The Great Ocean Road in Australia

Tuesday, December 5, 2023 Melbourne – Lorne

We pick up the car 500 meters away, in a Chinatown parking lot that the hotel has a deal with, then it’s off with a *vroom vroom* while listening to a podcast about the victim of a compulsive mythomaniac—who also happens to be her husband—leading a completely compartmentalized double life. Later, he discovers, after contacting his alter-ego from this parallel universe, that he was actually living a *third* life... and maybe even more? We arrive in Torquay, where we stretch our legs along the Koorie Cultural Walk with a view of Bells Beach...





It’s here, just outside Lorne, that the Great Ocean Road officially begins...

We arrive at our apartment, which is pretty nice—Dom and I are really particular about the quality of our terraces. I’ve never really talked about the practical quirks of daily life in Australia. For example, I could tell you that *every single* power outlet we used on this trip had a switch to turn it on or off. No exceptions, ever! Why? They must find it useful, but for us, it’s a total mystery... And of course, their power outlets require an adapter. Just one of many little peculiarities. Another odd observation: *every* toilet, even the most remote ones hidden deep in the bush, always had a roll of toilet paper available. No shortages here! And then we’re greeted by a big family of cute sparrows...





We spent a long time enjoying their pool before heading out for a walk—all the way to Erskine Falls, about ten kilometers away...

Hi JL, Melbourne’s got four seasons in one day—so unpredictable! We loved the street art in Melbourne too, and Federation Square. There were also the little penguins at St Kilda Pier (you can take the tram there). Too cute!

Still loving these memories from 10 years ago! Thanks!

We didn’t spend as much time in the city as it deserved. We’re (unfortunately) on our final stretch now. There were some heavy family events that called us back to France. So, this is the last leg of a trip filled with unforgettable memories. Thanks for being part of it! 😏

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Lorne - Port Campbell We can always try to pretend, but the return is now well settled in our minds, like some kind of countdown. Anyway, we’ve got a packed schedule to keep our thoughts occupied. Knowing we’re on the last leg of the trip has made us want to soak up a bit of everything—some sea, some rainforest, some sunshine…

From Lorne, we follow the famous Great Ocean Road and its spectacular ocean views. The scenery through our windshields is non-stop. Kennett River is a mix of a shopping center and a campsite, behind which stretches a lovely forest bordering the river. It’s known for hosting a group of koalas? And so…



It’s early enough that we have the place to ourselves. The spot is magical. Birds are chirping from all directions—a symphony we mostly can’t identify. Since Sydney, the superb fairy-wrens (that’s their real name, I’m not making it up) have been playing hard to catch with my camera. They’re so fast, constantly moving, that my Sony’s autofocus speed makes my photos unusable. I had some luck in Tasmania, but today there’s an abundance of them. Shooting on the fly sometimes gives nice results!







Here and there, we spot koalas high up in the eucalyptus trees.



And parrots. Lots of parrots…

Soon the charm will be broken by the arrival of fellow tourists. They come in groups. Time to move on... We're heading back to the Great Ocean Road, the sea...



We climb up to the heights to get a wide enough view, like at Mariners Lookout...







Further on, we get another whiff of the rainforest at the Maist Rest...

On the road again…



We arrive at Cape Otway… Beware, beware…





Behind the scenes of the strange…





I’ve told you before—Australian roads are literally lined with carcasses. It’s absolutely insane. You do see people around sometimes, but honestly, it’s avoidable! In the surrounding forest of the Cape, especially in the Melba Gully reserve, there are still koalas…

Then comes the masterpiece of the GOR, the Twelve Apostles…





By popular demand, back to the Enchanted Meroo!

Final part of the day, Loch Ard Gorge…



We settle in at Port Campbell Motor Inn. A classic motel—charming but not over the top…

I'm afraid this might be coming to an end soon... So what were the highlights of this beautiful drive Down Under?

Hold on a sec! 😉 There are still a few days left. We're still in the middle of unforgettable days. It's not quite time for conclusions yet!

Thursday, December 7, 2023 Port Campbell – Portland

The GOR is cliffs that the oceans have shaped over the ages. Driving along this rugged coast gives you a sense of the forces at play. It’s epic! Powerful booms! Huge waves crashing against these walls in an explosion that makes the ground tremble far into the countryside! We went back to see it again. Loch Ard Gorge, which we barely glimpsed yesterday and wanted to explore a bit more…









London Bridge…

Then the Grotto…

It’s a non-stop show!

The sea was the main event of the day before we reached a stunning reserve around a lake, Tower Hill Reserve—a kind of showcase of Australian wildlife…

We arrive in Portland, the end of the Great Ocean Road. We’ve got an amazing apartment, right on the ocean! Pure perfection! !



The town doesn’t really excite us. The restaurant scene, as usual, is pretty limited. It’s meh for the price, honestly.

We end the day on our breathtaking terrace, just in time for the parrot racket!

Thanks for bringing back all those memories. We loved the same spots, of course! Gorgeous photos. And I love the wine label!

Friday, December 8, 2023 Portland



From sunrise, it’s a parrot frenzy! It’s cracking me up—no holds barred! !

What a beautiful mess! !

Today’s weather is gorgeous… Adónde vamos?

Oh oh oho… After some beach time at home, we crossed the peninsula to Cape Bridgewater. Along the way, we came across a little koala in the middle of the road—reckless thing—don’t do that, little fluffy Babar, it’s way too dangerous…

Within minutes, it dashed onto a property and climbed the first tree it found, while a driver laid on their horn because they *hate* those damn tourists who still bother stopping for these stupid teddy bears that keep crossing outside crosswalks! Anyway… Cape Bridgewater is known for its seal colony. But the view isn’t free! There’s nearly 6 kilometers of uphill through the heath… Yeah, but there are seals… So?



Not gonna lie, the place isn’t exactly the most welcoming… Dom spotted this one next to me, and I walked right past without even seeing it…

Google Lens is certain—it’s a tiger snake, and it clarifies: "Highly aggressive when disturbed, especially during breeding season, it flattens and raises its body like a cobra, hisses, and attacks. Its venom causes locomotor paralysis, muscle damage, and hemorrhaging leading to death."

Should we get out of here?

Of course, there are snakes, but the most annoying of all—really a pain—are the flies. Maybe we’ve beaten the record previously held by the Pinnacles Desert! It’s horrendous!

We finally make it to the seals lookout, just after a nasty little drizzle starts—cold and miserable!

Still, it’s totally worth it—the show is amazing, including the sound atmosphere!

Life’s buzzing here! We even spot some wallabies…





We made the return trip running (well, almost—you know us, we’re not exactly athletes…), but it still took an hour!

Help! Help!



About 4 kilometers from here, they’re promising a petrified forest. Should we check it out?

Jackpot! It’s not exactly a petrified forest, but more like an easy way to walk on the surface of planet Glarjouule 244. It’s an insane landscape—nothing like anything you’ve ever seen!







It’s so weird…







We ended up eating Chinese food again. We’re getting a little tired of the local cuisine—all the menus look the same. After a while, you start craving a bit of variety, and it’s not easy to find…

Saturday, December 9, 2023 Portland - Halls Gap

Our last foray inland. We leave the coast for the Grampians mountains under pouring rain that won’t let up all day. The limping seagull came to say hello—we’ve become friends.

We finish the RTBF audio series on the Brabant killers case along a road that stretches endlessly until a car overtakes me at full speed, so close it smashes my side mirror before vanishing into the rain’s blur. Oh well, no big deal—it pops back into place by hand. We carry on. We arrive at our site, greeted by a very kind lady who describes in detail all the charms of the place we’ve just landed in. And sure enough, it’s another slice of Eden.



We spot loads of kangaroos, parrots in flocks of 100, and a few emus in the distance. It should’ve been great if not for that relentless rain, which knows just how to ruin the best vibes!

On our way back from dinner, a couple stops us. The guy is absolutely furious. He saw us—*clearly* saw us—no point denying it, tossing an empty plastic bottle into *his* trash can. Apparently, he can’t fathom how such a crime could go unpunished. It was a big deal. Just to soften (a little) that first impression—though it’s been carefully crafted over time—that Australians are friendly. Generalizations are always proven wrong by exceptions...

We had dinner at a "restaurant" by local standards—nothing exciting taste-wise, the same stuff you find everywhere: their barramundi, their porterhouse steak, the pork belly... What can I even say? We’re sick of it, but you’ve gotta eat...

Thanks so much, Jean-Luc, for these amazing travel journals that bring back such great memories (we were in Halls Gap a year ago...) and give us tons of ideas for our next trip. Best, Laurent

He saw us, clearly saw us—no point denying it—throwing an empty plastic bottle into HIS trash can. Apparently, he doesn’t get how such a crime can go unpunished.

Well, yeah! More trash, maybe he’ll pay more taxes, who knows, not me. We were smarter—we did the same in Albany but didn’t get caught!

Fun fact: in Haute-Savoie, it’s done on a large scale—Swiss folks come dump their trash bags in France. When we start paying by weight, it’s gonna get messy! 😆

Yes, obviously. We were in the wrong. But there are plenty of ways to express your frustration to clueless tourists who certainly didn’t mean any harm. Insulting them is surely not the best approach. Besides, the weight of an empty plastic bottle shouldn’t be *that* painful... 😉

I totally agree! I should’ve read between the lines…

It’s not a crime. I think I would’ve offered her cash to rent her trash can… 😅

Which probably wouldn’t have helped matters! Fair enough. So, let’s say with a big smile on top!

Thanks for your message. I’m happy to relive this trip and thrilled to share it.

Sunday, December 10, 2023 Halls Gap

The D’Altons is a simple concept. You build small wooden houses with terraces in a circle. In the middle, you set up a little pond with ducks, trees loved by parrots, flowers that attract pretty birds, and plants that kangaroos seek out—then you let nature do its thing. Tourists are delighted, the animals discover they’re appreciated here, and everyone lives in a harmony that makes everyone happy. Me, with my Sony, I’m in heaven!









Suddenly, a break in the clouds! Grampians, here we come! Since the weather’s a bit unpredictable, we’re treating ourselves to the top trails according to All-Trails.com: the Pinnacle ascent. Let’s gooooo! First, the Grand Canyon…

We knew it was unfortunately closed, but we decided to check it out anyway—and the little detour was totally worth it!

I came out of there (a little over 5 kilometers) in pretty rough shape. Dom, on the other hand, was far from done. I suggested a nice little loop near our place, the Venus Baths. Turns out, instead of Venus, we’d run into kangaroos and wallabies.

And in the heart of the pretty stream, it's mostly young moms and dads who come to enjoy the water with their little ones. It's charming. A natural municipal swimming pool that costs nothing—though in Australia, that’s pretty much the norm.

The parking lot of the so-called botanical garden is next to some kind of industrial zone. In the middle of nature, where animal life unfolds completely indifferent to the consumerist compulsions of humans... We went there to grab a few groceries.

In the magazine section, we’re amazed by the staggering proportion of magazines focused on the automotive industry.

Back home, we’re surprised to see that every studio now hosts a couple. They’re snapping photos left and right, big smiles on their faces.





"Look, honey, kangaroos!"

I act all cool, but when Dom called our kids in R., I wasn’t the last one to walk around the square with my phone camera rolling to show them our critters! Looking for a bit of diversity, we ate Indian. The place is a total trip! The kids recreated their home country with some over-the-top plastic statues...

The best part, though, is inside. They deliver their dishes with a robot that repeats the same phrases to every customer in a high-pitched voice—"Here are your delicious dishes," "Careful, it’s hot"—with overly polite manners. It’s cringe but also a little funny, like something out of Jacques Tati’s *Mon Oncle*.

As for the meal... meh. We’ve been struggling to enjoy food lately.

Monday, December 11, 2023 Halls Gap

It’s raining. We’re dragging our feet a bit, not super motivated to go slogging through the mud. Madame Boss comes by for a chat. While we’re talking, something stirs in the bushes. Some pretty little birds quietly peck around in the lady’s gardens. A Kookaburra, very common in the area, with a truly remarkable call.

Some gorgeous fairy wrens. But the rain keeps at it. We decide to use this time to run some errands about 25 km away—there’s a Woolworths there. Along the way, we see plenty of emus roaming the countryside.

The weather finally clears up in the early afternoon. Right away, we rush to do Chatauque Peak, not far from where we’re staying! A gentle climb through some lovely nature.









Then we settled into our usual end-of-day routine. On the way, we had a few more pleasant encounters.

Thanks again for this discovery. It’s so gorgeous there!

We didn’t make it up there 10 years ago because we ran out of time—we’d brought along two friends with limited vacation days. (Big mistake. You’re so restricted in your choices, and sometimes you even have to call a vote…) We had to get to Adelaide as quickly as possible. 😅

Tuesday, December 12, 2023 Halls Gap - Victor Harbor It’s raining and everyone’s cleared out. The vibe’s seriously fizzled—even the kangaroos decided to keep their distance. "Not enough of an audience, we’re not gonna bother moving for these two losers!" Meanwhile, we’re acting like nothing’s wrong, setting up the table for our famous little breakfasts. Since the start of the trip, with just a few rare exceptions, we’ve been having breakfast on our own. We buy what we need and set up on our terraces. It’s better and way cheaper than what you’d get in a café! But this morning, for some reason, the birds on-site are determined to make us share our grub. Mostly sulphur-crested cockatoos, and there are *loads* of them here. They’re acting like thugs and being *super* pushy.

"Hey guys! We see you!" After a few attempts at forcing their way in, we hold our ground. We’ve been told it’s really bad to give food to wild animals—it could become a bad habit. An addiction. Long story short, the answer’s no, and our former feathered friends aren’t taking it too well… It’s a shame, but we don’t linger. The call of the open road is too strong. We’ve got a 6-hour drive to reach the coast, with just a few short stops—like in Kaniva…

Or in Coonalpyn.

We finally arrive in Victor Harbor. The hotel might win an ugliness award—special mention for the brown carpet with its *inspiring* wavy pattern—but it’s got a balcony with a sea view (if you crane your neck, anyway), a bathtub, and last but not least, it’s just steps from the bridge connecting this little seaside town to a cute island that boasts a small group of penguins. Shall we go see?

It’s a really, really cool island, Granite Island, but when it comes to penguins... we didn’t see a single one!













So, we had to go drown our frustration in alcohol (it’s sad, really)...

You’ve got to accept it—you can’t see EVERYTHING. Looking through your travel journal, I can already tell the southwest... and even skipping the "center" is giving me FOMO. But hey, you’ve gotta be realistic. There are the little ones to think about, and the budget! Anyway, there are limits, and that’s okay!

Oh, poor you! They’re so cute, though—the little penguins on Granite Island. We went to see them at the Rescue Centre during feeding time. Is the horse-drawn tram still running? No? Well, we didn’t sleep here; we came from Adelaide, crossing the Fleurieu Peninsula.

Yeah, you can’t do it all—there are limits (or boundaries?). But when you push past the limits, there are no more limits (sic).

We’ll *definitely* have to come back for the centre! It’s the heart of the country. Stunning landscapes.

Wednesday, December 13, 2023 Victor Harbor - Adelaide

85 kilometers. Still, almost an hour and a half drive. Adelaide didn’t let us approach easily—there was a bit of friction with the traffic. At the Alba, where we had our room, they didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet. "I can’t let you have the room before 12:30, sorry-sorry." The lobby, though, where we could see the splendid pool, convinced us we hadn’t landed too badly. Besides, the parking was easily accessible and free. So we set off with a light heart to explore the city on foot. The rain quickly dampened our enthusiasm, and we took refuge at the Central Market. We noticed that French cuisine, even Alsatian, was well represented there.

We also encountered the only mosquito of our entire stay, which is pretty notable! !

Then it was wandering around, as usual. We finally got our room—pretty decent, though the "Meriton" effect does make everything else seem a bit bland. The view from the terrace was nice. As soon as we settled in, we set off again to explore every accessible corner of the city center. With a girl like Dominique, you walk! You cover kilometers by the dozen! She’s never satisfied. I have to negotiate hard just to get the occasional bus ride!

We’d noticed there were a lot of hairdressers. That inspired me. I went into the very first one we came across once the idea took hold. A kid. He mumbled something I didn’t understand at all, but I replied with a confident, "Make it short, I’m an old man, do it in a classical way." I’d seen his previous work—all frills—and it smelled like a casting error. After suggesting a 4-step fade or a 4-layer coconut style, he finally took my request seriously, grabbed the clippers, and with a gesture as firm as my voice, gave me a proper buzz cut before I could yell anything other than "help!" !



After walking north for a while, we inevitably ran into the Torrens River.

From there, heading east, you end up at the Botanic Garden—it’s unavoidable. On the edge of the park, there’s a massive colony of flying foxes, fruit bats endemic to Australia. The sight is incredible!

It’s late. The Garden has already closed a few greenhouses.







Well, guess we’ve gotta head back. How far are we? 1.6 kilometers? It’s like walking to the train station back home—no big deal! Here we go again! (Help!)

We really liked Adelaide! A year ago (February 9th), we took the tram to Glenelg Beach...