The Great Ocean Road: Final Bit

We moved on from Apollo Bay to Johanna. Not a long drive, but a little bit inland and VERY off the beaten path. No WiFi there, and the cell reception wasn't exactly terrific, either. But! It was a wonderful place. We had to drive back about 2 kilometers over a dirt road (they call them "tracks" here), then pulled into a narrow driveway where we were welcomed into the only garage space. S. has an Airbnb unit attached to here house that is on about 5 hectares (a hectare is roughly 2.5 acres), with a second floor balcony from which we saw this sunset. Twice! We also watched a Kookaburra hunt at dusk on both evenings. It was lovely, though we actually had to retreat inside because the sun set

directly in our eyes for the first bit!

So, somewhat belatedly, it's occurred to me that a map might be a good idea, for those of you who care about where we actually traveled. Sorry about being so late in thinking about this!





We spent one of our days in Johanna doing what is admittedly a super tourista kind of thing. We visited a place called Otway Fly Treetops Adventure. We opted out of the zipline tour (not my choice). Unfortunately, photographs don't do it justice. It is eco-tourism at perhaps it's best.  This company has built elevated walkways throughout the temperate rainforest here, and it is truly spectacular. You get the view of a bird, or maybe a flying fox! They make a big deal about the building of the walkway (ever so carefully), and it culminates in a tower that you climb up to to be at almost the tip top of the rainforest.

Not the most comfortable situation for my lovely height-adverse consort, but he managed just fine. I especially loved the views of the forest floor and under story. It was SO lush.

Rainforest understory

"Rosettes" of ferns. . . . 2 meters across!

Beneath our feet

Fern closeup

Walled Garden.

After Johanna, we drove into Port Campbell. The weather and a not-so-great Airbnb (our first bad one, really) colored our feelings about Port Campbell, but it was only for a night. The town itself seemed SOOO Tourist Weary. Oh my goodness. Folks were just not at their best. This is probably related to the fact the one of the National Landmark treasures is nearby, The Twelve Apostles (http://www.visitvictoria.com/regions/Great-Ocean-Road/Things-to-do/Nature-and-wildlife/Beaches-and-coastlines/12-Apostles. I guess we can forgive our hosts. It is a spectacular area, but like many things in life is ruined when over used and trampled all over. Maybe that's exactly how the locals feel; over used and trampled all over. Anyway, we decided to drive north, away from the coast at the point, stopped in a beautiful little town called Camperdown, where we had a much better experience. It's a beautiful historical little town that prides itself on it's history. We were also treated well at the local tourist information center. We started a decent hike, but found we had to give it up because the smoke from a recently extinguished fire was making our throats burn. Our person at the information center told us that they had to close down a local elementary school due to high carbon monoxide levels! Apparently this is from smoldering peat, and is a big problem for folks, as if the fires themselves weren't a big enough problem. By the way, we had a sweet lunch at a local cafe. I keep telling folks that I want to have a walled garden in my next house. This one would do. . . 

Aren't these great? No idea. . . .

We stopped that night in Colac, which turned out to be a pretty nice town, though all of the lodging was right on the main noisy road. No worries. I have the White Noise app that John downloaded for me years ago. The next morning, he went to do laundry while I spent a couple of hours at the Colac Botanical Gardens. Nice find. One of the things I've noticed here is that even when I see a familiar plant (e.g. The Norfolk Island Pine), it looks different than at home. In the temperate rain forest, it often looks A Lot Bigger!

Likewise, but I love the colors!

Finally, at the end of the plant images (I hope you don't get tired of them. . . I never do. . . ), is an image that again doesn't do justice to its subject. After we had a great Thai meal (nice wine to go with it, of course), we waited out a rainstorm in the restaurant, and then walk/ran back to the motel. We were lucky enough to see a complete rainbow! It stretched all the way from one horizon to the other, though the panoramic image I took disappeared. Oh, IPhone. How could you let me down?

Lipstick plant comes to mind, but again. . .

Another lovely. Perhaps a currant relative.