Camper Van

To Lorne, Australia

Today was our first day in our new, Apollo camper van. The kids saw it for the first time yesterday after “the tennis,” as they say here. I was glad that they seemed pretty excited. It's not nearly as fancy as the 4x4 we had in South Africa with its roof top tent, solar panels and huge stowable awning. This camper is a customized Toyota Hiace with an extra tall roof top, which makes it easy to stand and gives space for a sleeping platform up high. Behind the front seats is a separate pullout platform for two more people and at the back, a small fridge, sink and two burner stove.

After packing up, we hopped in and headed south west, hitting the coast about an hour after leaving Melbourne. To save cash, we’re trying to skip restaurants, and with the small fridge and a tiny stove, this shouldn't be too hard. A neat little road side market helped us stock up.

Boy, what a temperature shift from yesterday. It was 95F during the tennis matches yesterday, but a cool and breezy 60F today. With the cool temps, we only dipped our feet in the water at the beach in Torquay and instead spent most of the time wandering around the tide pools. It's nice that Dex and Kylie are so fascinated with wildlife. They both love walking around and searching out little creatures. I'm continually amazed at what Dex can spot. He found a bunch of little, greenish starfish shaped like pentagons as they had no actual "arms" (rays) not to mention a big, pebbly looking red one.

We headed off down the road after a quick lunch. However that didn't stop us from pulling into the Chocolatier we came to just a few minutes later. Every variety of chocolate you've ever imagined... and ice cream too! They even sold one meter long and one kilo (2.2lb) bars. Mmmm.

Post shopping ice cream

I read recently that Australia has not seen a recession since the seventies. In line with this, real estate values continue to soar. Perhaps that's why we've experienced sticker shock . We almost booked at a Big 4 Campsite, but couldn't quite stomach the $135/night with a two night minimum… for a campsite!  We nevertheless ended up at a spot just outside Lorne (only $100/night). The camp spots were basic, but the camp backed up to a small tea colored stream and a nice trail leading back into a tree lined canyon with high rocky cliffs. Not a bad spot for our new home away from home.