Sea Stars and Gum Trees

To Lavers Hill, Australia

I managed a short run along the hiking trail this morning and then enjoyed some quiet time with Meg before the kids woke. Our camp neighbor, Matt, was just packing up his camp trailer, so we got the opportunity to chat with him. He was out camping with his family before the end of the summer holidays and the start of school. A big fan of ‘67 Chevy Impalas, we talked about cars, good camping spots on the Great Ocean Road, and also commiserated about Trump's upcoming presidency. Since the US presidential election is such big news here in Australia (and around the world), Australians too had to endure the entire two plus year process!

When Dex and Kylie finally roused themselves, we packed up and headed down the road for breakfast at the Koala Kafe, just off the coastal highway. True to it’s name, we did in fact see three of the little furry critters at the “caravan” park right next door. They seemed mostly interested in sleeping as opposed to posing for pictures.

Next stop was a nice wide beach just up the road. Kylie and I had been threatening to get in since yesterday and finally took the literal plunge... but not for long. Though not as cold as what we’ve gotten used to at Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz, we're looking forward to the warmer water up north that Matt, from the campground, assured us we would encounter later.

In these tide pools, we found a completely different type of sea star from what we had seen yesterday. Much bigger and in a whole array of colors, we had no trouble gathering a huge collection of the eight and nine armed creatures. Dex made sure to return them all back to the water, before we wandered around the rocks looking at the barnacles, sea snails, anemones, and occasional small fish.

Only another 20km or so down the road, we stopped yet again, this time for a short rain forest hike. I was a little doubtful at first, but this was definitely one of my favorite activities so far. It didn't hurt that it was practically perfect weather: 22C, sunny and dry. The forest was amazing. The huge ferns that formed most of the understory, were awesome. And the Eucalyptus (gum trees) were gigantic and super impressive. We even spied a super bright red and green King Parrot, though not clearly enough for a photo.

Content with our day's activities, we started searching out places to stay. The Roadhouse Diner offered simple camping spots in a grassy field for only 40 AUD. We’ll take it. For dinner we made a tasty meal of rice and beans with avocado and sharp cheddar cheese. I thought it was quite good though Kylie did not seem very impressed.

Lunch time

View along the Great Ocean Road

Camp flowers

It started to look like rain, so we piled inside early to see just how cozy our little van could be. It’s not a US style motor home by any stretch, but it’s all relative.  The other half dozen vacationers in the field were working out of vehicles much less luxurious in comparison. Then, just before dark, in rode Mark, originally from England, on a fully loaded Surly touring bike. None of this sissy camper van stuff! He had already ridden three to four thousand kilometers from Perth on the west coast, planned to continue past Melbourne up along the east coast to Sydney, and would finally head back along the northern coast to Darwin. Wow, an epic trip for sure. Even more so from the relative comfort of our van.