Great Ocean Road, Grampians, and Adelaide

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!
[Dorothea Mackellar 1885-1968, My Country (one of the most widely read poems in Australia)]

Great Ocean Road (Melbourne - Twelwe Apostles) We set out on a Sunday morning, unfortunately in cloudy weather on the verge of rain. We decided to drive along the beautiful and rugged coast, and after a lunch by the beach in Lorne, we made it to Apollo Bay in the afternoon. It was a great camp site, as it had a fantastic playground, with zipline, water canals, and alternative swings.
The day after we took a slow morning, and then drove through the Otway's to the Twelve Apostles. They are simply a stunning sight, and somehow show the forces of both the ocean and land. Even Storm and Astrid was "thrilled" pointing out big waves and (Storm) asking away.



The Grampians (Twelwe Apostles - Adelaide): Following our costal adventures, we then turned inland towards The Grampians, a national part (4% of Denmark's size). The landscape became more dry, and we passed many of the classic "Comet" windmills in metal. We got to Hall's Gap a bit before sunset, and found the place swarming with life - kangoroos were everywhere, white cockatoo's flying in packs (Storm and Astrid feeding them), and a deer ran right in front of our campervan. Welcome to the outback!
The next day we explored both the local playground (with lunch) and then the mountains of the park with great views from Boroka and Reid's Lookout and a walk down to Mackenzies Falls. We then began the long drive towards Adelaide, stopping for gas and dinner in the small outback hamlet of Keith. In the beautiful sunset we had dinner at the edge of the local playground, which featured a really fun monorail (see Tina riding the monorail). We then drove on a bit more, before stopping for the night at a rest area.



Adelaide: We woke early after a shaky night with the sound of passing trains, but to a new moon and Venus greating us in the early sunrise. We drove around Adelaide to the coast, getting to a large camp site right next to the sea. With the usual relaxation we enjoyed the beautiful and relatively calm ocean, and the last campervan day. The following day, we drove into Adelaide, and managed to maneuver the large campervan down trafficated streets, ending with a quick U-turn and parking across two spots (to fit the large vehicle) in front of the university, where we met up with Jack - and old colleague of Troels'. We walked down along River Torrens to a small restaurant, where we had a great lunch, and while Jack and Troels exchanged work experiences, particle physics memories, and discussed ideas, Tina and the kids enjoyed the beautiful setting (and an icecream). We parted, first with Jack and then Adelaide, returning the campervan and making the (very short) trip to the airport. Goodbye Australia - it will certainly not be another 12 years, before we meet again.