From Port Campbell we headed towards Warnambool along the coast road through pretty countryside. We spotted a tourist sign for the Whale Nursery Lookout and went to check that out. No whales unfortunately but the beach at the bottom of the hill was a pretty spot for a comfort stop.
Port Fairy
Our next stop was Port Fairy which is a pretty little village along the Great Ocean Road. We had a look around and then found a spot for lunch. Another great find was the The Wharf @ Port Fairy right on the wharf at Port Fairy. I had the most fabulous seafood fettucine. The meal came quickly and it was fresh and full of flavour. The staff were friendly and we had a lovely chat with our server about her journey from living in Erskine Park near my home town to 12 hours drive away in Port Fairy. This was our last stop along the Great Ocean Road. From there we headed back north east towards home.
Mount Sturgeon
Our journey along the gorgeous Great Ocean Road was over and it was time to head back towards home. Our next stop was Halls Gap for the evening and the trip to there was equally as pituresque but completely different. We drove along quiet country roads and through rolling green hills. Stopping a couple of times to photograph the scenery. One stop was for Mount Sturgeon. Here we stopped on the side of the road, the sheep in the paddock opposite were most curious as to what we were up to. It was then onto Halls Gap for the evening and a quiet night in before a big drive the next day to Gundagai.
We travelled along some small back roads on our way to Gundagai rarely seeing another car. When we left Halls Gap we didn’t have our next stop over booked because we decided to see how far we got that day depending on what we wanted to see and photograph along the way. It didn’t take long before that opportunity came when we were driving through more amazing colourful canola fields so we had to stop to get a shot. We passed through lots of small country towns bfore settling on Rushworth for lunch mainly because it was the first place we found with something open. The food was great and cheap and the service was friendly. It cafe was called the Moto Finish Cafe. It had a motor cycle theme and I imagine it is a destination for coffee or lunch for motor cyclists on the weekends.
Gundagai
Gundagai is a small country town made famous by a song about a dog. I hadn’t seen the dog on the tuckerbox since I was a kid. It was far less impressive than I had remembered and the light was not great for photographing it so we headed back into town. We arrived back in Gundagai before sunset and went up to the lookout the check out the view. The countryside here was noticebly dryer away from the coast. You can see in the second photo below how little vegetation there is on the hills in the background.
We stayed in a cute little road side motel on the Sydney side of town which had a restaurant with a beautiful view of the sunset. The meals were home styled and very tasty, the lamb shank was so tender it practically fell off the bone. I would stay and eat there again if I was in Gundagai as the food was good and the staff were lovely.
Gundagai was our last stop before home. It was a fabulous road trip with lots of photo opportunities. We didn’t always get the pictures we wanted. You need to be lucky at times with timing for gorgeous sunrises and sunsets but the landscape was amazing and well worth the nearly 3000 kilometres we travelled.
Who knows where my next adventure will be. Back to work tomorrow with fabulous memories and lots of incentive to plan future adventures.