Wilson's Promontory (the Prom)

Before Tassie, and even before exams started Barry another friend Meiko and I went to do Wilsons Prom in a weekend. We probably couldn’t have picked a better weekend as the weather was clear yet not too warm. This is surprising because this whole trip (car, capsite, tent and food) was planned in just under three days. Like the last two trips this one is in bullets:

DAY ONE:
• 2 hours drive from Melbourne east to Wilson prom, the most southerly tip of the Australian continent (excluding Tasmania).
• Wilsons prom is a huge national park, with an entrance at one end, a winding road down the middle to Tidal River, a fairly large camp site, at the other end.
• The prom is the largest coastal national park in Victoria, combining natural wildlife and a mix of sclerophyll and cool temperate rain forrest.
• In 2005, a portion of it (mostly along the east side of mount Oberon) was burnt by a wild fire and the traces of it still exist today, though the green has grown back.
• At the campsite it took a good 45 minutes to set up this new tent Barry had bought from Big W (basically wal*mart).
• After those shenanigans we took a walk up mount Oberon to the lookout point for some awesome views down on Tidal River, and further down to the south where the light house marks the tip.
• The idea was after that to take the walk west of Tidal River to see the sun set along Squeak Beach (that squeaky sand again). We got part way and saw a wild kangaroo and wombat on the way.
• That night we make shifted a barbeque dinner and played some card games into the night.
• Around 11 we took a walk down the beach to try and see some stars (I still haven’t beaten Phillip Island…but I didn’t go to the outback). We ran into about 3 wombats on the way, bringing that nights total up to about 6.
• There was a really awesome warm wind coming off the sea while we sat outside, but later at night that wind turned pretty strong and the tent (which probably wasn’t built right) took a battering
• We got up about three times to readjust tent pegs, the tent at some points was flat on us from the wind.DAY TWO:
• The night before while eating dinner we had talked to a guy and he had suggested we take the trail down to Sealer Cove. The trail goes from about the centre of the Prom, out to the east coast.
• Its also 10 km.
• One way.
• Despite its length, which really wasn’t that bad looking back, the walk was actually really nice beginning in the scorched rock and trees below Mt Oberon down into sclerophyll forest and further down into cool temperate rainforest and alternating between the two after that (shades of Victoria, Australia).
• We saw two wallabies, but that was it despite numerous occasions of rustling in the woods around us.
• There was a cool stream about halfway down (or up depending on which way you see it), which had really clean and cold water which was just one of the spots we stopped for a rest.
• After just shy of 20 km of walking in a day, we fell into the car and collapsed.
• We then had a good hearty meal of Maccas on the way back (I think we earned it).

Great Ocean Road

In order to catch this blog up in as fast a fashion as I possibly can before this study abroad is over I’m going to have to change to elaborated bullet points of the major points to a trip and leave your creative little minds to fill in the gaps. This blogs filler should be a big ol’ bucket of bus-van, 21 person seater.

DAY ONE:
• The trip was through Melbourne Uni, the Outdoors club. For a small price they were offering trip along the great ocean road for Melbourne Uni students.
• The great ocean road is a winding road east of Melbourne along the cliffs of the coast built by returning war vets who had no jobs.
• Starting on Saturday fairly early in the morning with a two hour drive to our first destination
• 2 hour surfing lesson, I stood up almost at first but progressed fairly quickly backwards after that.
• The beginning of the great ocean road is marked by a log ‘entrance way’
• Second stop, huge waterfall (and so cold!)
• The windey part of the road began then, in and our along the headlands. Great views and sights.
• Third stop, wild koalas. Truly wild, not like the Phillip Island conservatory. And a joey fairly fresh out of his mothers pouch climbing amount the leaves.
• There were numerous stops along the way to get out and see some of the best sights from the great ocean road.
• At the waterfall the tour leader, ‘Azza’ (as he proposed to be called) filled the bus-van with sticks.
• That night at a backpackers in Apollo Bay, Azza lit a bonfire with said sticks and we sat around that for the last bit of the night.

DAY TWO:
• The next morning we headed into the rainforest first where Azza gave us a history/biology lesson of sorts about the massively huge and tall trees there.
• Heading back to the coast and the great ocean road we stopped at a few more beaches and overlooks for the views.
• The 12 apostles (or the ‘sow and piglets’ as they may have previously been referred to) were the next stop. What used to be 12 stumps of un-eroded rock separated from the mainland (now something like 8).
• Gorge Beach, where a ship had shipwrecked and the only two survivors washed ashore. We stayed here for a while. The water was absolutely freezing (I did go in), and learned a bit more about aussy footy (like how to kick and handball). Randomly ran into some of Barrys friends who I met in Brisbane.
• London Bridge—it did in fact fall down. A peninsular of sorts out into the sea that used to be like a bridge till the middle fell out. As bill Bryson (and Azza tell), two people were stuck out there when the bridge fell, they were cheating on their respective counterparts.
• Finally there was lunch, and the trip back to Melbourne.

It was good and enjoyable trip, definitively worth the money. The views and sights from the road were pretty spectacular, even the road itself. I would highly recommend it especially for study abroad students at Melbourne Uni who don’t have access to transport out there (and even if you do).