Saturday, June 11, 2016

June 11, 2016. Starting the Great Ocean Road trip

LOCATION: Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia
WEATHER:  Rainy start, nice PM. Highs in 50s

Today's plan was to drive to the coast to start the ocean drive trip.  The drive is listed in the guidebook "1000 Places To Go Before You Die".  We left Ballarat in rainy weather, and drove about 2.5 hours southwest to the coast.  As we got close, this rainbow appeared.  An omen?

Our first stop along the coast was a small fishing town called Port Fairy.  We lucked out  and found a great lunch spot right on the Sourhern Ocean.  We watched surfers as we chomped  down on garlic prawns.

Then, a hike along the beach.  Pretty flowers...
  Another windier section of the beach was a popular spot for wind surfers.



A very friendly lady at the visitors' station loaded us up with plans for tomorrow.  She also recommended a little stop for this afternoon on our way to the hotel.  It is the site of a crater hole from centuries ago.  Animals have stayed  here because it is too steep for them to  climb  up.  This friendly emu approached our car, then turned a bit vicious when we did not feed it.  I rolled up the window fast!



We stopped to taste some wines at a winery in an Irish settlement,  Irish flags all over; potatoes by the roadside for sale; and farms with names like Glenbae. Neat!

We are spending the night in Warrnambool so we can get an early start for the drive tomorrow.  

The hotel reception gave us vouchers for the local RSL Club (Returning Servicemen's League Club).  We see them all over Australia.  They are something like a VFW.  They are popular with locals as they serve inexpensive food  and drink.  We had drinks there, then decided to find something a hit more adventurous for dinner. 

We found an Asian restaurant.  We shared Japanese octopus balls, Japanese curry, and Vietnamese noodles.  All delicious.   

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