Australian Adventure: Week 21, December 11-17, 2022

This week we explored a bit more of Tasmania, before heading back to the mainland to explore Southern Victoria.

On Sunday, we spent the day exploring Freycinet National Park. The park is best known for the stunning beauty of Wineglass Bay - its crystal-clear waters and curvaceous white beach is one of Tasmania’s most celebrated views. The diversity in the coastal landscape is dramatic, with rocky coves and surging surf around one corner, and sheltered bays and sandy beaches around the next. We spent the day hiking up to the Wineglass Bay Lookout, Cape Tourville Lighthouse, and other parts along the coast.

On Monday, we drove along the eastern cost to the Bay of Fires. The Bay of Fires is known all over the world for its extraordinary clear blue seas, brilliant white beaches and striking orange lichen-cloaked boulders. We spent the day at various points along the coast, enjoying the sunshine, climbing on the rocks, and exploring.

On Tuesday, Webster played a round of golf at Barnbugle Dunes Golf Course4 - rated among the top 40 golf courses in the world! The course stretched alongside the coast making for beautiful views during the round.

That night, we boarded the Spirit of Tasmania back to mainland Australia. The ship was a bit more lively on this journey, as it departed just before dinner. We explored the decks and then settled into our airplane style seats for some sleep.

On Wednesday, we were back on the mainland when the ferry arrived in Geelong. We spent the day driving up the coast towards Great Ocean Road. We stopped in Torquay, Lorne, and then spent the night near Apollo Bay - all along beautiful coastline.

On Thursday, we spent the day exploring Great Otway National Park. We hiked to a waterfall, and in the Redwood Forest.

Then, we explored the historic Cape Otway Lightstation. Cape Otway Lightstation is considered Australia’s most significant lighthouse and is also known as the ‘Beacon of Hope”. The light established in 1848 is perched on towering sea cliffs 90 metres above sea level. The Lightstation is also a historic telegraph station built in 1859 to support Australia’s war efforts during WWII.

We were treated to two koala experiences - one on our way home, we spotted some people taking pictures of a tree so we pulled over to see what they were looking at. Another was in our backyard! Webster was BBQ’ing and he saw one up in the tree.

On Friday, we were back on the road to explore the most iconic spots along Great Ocean Road. We walked down a cliff to the beach, saw the Twelve Apostles, and many more beautiful spots on the coastline. That night, we got caught up on life and did some work in our AirBnB.

On Saturday, we drove to Port Fairy to meet some of Webster’s family friends - it was nice to see some familiar faces. We enjoyed a wonderful brunch in the town, and then walked along the beach and through protected wetlands in the area - it was beautiful!

This week we are getting on another ferry to explore Kangaroo Island! We are hoping for some Australian wildlife encounters before heading back to Sydney next weekend.

Thanks for following along with our travels - see you next week!