to go back at 

Easter when my lovely family come to visit..... yipee.....

 

oh yes, I didn't mention the Koalas...... 

the park is full of them..... 

lots of time spent koala 'spotting'..... 

what fun.....