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Apollo's Bay
11 May, 2007
Apollo's Bay, Victoria
Yesterday, we drove from the Grampians National Park to here, Apollo's Bay, via the Great Ocean Road. While parts of the GOR were quite beautiful — sandstone rock formations carved by the relentless pounding of the sea — a lot of it looked just like Wisconsin dairlyland! The scenery is so similar, that we wondered if there should really be two roads: the Great Ocean Road and the Great Dairy Farm Road! At least if there were two roads — perhaps two names would suffice — we would have known what we were in for! We don't mean to imply that the scenery wasn't beautiful; it was, but much of the road looked just like a state highway leading from Madison, to, say, Stevens Point!
The Grampians, where we spent a few days before heading over here, were incredible. We arrived after dusk, which always makes for an exciting morning, as you have no idea what the place will look like. When we awoke, we saw rugged, if smallish, mountains. It was really very nice. We spent a day riding mountain bikes and hiking to lookout points and waterfalls. The waterfalls weren't so impressive, but considering the drought that has been inflicting so much hardship on the area, they were a wonderful sight. The woods — known as the ‘bush’ — are recovering from a massive wildfire that took place in January 2006. The trees have begun to recuperate, meaning there are many fresh sprouts emerging from the blackened bark.
We stayed at a very nice place, called Tim's Place, which is half backpackers hostel and half country resort. The setup was very similar to a place we stayed in the Barrossa Valley, called Doubles D'Vine. Both places were arranged to make for a comfortable stay, with the amenities a (slightly) older couple might want — like a double bed and a private bathroom. We loved staying at both places and highly recommend them!
The place we are staying at in Apollo's Bay attempts something like Tim's and Doubles D'Vine, but in our opinion it falls well short. It's quite ratty and the space is ill-managed. The worst, though, is that our room contains a lot of old wicker furniture that is covered in mold. Liza is very allergic to mold, so she hasn't been feeling too well, despite the antihistamine she took, which makes her drowsy. We both hope the side-effects wear off soon, as today is our seventh wedding anniversary! We had hoped to do something nice, perhaps a romantic beachside picnic, but the weather isn't cooperating. It seems the only thing for us to do is to head toward Melbourne and try to celebrate there!