The stars really aligned this year. Not only did Easter and ANZAC day land close together enabling a glorious 10 days off for only 3 days leave, the school holidays ended on Easter Monday... meaning 6 days of this period didn't overlap with peak holiday times. I could go somewhere and avoid the crowds!
Alas I only realised this close to the break so most of the good/cheap accommodation in Apollo Bay and Bright areas were sold out (my initial thoughts for destinations). I found something cheap down in Warrnambool and since I have never been there, I booked it in.
Town impressions: A good sized country town with good facilities. Pretty active and had a good vibe. Similar size to Tamworth, but where Tamworth is Farming + Manufacturing + Country music, Warrnambool is Farming + Tourism + Beach... much nicer! Was also surprised by how scenic and convenient the inland drive was, only taking 2.5 hours. Had a heap of shops, cafes, and restaurants, and the area was lovely - beach, rolling green hills, and a great spot for sunset watching.
Spend one of the days doing the last leg of the Great Ocean Road walk. Started at the 12 Apostles visitors centre (the end of the walk) and backtracked 12.5km then returned. Was a beautiful day for it and I was blown away by the scenery. I had only briefly visited this area many years ago as a fly by tourist, getting to walk and spend the day here was a much more rewarding experience. Three observations:
1) The tourist numbers at the visitors centre are insane. I started fairly early and it was reasonably busy and made the mistake of not going out on the big viewing platforms then. When I returned in the afternoon it was completely chokers. As in you could barely get through the crowds to the edge to enjoy the view. So do this part outside of peak times.
2) While the days walking was great and there were many scenic viewing points, by far most of the time was spent walking though corridors of thick scrub... and not having any view at all. Don't do this walk and expect to have a day of glorious beach/cliff views.
3) On the drive back, I stopped in at the Bay of Islands. This area was more scenic than the main visitors centre IMO and deserted in comparison. If I come down this way again, I will skip the main area and explore these other little scenic spots and enjoy not being swamped by tourists.
My second day hiking was at Bibj Bim national park, an hours drive north-west of Warrnambool. It was a pretty cool spot - a volcanic area with lava tunnels and caves. Did a few of the walks here - around the lake, through the lava tunnel, and explored a few lava caves. Worth a visit. The area was really rocky and trip hazards everywhere... had a pretty nasty fall early on that put a bit of a dampener on the day. I had an excuse to use my medkit and finally had the realisation that it is huge, over-provisioned, and mostly expired! Gave me an excuse to downsize and optimise on return.
Other notes:
- Audiobook - To Kill a Mockingbird. Was a great book and see why it is considered a classic, and why dipshit elements in the US like to ban it. The Audible version had an excellent narrator that uplifted it even more. Got a good workout when walking.
- Having an AirBnB right on the main street was a good idea. Easy access to cafes, the pub, restaurants.
- Was really nice to watch a small towns ANZAC day service. The Vietnam vet section looks as old as the WW2 section from childhood now. And they only had 1 WW2 guy left. We are all getting old.
- Spend a lot of time in the apartment being a bum. Read a lot of the Expanse - giving it a reread now all the books are published and it stands up as a really solid series. Also spent a heap of time on the Deck playing Guardians of the Galaxy. Wouldn't have picked that as a game I would enjoy, but it was a blast. Love the deck!
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