All good things must come to an end…  That’s how the saying goes, but sometimes it just seems so unfair, wouldn’t you agree?

As you might remember, before this annoying pandemic paralyzed most of the world, I had started a series of posts about the camping trip Miriam arranged for us, in February.

I only have one day left of souvenirs to go through. I wish we could have kept the fun going, but Doug had to go back to work someday, and we had other adventures awaiting us.

So here we go… Day five of our journey. If you missed the previous episodes, you can catch up with the links at the end of the post.

We started this last day with another hearty breakfast (note the cheese on the right… If that’s not dedication to stick to the theme, I don’t know what would be). For some reason, a detail on the table reminded me of a dear blogging friend, Rob.

 

We packed up early, as we still had a long way to go, and we waved our very special neighbours goodbye… Admit it, you’ve never slept next to the Scoobidoo team, have you??

And off we were, to finish our drive along the Great Ocean Road. Backward. Because it seems like there is an unwritten rule saying that good tourists should travel one specific way. But all four of us being fierce rebels, we did the travel backwards. No worries, though. I did check with Doug to make sure he wouldn’t drive in reverse the whole way… I do enjoy living, and we did have a rather large camper attached to the pickup truck.

 

Our first stop was to enjoy Mount Defiance Lookout. The view was absolutely amazing, but for some reason, I had the feeling that the ”Lookout” part on the sign referred to how dangerous it was to cross the road between the small parking lot and the edge of the cliff. Ok, it wasn’t that dangerous. But still…

 

If my memory is right (but I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t so feel free to correct me if you read this, Miriam!) we then headed to the Great Otway National park, to hike up the mountain.

After five days of camping, Chéri was getting really good at spotting wild koalas based on their very specific smell. I wouldn’t say they stink, but after eating all these eucalyptus leaves, they smell as if they all have a very bad cold, and got rubbed head to toes with Vick’s vaporub. Anyway… Chéri spotted one during our hike, and you are probably expecting a picture of it, right? 

I’m sorry, it had climbed too high in its tree, and I didn’t manage to get a good shot. But I did take pictures from the top of the mountain, though…

 

And Doug and I played with the perspective a little bit…

The next step was very special… The beginning (ending, for us) of The Great Ocean Road!

The Great Ocean Road was built between 1919 and 1932. It was a major project to provide jobs to soldiers that were back home after WW1. The 243 kilometers of coastline are definately worth the detour! No matter which way you choose to travel along it.

But we weren’t done just yet…

I’ll need Miriam’s help for our next stop, because I can’t remember the name of the town where we paused for lunch. 

Almost-selfie… Oops!

I considered climbing up the lighthouse to have an even better view of the coastline, but unfortunately…

Better luck next time, I guess.

We were on the way back to our hosts’ home… But not before collecting a couple more random memories along the road…

One last Apostle look alike sighting… 

Inverlochy – Aberdeen

Correction – ”Don’t feed cockatoos, it’ll make you hurt!” (LOL)

I’m sorry… I just find bathroom instructions hilarious.

I finally saw a huge spider… Dead, but huge!

Time to say goodbye to the coast. *Sigh*

It was sad, seeing our journey coming to its end. I knew, when I first asked Miriam if she would arrange a five day trip for us, that we’d have a great time. What I didn’t expect, was the natural connection that happened between us. 

Miriam, I couldn’t thank you enough for taking the time to plan and prepare this getaway around Victoria for us. You and Doug weren’t just perfect guides… You’ve become true friends. You two are so kind, generous and loving… I’ll never forget our conversations in all these breathtaking places, our thought sharing under the stars and all the amazing interactions we had with the wildlife. 

And talking about wildlife…

Look who greeted us, when we walked in Miriam’s backyard…

And off we were, for the rest of our Australian journey…

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You can catch up with the beginning of our camping trip by visiting the following links:

Don’t bite the hand…

Mackenzie Falls…

The great Great Ocean Road…

Apostles, rain forest, koalas and good cheese