On the road again
Album photoLet's go back on track, and specifically the one leading to ... Nic, Scottie and Emerson in the Porongurup. 3500kms still separate us from our destination and, given the distance, it is better to consider the trip as a journey in itself (we rarely act otherwise...).
Straight off the ferry in Melbourne, we head for the wilderness of the Great Otway National Park. The next morning, as Bibi is cooking breakfast, two judges in red shirts and green jackets inspect his every move. Perched on the roof of the Mentos, the two parrots are wondering if they will get a chance to taste the breakfast.
Nothing beats a campsite in the middle of nature. It also gives us the opportunity to resume our little hikes. We adopt a step worthy of the "dawn patrol" from the Jungle Book. We don't sing too loud (so as not to disturb the other hikers) but we tap our feet on the ground to warn any snakes in the area. It's a bit tiring to walk like this, so we sometimes stop until we come across a new snake or hear a shiver in the tall grass. For the fans of "Where's Wally?", after the variant "Where's the platypus?" and "Where's the whale? (played with binoculars)", we recommend: where is the koala in this eucalyptus forest?
From lush forests crossed by rivers and waterfalls to the raging ocean, carving rock into towering cliffs, the Melbourne-Adelaide coastal stretch has something to fulfill a wide range of tourists eager for discovery and excitement. This is the Great Ocean Road. The flavour business is thriving here and although many shops close for the festive season, we redouble our efforts to find those that are still open and make sure to include the weekend markets on our route.
South Australia is not far away, the covid form is filled in, we eat all our cherries that are not allowed to pass through (food quarantine) and ... no one at the border. We branch off at the first gravel road, towards a sinkhole: Piccaninnie pond. It is a small lake with clear water, you can see up to 40m deep (tested and approved although a little gloomy)! The landscape juggles with yellow tones of drought. Like desert nomads in search of water, we go from a sinkhole to a cenote and then to a lake in the crater of an ancient volcano.
We won't know if someone mistook the camera for a toast but it's completely jammed right now... Unfortunately we will have to leave it in Adelaide for a few weeks to repair it ! (you know, holidays ...). As the "replacement vehicle" option is not available, we are looking at cameras for sale on Australia's second hand. Justin in Millicent will be our saviour : he's friendly, we visit our respective vans, we seal the deal with a beer then a meal and we end up sleeping at his place :).
On Christmas Eve, we spend a frantic hour in the shops to get good ingredients to cook at the campground tonight. We enjoy the rest of the day at the beach, there is a small plane flying over the water at low altitude. Just as we decide to jump in the water, an alarm comes out of the plane: it's probably a shark that is also looking for a good Christmas meal! Our urge to swim turns into a knee-high splash for safety reasons.
At this koala pace, we are not about to reach the west coast (for the record, the koala has never reached it). We switch on the cruise mode of the Mentos... The turns get rare, the fields are larger and larger, flat and yellow. We're coming closer to the Nullarbor plain.
Not sure if the camel drivers at that time, before the trucks arrived, were playing "guess what I see?" in the desert. It's a bit boring. Bibi studies the different patisseries available at the road houses during breaks, while Ross is knitting in those long straight lines (up to 150kms straight). We have a swim in Eucla to celebrate our passage in the state of Western Australia. The night is mild, the full moon rises. Our hunting instincts do not fail us, it is indeed to a camel that belong these immense round footprints spotted a few hours ago, near this unique water point 50kms around. We hide, when suddenly, out of nowhere, a herd of camelids comes to quench their thirst. We capture the scene with our camera, but since the replacement device and the luminosity are weak, it's not the best shot of the year.
Before joining the migrating crowd of city dwellers (I have a big pickup, a big caravan and a big boat, I have to take them out for the holidays) who pile up in the coastal campsites between Christmas and New Year, we treat ourselves to a night in a very small campsite in Salmon Gums, 100kms inland. We feast on the vegetables from the garden available for the guests and our neighbours, a dog and a tamed snake, don't say a word. We were told that their master is in prison for breaking the covid quarantine and the campsite manager feeds them and walks them (just the dog).
Our entry in Cape Arid National Park is a great success. 10am, the place is still warm, we park on the biggest of the two free pitches of the campsite (without knowing it, we just chose the first one :) ). 10.15 am, a group of Victorians offer us to exchange places (because they are more numerous). 4pm, we receive beers to thank us for the exchange, enough to keep us until the next day : New Year's Eve.
It's the big day, tonight we go to 2021 in Esperance with ... fireworks (at 9 o'clock, for the children). We take part in the craze generated by a canine high jump (record to beat 2m30 on the wall), we enjoy the beach, we light up the bbq. In the middle of the pyrotechnic masterpiece, our phone rings. An e-mail from the police asking us to quarantine, thus showering a little the atmosphere of the evening (there were new cases in Melbourne). We spend the night in the Mentos in the middle of the city, the crowded campsite doesn't seem to be an option to be isolated and Porongurup is still 5 hours away ... Finally, only those who were in the state of Melbourne on or after the 21st have to isolate themselves. We just crossed the border on the 20th (phew, just on time!). The big hugs with Nic, Scottie and Emerson are therefore of immediate application :D.
We wish you a very happy new year 2021, full of new adventures!!!