Melbourne to Sydney seemed like the right thing to do. However we haven't left enough time to see the famous Great Ocean Road, so we have had to wing it slightly. We picked up the campervan and set off from the airport straight down to Mornington Peninsula somewhat behind schedule (our plane broke down on the runway at Hobart, but they got their spanners out and the same plane took off four hours later..). We needed a destination near Melbourne, but we hadn't realised quite what a quintessential caravan holiday destination it was, and not in a good way. The weather was also atrocious all night, however the clouds parted the next day and we wandered around the Victorian seaside town of Sorrento. The furthest tip of the peninsula is a large national park of historic importance. Inaccessible by car, a fairly short walk leads to Nepean Fort, a stronghold protecting the harbour, and therefore Melbourne, from its earliest days to after WWII. Interestingly, the first shot fired anywhere in the Commonwealth just hours after war was declared in 1939, was from Nepean Fort at a German vessel. It lead to nothing, but the concrete bunkers and tunnels that protected the fort and its armaments can be walked around and have been painstakingly restored by volunteers. A further fascinating piece of Australian history can be visited at the Quarantine Station, also in the Point Nepean National Park. As Melbourne and the south coast was the main disembarkation point for emigrants to Australia, a strict process of quarantine was put in place to prevent deadly communicable diseases arriving to Australia. A series of flags would be hoisted to alert shore of the status of the passengers, and the sick would be shuttled and housed in a series of hospitals depending on their class on the boat, then quarantined until they died or were cured. It was essentially a prison and large numbers died there from Cholera, Typhoid and influenza. One ship famously lost almost all their crew and passengers to influenza. It's an amazing piece of relatively unknown history. We spent the next night on Phillip Island (and Churchill Island). It's an entirely missable place in many ways, apart from the amazing little penguins who surf their way to shore at dusk every day and make a mad dash waddle to to the safety of their burrows on land! Absolute rip off however and ruined by Chinese tourists. We were also told the following day that penguins do this all over the island and it can be seen without having to join the tourist tours and pay silly amounts. However we then drove down to the much anticipated Wilson’s Prom, a large national park on a promontory at the most southerly point of Australia. It’s isolated wilderness with rainforest, mountains and stunning white sand beaches, but the stars of the place are the numerous and nonchalant wildlife, especially the bumbling wombats! (aka Rob’s new favourite animal) Tame is the wrong word, but they are certainly very tolerant. (and brave, one actually snuffled under the car hidden by the cloak of darkness and licked Rob’s toes!) You can only camp in WIlson’s Prom, but the facilities are good, and the lack of hotels keeps those disinclined to be adventurous away. Squeaky Beach is a must visit, so called because the sand is so fine it squeaks beneath your feet (and it really does). Otherwise just wandering the numerous trails reveals all sorts of variety of interesting sights. Still no snake sightings. Phew.
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AuthorsRob & Charlie's travelling adventures on their long journey back to London after living in Hong Kong. Four continents, twelve countries, lots of experiences. Archives
July 2017
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Robert Ware & Charlotte Nunn |