Apollo Bay

The towtruck took me and the van to Apollo Bay. A small town known for its Koala sightings. 

The local YHA was fully booked and the only backpackers place I found was the Apollo Bay Backpackers.

Costs only $28 (cash, credit is $30) for a night in a dorm, free WiFi and breakfast included.

I ended up staying for 7 nights. 

It had a homy feeling. Most of the guests were young people who were spending time in Apollo Bay working. 

The lady who was running it was a backpacker from France who was travelling around the world. She had a job in the welfare sector in France and was told she would have a job whenever she comes back. For now she was staying for three months in Apollo Bay/AU.

I always need to adapt when I am forced to stay in a YHA or a backpackers place instead of on my On my own in my van, but after a couple of days when I have to leave I find myself attached to the place or the people.

After the first day I made two calculations. One for the go home early scenario and one for the stay in AU till the end of Feb. I could go back and spent all the money I had left on rent, water, electricity, etc..or stay, buy or rent a car for $2500 and try and camp for free as much as possible. The result would be the same in both cases I would just have enough left for rent and a bond of two months.

As I wasn't keen on returning to BE the choice was easy. I found a used car dealer in Geelong on the web who sold cars with rego and RWC that fitted into my budget.

The next morning I took the bus to Geelong. About 2h30 from Apollo Bay. Once there I found the place, Formula Uno, was in a suburb called Corio about 12 kms from the bus station. So I started walking. Formula Uno is a family business run by father Charlie and his son Ricky. Ricky used to be a professional car racer and lived in the UK back then. Now he worked with his father who has Italian roots, he came with his parents to AU as a little boy. Ricky travelled a lot and the family has a home in Sicilie. But Charlie never leaves Australia.

When I arrived (after walking 2h45 in a hot sun) I told them what had happened to me with the two vans and what I was looking for. A reliable car with a roadworthy certificate and rego till at least the end of Feb 2015 that would get me safely to Cairns.

They had two left, one was a Mazda, which looked a bit worn out and had a narrow trunk and one a Ford that was at the mechanics to get the RWC. Both men were very friendly and Ricky went to get the Ford so I could compare the two cars. 

I had seen the Ford on their website and had it already in mind. When Ricky arrived I knew that was the car I wanted. Problem was there was still some work to be done to it so it would get a RWC. Feeling for me and willing to help as much as possible Ricky lent me a car so I wouldn't have to take the bus back to Apollo Bay. I gave a deposit and we arranged for me to come back after the weekend to get the Ford and be on my way.

When the day came to pick up the Ford I stopped at a K Mart to buy a tent ($35), air mattress ($10) and pump ($10). I had cleaned out Trevor, taking the blankets, pillows, table, chairs, gas cookers, etc..  

I eventually found a buyer who was willing to meet me near Melbourne and buy Trevor for $150. 

Once I had sorted the Ford out and was leaving Geelong it was to late to find a camp area so I decided to stay at a rest area on the highway and sleep on the backseat. I used to do this years ago when I was pretending to be at school, but at the age of 41 it was a very painful experience.

The Apollo Bay  Backpackers 

The living room.

The kitchen.

The house cat Puspus. Mika the French lady running the place called him a flower amongst the flowers.

The amazing art in the centre of Apollo Bay:

The harbour:

The accident

I woke up at the camp area in Red Johanna, about 8kms from the Great Ocean Road after a good nights sleep. First thing I needed to do was find my flip flops. The night before I caught a couple of foxes trying to get into my garbage bag, jumping up against the back of the van,and ending up steeling my flip flops.

After finding them on two separate spots close to the van I had a walk to the Ocean. Sitting thinking, what will I do when I need to go back? 

After a hour or so I decided to get out of there, seeing it was uphill for at least half the distance back up to the Great Ocean Road, I knew I would have a hard time with the faulty fual pump. 

I had made an appointment to get it replaced two days later when I would arrive in Geelong.

The drive up to the Great Ocean Road was hell. The van struggled real hard. Once I reached it I was releaved, the road went downhill so it started getting better, then suddenly my worst nightmare happened. The engine was off which caused for the brakes to freeze and the steeringwheel to lock. This happened just when before a turn in the road. I saw the first car ahead and tried to wave, signal to get out of the way. 

I felt one, than a second collision. Two cars got hit bad on the drivers side. I ended in the grass on a little uphill patch. 

I was not wearing a seatbelt and many will say I was lucky to get out of it with just sore shoulders and shock. 

When my van stopped I opened my door scared of what I would find. Thankfully everyone was ok. 

It was only when the police arrived I noticed the damage on my van. The right wheel was completely gone, the door was out of its hinge, the front bender was bend and the window was cracked. The police officer took my statement of what happened and gave me a fine for $369 because the van was unroadworthy. A sticker was placed on my windscreen stating it was a defective vehicle and I needed to to get it roadworthy before being allowed to drive it again. I was in shock and overheard the officer talking on his CB and stating there were no injured people, I asked him what if someone had internal injuries, he told me I would be in a lot of BS if that would be the case. He was wearing black sunglasses, while it was very clouded, all this time and I sort of lost it. I told him it was very impolite to talk to someone when you cannot look them in the eyes. He took of his glasses... Before he left he came to talk to me, asked me if I was alright to wait on my own for the towtruck to return for me. He also told me to dial 000 if I felt unwell and he would come back. I apologised for my comment, but he understood. 

I remember thinking when the accident was happening to please let it be the end of all. I had had enough. 

My friends kept telling me I would come back from this trip a stronger person. Until this accident and just after it I believed something or someone was trying to push me over the edge. Make life impossible for me. People who know me know I am a pessimist and even a fatalist. Have been all my life.

But after the accident and being in shock for about two days I started realising something. 

I should have died that day. For once I wasn't wearing my seatbelt, the shaking of the van when driving uphill made it very uncomfortable, and I drove right into upcoming traffic, I even just passed a truck carrying tree logs. And eventhough my brakes had been frozen, the police officer showed me that there were brake marks on the part where I just left the road and I know that if the van hadn't stopped I would have flipped over. 

I could have easily killed four people that day. 

So was something pushing me but watching over me at the same time, knowing I was planning on ending everything myself at the end of my trip? Pushing me to see that life isn't finished with/for me?

All I can say is I am grateful nobody got hurt. And yes it changed me. I will go back to Belgium and I will get off my bum and make this life meaningful. 

Great Ocean Road

Having missed it last year, the gps took me inland to Sydney, I really wanted to drive the Great Ocean Road. 

It's a must see kinda thing. I will let the pics speak for themselves.

The Bay of Islands

The Bay of Martyrs

London Bridge

The Grotto

The Arch.

Port Campbell National Park

Parking area 12 Apostels National Park. 

Passage to the 12 Apostels...

....

Trevor breaks down -> 9 days at Victor Harbor

Once back on the mainland on my way from Cape Jervis to the Great Ocean Drive it took 43kms for shit to hit the fan...again.This time Trevor broke down and started overheating. Called roadside and waited for the towtruck to get me to the nearest town about 20kms, Victor Harbor. One thing I must say, when I break down I have so far been lucky to have cell phone coverage and to be within 50kms of a mechanic and place to stay. The roadside only covers towing for 50kms. 

While I was waiting I started emptying my esky. So when Kim the towtruck guy called to let me know he was going to be a while I had no problem with that. The Esky still had 5 beers left in it. 

While I was waiting people stopped by to check if help was coming. Roger an older gentleman even stopped twice. I cannot Imagine people in Belgium being this considered. 

Kim really loves Victor Harbor and on the way down he showed me Granite Island in the distance. We talked about finding a way to get permanent residence and he suggested I place myself on Gumtree...

The first two nights I stayed at the Anchorage, hoping the problem would be easily fixed. 

The Anchorage.

I should have known better. And paying $55 a night was a bit to much to continue doing for what turned out to be another 7 nights. So I moved across the corner to a hotel above the pub the Grosvenor.

The Grosvenor.

Above the Grosvenor pub. The hotel.

The evening before I moved I had a drink at the bar of the Grosvenor and had a chat with Raj the bartender. He was origanly from Malaysia. He worked there in a resort when he met his Australian wife. He wasn't particularly fond of Australia, he feels people are the same everywhere in the world, we all live under the same sky, etc.. We just need to live where love takes us. I had to agree on that one.

My room was a two people dorm but since it was very calm I had the room to myself. Price per night $30 and there was a shared room with a microwave, fridge and freezer and a warm water maker. Next to the showers there was also a bath. Normally I don't take baths I prefer a hot shower, but after another rainy cold day (27 degrees C) and feeling flueish I enjoyed a nice warm bath.

The only other people who I met while staying there were Luke and Damian. Both Australians, both having a hard time. But while Luke seemed slow and mellow all the time, Damian was as obvious as can be constantly high on speed.   

Luke had returned to Victor Harbor after having stayed there before leaving to go on a bender for a long time till he ran out of money and had to sell his ute. He was unable to work and receives a sum from the government every two weeks. I believe it is $800. Hardly enough to pay rent and food with. So he stays at a hotel above a pub for $30 a night and with the money he gets he plays the slot machines. I must admit they are very addictive and I also played a bit but luckely only lost $20. luke received $300 for his ute and used it on the machines and won $600. He invited me to go for some beers and told merge would come for me in an hour. Not feeling like getting drunk and hearing about what women in AU "taste" like,I fled to Granite Island. 

To get to Granite Island you have to walk over a jetty. While walking I spotted this Manta Ray. I was lucky to spot one the next day as well.

Victor Harbor seen from Granite Island.

The next I went along, and we ended up drinking for two days, the last day he was left with just $7. Luke and I are as different from eachother as two men can be. He had a theory, he told me that it is an unwritten law in Adelaide that if you get a woman to have a drink with you, it is a done deal.. the whole time I spent with him he was constantly eyeballing woman and girls. Making the most sexist remarks possible making gestures I simply did not know how to respond to. He didn't mean any harm and would never act on his fantasies but walking with him in public was a bit of a walk of shame....

The other guy I only spoke a couple of times with. He was from Melbourne and told me the first night I was there apparently a bunch of guys had a party and had a stripper over.. Sad to say I mist that one...

Damian turned out to be in some trouble with the law and was escorted out of the hotel by some undercover coppers a couple of days later.

Eventually my car was "patched up" and I could pick it up and pay $2373 for a reconditioned cylinder head kit, a waterpump, upper and lower radiator hoses, oil filter and timing belt, thermostat and spark plugs. The problem I had before I broke down remained, the two problems had nothing to do with eachother. I was told I needed a new fuel pump and on the invoice it stated that this was a patch up job and that the van needed a reconditioned engine.

I left town very early the next day and placed the van for sale on Gumtree that evening. Sadly when I removed it a couple of days later it was not because it got sold...

Kangaroo Island

Having spent my first day in AU last year, sleeping of my jetlag on my one day trip to Kangeroo Island, I felt, seeing I was just about a 100kms away form Adelaide, I should go back to see the wonders of nature I missed last time.

I also decided I would stay longer at least 3 days, which is the advised amount of time you need to see all the island has to offer.

Upon arrival it was in the afternoon so I decided to find a site for the night and ended up staying at Duck lagoon. A very basic campsite, just the typical gas BBQ and some toilets. I was the only one there. It used to be a eucalyptus distilery and there were still some old rusted barrels to illustrate that.

Next morning after a shilly night (apparently I fel asleep with both the side and the back door open), I drove to the largest town on the island, Kingscote the Islands capital, to find a mechanic who could replace the fuel filter. I found one, but he found there was another filter underneath that also needed to be replaced and he only had time 5 days from then to do the work. Seeing I was planning on staying for a min of three days I made that a minimum of five and made an appointment.

Until then I was going to explore as much as I could. Starting with Seal Bay. 

It is situated on the south part and is the third largest colony of Australian sea lions in the world. There are no  enclosures or cages at Seal Bay, you can take a 45 mins guided tour into the heart of the colony and get a unique insight into how the endangered animals fish, surf, rest, interact with their pups and protect their territory.*

From November till January it's mating season so many of the bulls were trying to impress the ladies. A very impressive thing to witness, well for us not so much for the female seals apparently. 

There were also a few pregnant seals, their pregnancy lasts for 18 months. While they are pregnant they most of the time still have a toddler who needs feeding (they drink milk up to the age of 17 months) and mum also has to go catch fish during al this. How about that ladies?

Most adults are enjoying a well earned rest on the beach after having been out fishing for days. 

The skeleton of a juvenile humpback whale.

The next day I visited Kelly Hill Caves. It is one of the few dry limestone caves in Australia*. With the Kangeroo Island national park pass, I did not need to pay the $10 entry fee for the guided tour. 

The cave was named after the horse that fell in it and was never found again. For those of you who have never been in a cave it might be worthwhile, for those like me who have it was a disapointment. The guide was a very enthusiastic cave explorer but had to admit their might me a whole lot more to discover but no means or backing to do so.

Just a few kms further is the Koala Walk, where for $6 you can enter a zone where wild koala's somethimes with little joey's could be spotted in one of eucalyptus trees. This is money well spent. I spotted several ones some with a joey.

Next stop was the visited centre at the entrance of Flinders Chase National Park where I received a map and some information about worthwhile places to visit. The lady at the info desk was very friendly  and when I was asked where I was form she mentioned she had lived in "Bruxelles" for a while. I booked a night at the Snake Lagoon campsite (yup that's right) and she told me about the two trails next to it that lead to beautiful beaches.

The only snakes I encountered were two road kills. 

Flinders Chase National Park is home to two iconic lamdmarks. Remarkable Rocks's surreal beauty has been sculpted by the elements over 500 million years and just a 10 mins drive from there the Admirals Arch where New Zealand fur seals are basking on a rocky shoreline*. It is amazing to witness these creatures in the wild.

The only. If difference between the New Zealand seals and the Australian ones is that the NZ ones have fur. It makes them darker and smellier. These ones loved laying on the rocks.

The only animals I encountered at The Snake Lagoon camping site was lucky for me, were all sorts of beautiful birds and some kangaroos eating on the dry lagoon in the middle of the campsite. Next morning it was time to go swimming!!! You see I have a skin condition called psoriasis and the only thing that has seemed to help is swimming in salt water. It had been a while and it was reappearing on my face.

After a hike that was categorised as easy, I almost broke an ankle and tore the Achilles' tendon on my other foot, I arrived at a beach not wider than a couple of hundred meters. The whole beach all to myself! So I decided to go skinny dipping and get a bit of an all over body tan... I found myself a nice niche between some rocks and after a dip in the freezing Ocean laid down and relaxed. It is very calm around Kangeroo Island at the end of November, beginning December, because it is just before the school holidays. After a while of bottoms up I felt the need to check if my bum wasn't turning red, while turning I noticed a man walking towards the watering in his swimming shorts.... I never in my life grabbed my shorts and put them on that fast! I checked out the rest of the beach and his wife was, thank god, wandering around on the other end... So far for my own little nudist beach...

Took a 45 min hike into a sort of gorge to get there, seeing there weren't many tourists around I thought it was safe to go the full monty...

Before heading to my next campsite on the North of the Island I stopped for a stroll to the Platypus waterholes. platypus are very shy so if you are very quite and lucky you will see one.... You probly guessed it already...no Platypus was seen.

When the lady at the visitor centre told me about the Cape Borda Lightstation she mentioned the keeper was "a bit of a character" and she wasn't lying. Every day at exactly 13hrs to uphold a tradition he fires a fog signal cannon, this used to be so ships could reset their clocks. 

This man Mick, has been there for 8 years, for 365 days a year and runs the guided tours, the souvenir and snack shop and the guest houses and still guides you, even if you are the only one on the tour as was the case, with humour, pride and enthusiasm. I thanked Mick seeing he had made me enjoy a visit to something I do not really have an interest in.

This is the shortest lighthouse (only 61 meters high) in the world according to Mick, no need for a higher one seeing the night of that point on the island. And square shaped instead of round, which is cheaper to build.

It has four lightbolds each a 1000 watt and flashes 4 times every 20 seconds so every ship knows it is  Cape Bora lighttower. The rest of the towers on the Island, Mick was happy to point out, only have a tiny led light that blinks once.

Only the Australian Maritime Safety Authority has acces to the top of the tower, and comes around twice a year to perform maintenance. 

The history of the Cape Bora lighthouse. From hand pumps to keep the kerosine on the right level to keep the lights going to gas powered systems. Today luckily it runs on electricity and has a backup generator.

About in the middle of Kangaroo Island there is a town called Parndana, it has the only free campsite on the island and a Kangaroo wildlife park. Entrance is $15 and for $2 you get a back of food for the kangaroos. When I arrived it was feeding time for the koalas so you could go in to their enclosure and see meet them upclose. There was one joey, and he sure stole the show.

The baby joey, isn't he cute!

There are days I feel the same...

This man is the oldest of the bunch. He suddenly had enough of waiting and got out of his tree to see if anything was on offer. 

Look at the awesome feet. They have two thumbs to help them hold on to the trees.

Little joey wants to play..

Aaaaaaauuuwwwwwhhhhh....

A white peacock strutting his stuff!

The quokka. 

Look at those eyes!

My friend Roo.

Roo took a selfie...

Hello there, we came to talk to you about Jezus...

No it's not a poodle...

Every day at 5 pm in Kingston you can watch this guy feeding the pelicans. He pays for it out of his own pocket so asks for $5 a person. And try and get out of there without paying...

Before my ferry back to the mainland left I had a couple of hours to kill in Penneshaw.

So I drove to to the Frenchman's Rock. While getting a picture of it I suddenly noticed a group of dolphins swimming very close to the beach. It was the best way of saying goodbeye to Kangaroo Island.

Frenchman's Rock, the spot in Hog Bay where French explorer Capitain Nicolas Baudin anchored in 1803.

Goodbeye Kangaroo Island!

* excerpts copied from the Kangeroo Island visitor guide

Costs:

Sealink ferry to and from KI with a vehicle is $274 if you book online ($12 discount)

kangeroo Island pass $68 valid for one year

Gives you acces to:

Seal bay guided tour as many times as you like

The Kelly Hill Caves

All guided light tower tours

Entrance to Flinders National park

Koala walk $8

Wildlife park $15

Pelican feeding per adult $5 kids $3

Most of the campsites that are owned by the council work with a self registration system, you fill in an envelope and place $15 in it per person per night and drop that envelope in a slot. The rangers check regularly. But when I was there, low season, just before school holidays, I never saw a ranger.

The pass is personal and your licence plate number is connected to it. But they never checked me, so you can add it as a plus when selling your van at the end of your trip.