The Great Ocean Road was the main destination of our recent holiday. It is an amazing hand built road that hugs the breath taking Victorian south western coast. Beginning at Tourquay on the Surf Coast, it ends at Warrnambool on the Shipwreck Coast.
The 243 kilometre Great Ocean Road is the world’s longest war memorial. It was built by returned soldiers from World War 1 to remember those who died serving their country. I believe it was also a gift to the world as prior to the road it was very difficult to travel to the towns along its path. The natural beauty it opened up is definitely unique. Building began in 1919, with the first section opening in 1922. The entire length was completed in 1932.
Our journey along the Great Ocean Road took just over a week. We meandered slowly, enjoying what each town has to offer. The views from the road are spectacular. The natural rock formations, rainforests, rugged coastline, world famous surfing beaches as well as glorious local produce. We even had a drink in Australia’s most southern pub.
On the hill overlooking Warrnambool we found this very informative tourist attraction. Flagstaff Hill as it is commonly known is divided into sections. The maritime museum specialising in shipwrecks from the local area. The original lighthouses of the area and Warrnambool Garrison. As well as the village containing 40 buildings based on life in the 19th century port and town.
This area of Australia is called the shipwreck coast in honour of the number of ship that have come to grief on our rugged shoreline. The maritime museum is heritage listed and contains Victoria’s largest maritime and ship wreck collection. Exhibits include stories of survival and salvaged goods many with major historical significance. The prize of the museum is the Loch Ard Peacock. A rare and beautiful statue washed up after the Loch Ard was shipwrecked in 1878. Amazingly it was undamaged. I was mesmorized by her beauty.
The outside village was full of surprises. It is a true replica of that moment in time. Personally, I have never seen so many genuine pieces in one area. The stories of how they came across their display pieces was also fascinating.
At the top of the hill are the two original lighthouses built in1858. They were relocated to their current positions when the fort was built. I love that you could climb into them as well as go through the light house keepers house.
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village was definitely a surprise package with all of its hidden treasures.
The Murray River is Australia’s longest river and it divides the Victorian and New South Wales states. Echuca is a city on the Victorian side and Moama is its sister city on the New South Wales side.
Founded in 1853 Ecucha was once Australia’s largest inland port due to the river trade. Paddlesteamers were very busy going up and down the Murray carrying people and cargo, mainy redgum timber and wool. To honour the city’s history, Echuca has built a Discovery centre around the old port.
The original paddlesteamers have been brought back to life and today are used for tourism. Unfortunately, for us we visited Echuca on a long weekend. This meant the paddlesteamers were fully booked. Never mind, next time will do.
The Port of Echuca Discovery Centre was amazing. We spent hours emersing ourselves in a forgotten time. Learning about life in the early days of Echuca. I loved that they have rebuilt the original wharves mostly using the original timber. They are 3 stories high. This is due to the various changes in river depth and so at any level the cargo could unload. The flood marker below gives an indication or the river levels. During our visit the levels were low.
The scary thing for the river crews was that if the river level dropped too much the paddlesteamers became “stuck” and couldn’t move until it rained and the river levels rose again. This often meant waiting it out until the snow melted or the rains came.
I love the displays and horse and buggy that was giving rides through the precinct.
Deniliquin, a small town in south western New South Wales wanted to be famous. They wanted a festival that made a statement about who they were. After much deliberation and collaboration the idea of celebrating the ute was born. In country Australia utes are everywhere. They are the backbone of country life. So it is no surprise that the first Deniliquin Ute Muster was a huge success. Held in October each year people come from everywhere to celebrate all things country and utes.
The first Deni Ute Muster created a Guinness World Record for the number of utes gathered in one place. Over the last 20 years this has been exceeded on several occasions.
Over the years the festival has grown adding more fun things to include all. There is now a blue singlet count, ute parade, tradie challenge and many other activities including stars of country music. Below are the poster and layouts for this years muster. I would love to go one year but I think Covid will need to be more under control before I join the thousands. We did tour the Deni Ute Muster museum and had a great time learning about it.
I personally love how the ute theme has spread throughout the town. Deniliquin certainly did put itself on the map. My favourite was found in a park and was called Re-utilize.
Described as Australia’s most significant lighthouse, Cape Otway Lightstation is full of history. It includes not just the lighthouse but also the surrounding buildings and areas. It is Australia’s oldest lighthouse.
Built where Bass Strait meets the Southern Ocean it was sailors first contact with Australia. Actually is was also their first contact with land since leaving their departure port. This was also a very dangerous area. To travel around mainland Australia there was a very narrow opening of 84 kilometres known as the Eye of the Needle. This is between Cape Otway and Cape Wickham on King Island. Captains who misjudged this space ended up shipwrecked.
The photos below were taken from the top of the old lighthouse. We could walk all the way around however when on the southern side over the ocean we thought we would be blown off. The wind gusts were huge so we could get a real sense of how hard and isolating it would have been.
The above photo gives an indication of how amazing the old stone work was in the lighthouse.
Cape Otway lightstation included a telegraph station. Built in 1859 it was the first attempt at linking communication between mainland Australia and Tasmania. After this failed it began communication with every ship’s captain that passed Cape Otway. It’s task was to separate the healthy and unhealthy ships before they landed in Melbourne.
Another hidden aspect of the area during World War 2 was a radar bunker. It was so secret that when it informed about an enemy vessel it wasn’t believed. I love finding these surprising stories of our history on our travels.
Unfortunately during our visit we were told that this amazing piece of Australian history is to be sold. Let’s hope common sense changes the government’s mind.
The Black Lighthouse is one of only 3 in the world that are black. The black colour comes from using unpainted bluestone. It is part of Fort Queenscliff. Built high up shining its light to guide shipping and other vessels through the often treacherous water at the entrance to Port Phillip Bay.
It has a sister lighthouse known as the white lighthouse. This is found lower down on the entrance Port Phillip Bay. With the high and low lights working together those on the water can tell where they are.
Both were replacement lighthouses built in 1863. Despite their age they still look and work well today. Unfortunately, timing didn’t allow us to visit Fort Queenscliff so we couldn’t get up close and personal with this beautiful building.
On our recent holiday exploring the Great Ocean Road and regional Victoria our first stop was The Australian National Surfing Museum. It is located in Tourquay at the start of the Great Ocean Road and Surf Coast. The museum is said to be the largest surfing museum in the world. And describes 100 years of Australia’s surfing history. I found this fascinating. Despite growing up on the coast I had no idea of the culture and history attached to surfing in Australia. This visit really put it in perspective for me.
I particularly loved the display of Gordon Stammers Storyboards. These are very quirky and fun to read. Each tells a funny story by runaway teenage surfer. He writes a letter to his parents on the front of the board. On the back is the response from one parent. They were so creative and funny.
At the time we visited it was hard to believe that the local beaches got the waves that were described in the surfing history of the area. Our experience on all beaches was flat surf. Bass Strait however has a history of being wild and untamed. Apparently it depends on the time of year. Personally I would love to see the big surf as described around the museum, in the hall of fame and on the historical surfing videos being shown. Easter ever year sees Australia’s biggest surfing competition held at Bell’s beach not far from the National Surfing museum. I think we must have traveled about six weeks early.
Wow I can’t believe it’s April tomorrow. Where has this year gone? For me, over a month was spent travelling around regional New South Wales and Victoria in Truby. (Our Iveco and Slide-on camper). It was our first trip and we had a great time exploring our country and learning about the grey nomad lifestyle. Despite being nearly 60 most of the places we explored I had never been to before. We found many interesting places, history stories, hidden surprises and the amazing natural beauty of Australia.
Initially our aim was to travel the Great Ocean Rd one of Australia’s and possibly one of the world’s most iconic roads. It was truly breathtaking. For our remaining two weeks we made it up as we went along and had a ball. We drove over 4500 kilometres.
Whilst travelling I decided the best way to share my experiences is by again joining the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. This is a world wide blogging challenge that I first joined in 2015. It will be the fourth time that I have participated and each time I have grown as a blogger. The goal is to post every day in April except Sundays. Most people have a theme that connect their blog posts. This is only half of the challenge however. The other equally important part is to visit other blogs and connect through commenting. I love it and have meet some amazing people on my journey and am hoping to meet many more this year.
Being the first week of the month Cee’s Mid Week Challenge is about exploring macro or close up photography. I like to think of it as getting up close and personal time. When deciding on what to photograph I was memorized by the large bushes I saw in the gardens as I was leaving the hospital. To my surprise, I walk along this path every day but hadn’t noticed these beautiful shrubs before. So I explored their beauty closely and to my delight saw that the bushes were in various stages of flowering. They truely were a sight to behold.
Not knowing what the plants were I asked around and was told that they are Mini Red Flowering Gums. ( Corymbia Ficifolia) They are grafted eucalyptus trees, native to Australia that grow easily and are hardy. Bees and nectar eating birds love to feed on them.
Do you have a favourite? Mine is the last one that also shows the bees gathering the pollen.
Thanks to Cee for hosting this challenge it is great inspiration.
This year I have just discovered a new and exciting weekly challenge, Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge. (CMMC) The theme of this week is words that contain the letter V. So in recognition of Australia Day yesterday, I decided to base my post around things important to Australia and Australians.
My first choice is the superfood of our nation, Vegemite. Full of vitamin B it is a unique taste. One fun thing we like to do is give taste tests to our international guests. Often the looks on their faces are priceless. Most Australians also don’t leave Australia without a jar packed in their suitcase. I love my larger size Vegemite from Costco.
Photo Credit: Google Images
Our country is an island so lifesavers are an essential part of our daily life. They do an amazing job saving many people from drowning and keeping our beaches, pools and rivers safe. While some are paid positions, many are volunteers supporting their communities.
The waves on our beaches are constantly changing. I love going to the beach during all seasons just to watch the waves. It is a peaceful exercise that helps to ground me. Unfortunately, it is not always safe to swim in the waves. Mother nature definitely rules. This summer every time I’ve had a day off the beaches have been closed so I haven’t had a swim yet.
Australians love their sport and one of our favourites is diving.
Rivers are another waterway Australia has a lot of. They can be coastal or inland and are reliant on the rainfall. This photo was taken at the end of last year when the rivers suddenly burst into major floods cut ting off towns and communities in a few hours. Drought is also a problem when the rivers dry up.
Sydney’s Vivid Festival is amazing. It is very creative and celebrates light, music and ideas. Every year it gets bigger and brighter with more displays over different parts of Sydney.
I love the Australian humour in this Lavatree outside a waste disposal centre in rural NSW.
On our travels we found amazing sculptures carved into the walls of an underground opal mine at Lightning Ridge.
Finally the last thing Australians love it traveling. For us this gaining a new momentum as we have just bought ourselves a new Iveco to carry our slide on camper. Vacationing in the Iveco a very fun way to visit.
