Great Ocean Road With Robyn - Week 1.

Gorgeous Hahndorf.

Didn't take long to find coffee & cake.

We headed out to the brand spanking new Adelaide Airport Terminal, and immediately found that the planning had not allowed for car parking for vehicles higher that 2.2 metres! Grand plans!! So I dropped Carolyn off at the terminal and drove around and around and around until they emerged from the terminal! All aboard, and we were off to beautiful Hahndorf, in the Adelaide Hills, for lunch and a look around. It seemed that most of Adelaide had the same idea, on a warm sunny Sunday. We eventually found a car park, and strolled the streets to find a lunch spot. Didn't take long and we were soon into all things German, including their cakes! After a lovely stroll around the streets, we headed back into town for the night at out caravan park at Semaphore Beach. A huge storm was brewing, and when it hit it was a beauty. We hadn't seen a storm and heavy rain for over 12 months!

Rock Lobster heaven.

Cold & windy at Robe.

Next morning the temperature had dropped to freezing as we hit the road. Our journey was underway. Navman safely took us through the suburbs of Adelaide, and we were soon out in the Adelaide Hills, headed for our first stop at Robe on the South East Coast. We stopped for morning coffee at Murray Bridge, then crossed the mighty Murray River, and turned south towards the coast. The road follows the Coorong, an amazing strip of water, separated from the ocean by a narrow strip of land. It is a haven for bird and marine life, and is a national Park. We stopped in Kingston

Doing the heritage trail.

At Mahalia Coffee in Robe.

for a lovely lunch at a little cafe, then by early afternoon we were at our destination of Robe. This region is known as the Rock Lobster capital of Australia. We were staying at the Discovery Holiday Park, which is a little out of town at Long Beach. The weather was cold and windy, and the lobster fleet was confined to the harbour. We did the heritage trail, and sussed out the best coffee in town. This wasn't too hard, as the lady at the tourist office pointed us in the direction of Mahalia Coffee. They are coffee roasters, and are way out in

The cray fleet in harbour.

Weighing in the lobster catch.

the industrial part of town, where they have created a little oasis of a coffee and gift shop alongside their roasting operations. The smell is delicious! The coffee and cake is equally delicious, and by the end of 3 days we were very well known! Next day when the sun was shining we did a walk along the beach. The sun may have been shining, but the temperature, with wind chill, made it freezing! We headed down to the harbour to see if the crayfish boats had been out, and they had. We were there to see if we could get some lobster direct from the boats, but alas, no

Rugged coast line.

The old gaol ruins at Robe.

luck! The industry is so regulated now, that by law, the fishermen have to seal their catch in crates at sea, so we didn't even get a photo. All we could see was the odd leg or feeler sticking out of a crate!! We spoke to one of the fishermen, who gave us a rundown on the fishing process. He was licensed to carry 103 pots, each allowed to catch around 110 kgs of rock lobster per season. The season lasts from October until May, or until the quota is reached. This guy said he usually reached his quota by March! It seemed that the only way we could

Beachport hotel.

Bringing in the catch at Beachport.

try the local delicacy was at one of the processor's factories, where they were asking over $100.00 per kg!! Bloody crazy!! We did a couple of good drives up and down the coast. We headed out to Kingston S.E. via Cape Jaffa. We wanted a nice place by the sea to sample the local fish 'n chips. At Cape Jaffa, we got a big surprise to find a huge new marina and housing estate, that had started just before the GFC of 2008, but then stalled. Here, you can buy a waterfront house and land package for less that $400,000!! Not many places left in Australia

Windy with a chance of storms!

Picnic with wine bottle weights!

where that happens!! We spoke to a guy at the developers office, who told us all about the place, and also gave us the best place to get lunch! We did finally have our fish 'n chips, huddled in a corner outside the shop, trying to get respite from the wind. It was good!! The other drive we did was south to the little town of Beachport, another cray fishing town. It is quite lovely, with the headland providing one safe side from the incessant winds. One thing that hadn't changed was the lobster price! We brought our own picnic this day, but struggled

Woakwine Cutting was a huge job.

Freezing walk along the beach.

to find a place out of the wind. Just when we thought we were safe, I had to get wine bottles out of my cellar in the car, to act as table cloth weights!! Nothing else would work!! The short coastal drive around Beachport was lovely, and along the way we had also stopped at a local site called Woakwine Cutting. Here a local farmer, with the aid of a mate, had cut a huge trench through a hill so he could drain a swamp on his land. It was quite a feat, and the result was a very large swamp being turned into extra grazing land! 

Home baked scone for morning tea.

Murals on the toot!

We left Robe behind and headed for Mt. Gambier, the largest rural town in South Australia. It is a lovely drive through some wonderful country, where they farm grain and sheep and cattle. We stopped for morning coffee at the delightful rural town of Millicent. It is from here that ex Prime Minister Bob Hawke hailed. It's a neat and tidy little town, that looks prosperous. We found a lovely cafe to have morning tea, a traditional home cooked kind of place where the girls shared a delicious home baked muffin, and John couldn't resist the fresh baked scones with apricot

Miles of Pine Forests.

Lots of wind turbines.

jam and cream. The drive from Millicent to Mt. Gambier is through the vast Pine Forests that provide employment for a thriving industry. We also drove past the largest wind farm in Australia, with some 235 wind turbines whooshing away in the distance, and stretching for quite a few kilometres. These turbines account for around 8% of South Australia's electricity. Alternative energy sure takes up a lot of space!! It stretches for miles!! We rolled into Mt. Gambier, and after a drive around the suburbs in search of our caravan park, finally found it and got

Blue Lake Mt. Gambier.

At the Blue Lake Lookout.

checked in. The older lady doing the check in was a bit flustered, but we muddled through. Robyn's cabin looked as if it was first used by Matthew Flinders, on his voyage of discovery in 1802, but it was clean with a comfy bed. Mt. Gambier is lovely, with beautiful old homes wonderfully restored, and some incredible gardens. We called in at the Lady Nelson Visitor Centre, loaded up with brochures and hit the tourist trail. We didn't waste any time, as we had a lovely fine day, so headed out to see Mt. Gambier's most famous attraction, the Blue Lake. The lake is the crater of an ancient volcano, and also serves as the town water supply. It was sparkling and very blue in the bright sunshine. We wandered and drove around the Lake Precinct for

Fantastic Murals in Port MacDonnell.

Most southern point in SA.

some time, and also took in Valley Lake and the picnic areas around there. It is a wonderful facility for the people of Mt. Gambier. If you are into caves and volcanoes, this area is paradise. From there we drove out to the seaside town of Port MacDonnell, home to another large cray fishing fleet, and another sign proclaiming it to be the Capital of Australia's cray fishing industry. I think that is now our third lobster capital of Australia in 4 days!! The coast is rugged and there are lots of nice homes, many of which look like holiday homes. We

Naughty kids at school.

Our Saint Mary of the Cross.

stopped at a penguin colony, bit alas no penguins, and found the most southern point in SA, which was popular with the surfers enjoying a sizeable wave. Around the old part of town, many of the buildings had some fantastic murals. Next morning we were up and off in search of some old time religion, at the nearby town of Penola. We were also in search of wine in the wonderful cool climate region of Coonawarra, right next door. But first to religion. Penola is where Australia's only Saint, Saint Mary of  the Cross (Mary MacKillop), started her life, caring for the education of the poor children. We spent some time visiting the excellent Mary MacKillop Centre, which traces her life from childhood to Sainthood. Even an old agnostic like me was moved by the place. You

Beautiful garden in Penola.

Stunning roses.

can only admire the belief and the dedication. The second church where she taught, is right next door and still set up as the old school. The original old stable school is now a park, and place of reflection. The town itself is full of beautifully restored old homes and cottages and the gardens are some of the best we have ever seen. The roses were in full bloom and just stunning. Penola is a lovely place to visit. After all that religion we were in desperate need of

Among the roses.

Slow service on a busy day!

coffee, as it was deemed too early for wine. We found the Vintage Cafe, and settled in for a good coffee and cake hit, out under the arbor, in some rare but welcome, warm sunshine. We wandered up and down the main street, checking out a range of good quality shops, cafes, gourmet delis, pubs and wine tasting rooms, and marvelled at the great old buildings. There is no doubt that Penola is a prosperous and thriving rural community. The annual Penola

Tasting the best of Coonawarra.

Wynns Coonawarra.

Show was on that weekend, and we took a drive through the showgrounds to see the final preparations for opening night. I had waited long enough! It was time to taste some Coonawarra wonders. For lovers of Australian red wine, Coonawarra Cabernet, is famous. The cool climate and wonderful soil produces some of the best red wine Australia has to offer. It is an absolute favourite of mine. Wynns Coonawarra is the name that everyone knows,

Time for happy hour.

A local family winery.

but there are lots of others. My favourite is Brands Laira. We visited a few, and tasted as well, and came home with a restocked cellar. We found a delightful place for lunch. Carolyn read all the brochures, and proclaimed a place with the quaint name of "Drink Ottelia Eat Fodder" as the place to go, and she was at the top of her game. The garlic prawns cooked in the wood fired oven were delicious, as was the wood fired pizza we shared. Their own Pinos Gris, was the perfect drop to wash it down with. Our waitress informed us that we

Old cottage at Penola.

Mt. Gambier's Cave Gardens.

were dining with Coonawarra wine royalty, as the adjoining table of 5, were all local wine makers, including the Wine Master from Wynns Coonawarra! We headed back to Mt. Gambier the long way, through the beautiful, lush farm land and forests. Saturday we awoke to wind, rain and bitter cold. Thirty one day ten the next! We went looking for the two markets that were on. The first, a farmers market, had half a dozen hearty souls trying to hold down their tents, whilst trying to peddle their wares. Carolyn bought some lovely salad greens and

Lots of lovely gardens.

Motor cycle cops in for coffee.

stir fry veggies. As the girl was putting the salad greens into a bag, a huge gust of wind came, and half the greens were last seen heading for Penola! we also bought some wonderful smoked ocean trout from an Asian couple who could hardly speak any English, but their fish was doing all the talking anyway. Delicious! The other market was a bit of a disappointment, as it was really just trash and treasure. We found lots of the former and none of the latter!! As we were about to leave, there was a huge gust of wind, and an equally huge shower of small icy hails stones, was

Bring me coffee!

Beautiful blooms everywhere.

hurled across the car park and the poor buggers who were manning the outside stalls!! Take me somewhere warm!! We sought refuge in Sorrento's Cafe, more interested in holding onto our coffee for warmth, than drinking it! We felt very safe, as the place was packed with Motor Cycle cops. Too smart to be out riding in the sleet! For our last night in town, we gave the cook a rest. She has been cooking up a storm to keep us energised for all the sight seeing. We braved the cold and wind, and headed down town to a lovely Thai restaurant called Wild Ginger. It was packed, and we had a great meal in a noisy, buzzing environment. Next morning we were on the road reasonably early heading for Victoria and the start of the Great Ocean Road.