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We left Apollo Bay after a pretty good night’s sleep, and though my cold was still a presence, I felt better and ready for the first climb that started 2 mi outside of Apollo Bay. The short day yesterday allowed us to change our destination to Princetown, which avoided the almost 10 mile round trip detour into Johanna’s Beach campground. I was happy about that!
Today was wildlife. I made it to one of the low points shortly after Dana as she was delayed by Koala sightings. It wasn’t long before she was way ahead again, and there was one more big climb up to Lavers Hill. I took a break there and got a message from Dana that the descent was terrific and it was. She got to the campground in Princetown (town is really a stretch for this spot) and met Ian who helped her with navigating the campground. Ian asked if she had anything that needed refrigeration and Dana held up her wine “cask” (Aussie for boxed wine).
I finally made it there and we set up camp among the “roo poo.” You could hardly take a step. They weren’t there at the time, but just over the fence. Our neighboring camper told us they move in after dark. He also pointed out the dead tiger snake (one of the many things that can kill you in AUS). After the tent was up, we dumped our bags into the tent, headed over to Ian and his wife Janet’s to drop off a few more things for refrigeration. We joined them in a toast before we left for the Twelve Apostles and they headed off for some birding.
The Twelve Apostles is a rock formation off the southern coast of Australia. We learned that its original name was the Sow and Piglets. And, due to erosion, the 12 have been reduced to 9 or so. We got some good pics there among the many, many tourists celebrating the Chinese New Year. Ian & Janet had recommended the Gibson Steps, and we stopped there on our way back from the 12 and saw them walking up the beach! More pics! We also saw an Echidna — a porcupine-like creature that moves very slowly — it started to “run” and climb into the bushes and I still had time to snap a pic. After the bonus wildlife encounter, we headed back to camp to make dinner.
This was one of the best equipped camp kitchens we’ve visited. We made rice and beans and were soon joined by a number of other campers including three guys who were travelling around the southern coast beaches seeking good surfing spots. It was the first week of school, and they decided surfing would be a better use of their time as they were upperclassmen and didn’t need to do all the orientation stuff. We heartily endorsed their plan!
After cleanup, we picked our way back to the tent through the roo poo, and Dana gathered up all the food and put it in a bag in the showers. She heard that roos will rip right into your tent if they smell food, so better safe than sorry. After the food was moved, we could then settle in to recoup from the hard ride. My cold and fatigue still being a factor, we decided to do a short ride tomorrow to Port Campbell, and then finish the GOR in Warrnabool on Saturday. Zzzzzz.
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