Day two on Australia's Great Ocean Road

We are doing the Great Ocean Road from west to east, although many people suggest the best way is the other way around. So far, we don't think it's made any difference, however maybe when we get to the other half, it will. I guess we'll see.

We started today just before Port Campbell. There were quite a few attractions to see on a 23 km (14 mile) stretch of roadway, so we got an early start.

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Beautiful Australian ocean scenery

We started driving early this morning, heading for the Great Ocean Road. We had purposely gone inland for the night because the Great Ocean Road area is pretty busy with tourists, and as such it is difficult to find free camping close to that route. And we are not Caravan Park (RV Park) type of people, and we're not interested in paying those prices.

So for us, it makes sense to spend just a little extra on fuel to find a free spot that we're happy with.

Tomorrow, we begin Australia's Great Ocean Road!

Woke up Wednesday morning to the steady drumming of raindrops on the roof. Just like they said it was going to do. Fortunately, the temperature was comfortable. I don't think it went below 13C (55F) at night, so it was quite nice for sleeping.

With the forecast calling for rain continuing until mid afternoon, we got up and did 50 kms (30 miles) of  driving into the small city of Warrnambool (pop 36,000).

Pub camping in Australia!

As expected, we slept fine Monday night. We were the only ones there! But, it was a chilly night. With the clear sky, the temperature dropped to 5C (41F), so when we woke up we didn't want to get out of bed!

We don't have a thermometer inside the camper, which is probably a good thing!

Here in Australia, every small town has a free RV dump station.

What a Sunday night we had! They were calling for high winds, and boy were they high! It was hard to get much sleep... there were times we thought the rig was going to take off... or at least fall over!

But, we survived to tell about it. Nothing much out of place in the morning, except a few of the fake flowers from the graveyard were blown around... and our entrance steps were a good 20' away from where they had been when we went to bed.

Parked by the graveyard... all of our neighbors are very quiet!

When we left you last, we were on our way to see the glow in the dark mushrooms. We had read about them in advance, so we had a good idea of what to expect and how best to find them.

The best thing you can do is to show up in the area during daylight hours so that you actually know where they are. Most people show up at dusk or nighttime with flashlights glaring and then they never actually see anything!

Off to see the glow in the dark mushrooms!

Just around the corner from where we had been camped is the Umpherston Sinkhole Garden. We got there around 10:00am, and it was already quite busy! It's free to go down and wander around, and I guess because it was a Saturday of the long weekend (Monday is a National holiday here in Australia) and it was a beautiful sunny morning, people were out and about.

Did you notice I said it was a beautiful sunny morning? Yes, we had blue sky and sunshine!

First paid camping in Australia

And it's not really "camping"... it's just somewhere to park for the night and be able to use some nice hot showers!

Friday morning, we tried to get an earlier start. It was a great spot to overnight in the village of Tantanoola! Still, it was probably 9:30am before we actually got on the road!

Keeping our eyes open for wombats!

Slept fine once again at our free camping spot near Beachport. Quiet as can be.

We need to try and get on the road a little earlier though! If we don't get moving until 10:00am, the day seems to fly by too quickly and before we know it, it's happy hour! Not that there's anything wrong with happy hour of course... we just want to get more done before the next happy hour arrives!

Answering some of your questions...

Woke up at the normal hour of 6:30am Wednesday morning, and looked outside to see drizzle in the air again. Decided that another hour in bed wouldn't hurt! By the time we got up, there was some sunshine breaking through.

One of our readers had asked if there are other campers around. And another reader had asked how we find these free campsites.

Four nights of free camping

In four different locations. And there will be many more.

I know it's only been four nights, but first impressions are that Australia is a free camper's dream. Yes, there will be special times where we know that we will have to pay for our overnight spot (National Parks?), but most of the time we don't see any need to pay to park somewhere overnight.

You can't see everything!

Australia is almost the same size as the lower 48 of the United States... so when people ask "how much of it are you going to see in ten weeks...?" We reply "not very much".

It took us four weeks to explore South Korea... a country half the size of Kansas! So to see everything we want to see in Australia would take us two years... or more... of steady traveling.

So right now, we're not worried about seeing everything. We know that we can't.

Another battery problem, but then another good day!

Up as usual around 6:30am Saturday morning. Slept fine... no other campers, and no other vehicles... it was an absolutely perfect spot to spend the first night in the camper.

Speaking of sleep, a few people have asked! So here it is.... we did sleep really well. The mattress is just a piece of hard foam, maybe 6" thick. Not even memory foam. I was kind of worried that it wouldn't be good enough, but it seems to be fine. Although yes... it's a little short for me.

First day on the road in Australia

Well, our regular readers do know that we like to travel slowly! So when you see how far we went on our first day, some of you won't be surprised!

But we had a fantastic day anyhow.

We were saying goodbye to our fabulous Aussie hosts Pat and Louise at 9:30am.