Tooleyau's Great Ocean Road Tour - March 19 to April 2.

[tooleyau]

A bunch of months ago a few friends were discussing a possibility of 'doing' the great Ocean Road again as we have not done it for a many years, and certainly not in a vintage caravan.

We slowly put an agenda together and those still working have arranged leave.

The trip is listed below and we invite all Vintage Caravanners to join us for all, or some of the tour. Or, if we are in your town, then please drop around for happy hour.

We have reserved spaces for those we know are coming and informed the caravan parks that there may be a few more. The parks agreed to hold spaces for a week from today, so if you wish to join us for all, or some of the tour then jump on the phone and book your site.

Kenny Koala, us and one other modern van are departing Canberra Sunday morning March 19 2017

Sunday 19 March. (1 night)
     Wangaratta North Cedars Holiday Park
     170 Bowser Rd ( Between Fraser’s Lane and Detour Rd)
     Ph. 1800 333 410
     Deposit required.
     Have it on good authority that a great pub meal to be had 500m up the road.

Monday 20 March to 23 March (4 nights)
     Marengo Holiday Park
     Off Great Ocean Rd, Apollo Bay
     Ph. 03 5237 6162
     [e-mail]
     Booked sites 56 to 62
     $34.20 per night, Deposit for one night
     I’ve asked for sheltered sites as it’s on the beachfront but if you want closer to amenities or beachfront tell them.
     There’s a map on the website.

March 24 and 25 (2 Nights)
     Peterborough Great Ocean Tourist Park (See Sarah)
     Cnr great Ocean Rd and Irvine St
     Ph. 1800 200 478
     [e-mail]
     Booked in my name but no deposit required.

March 26 to 28 (3 Nights)
     Big 4 Castlemaine Gardens Holiday Park (See Janine or Vanessa)******** Book by this weekend
     1 Doran Ave ( Off Walker St)
     Ph. 1300 472 762 or Ph. 03 54721125
     $108 for the 3 nights for Big 4 members, $40 Deposit

March 29 – April 1 (4 nights)
     Rutherglen Caravan and Tourist Park (See Lisa)
     72 Murray St, Rutherglen
     Ph. 02 6032 8577
     [e-mail]
     No DEPOSIT

April 2. Home

If anybody needs more info, or wishes to join, or lives in one of the towns we are visiting and is thirsty then please let me know anytime by sending me a personal message, or responding to this post on the forum.

Michael and Anne

[aquamum]

Wish I was able to go on this trip Tooleyau !!

I drove the Great Ocean Road in December 2015 and had a fantastic time !!

[Don Ricardo]

Added to the Vintage Caravans Event Calendar.

[King Fisher]

We would love to join you for part of the trip as our first time out since getting permission to drive again

[yve]

For anyone who is going to be in Rutherglen or nearby, the Echuca Swap Meet is on April 1.   We have a site at the swap meet but won't be in the Don Caravan, but in our Motorhome.

[tooleyau]

The tour has started. First day a gentle drive from Canberra to Jugiong on Saturday.
Sunday A warm day for the drive to Wangaratta during which we discovered that you cannot turn off the heater in the newly purchased Commodore. (quick trip to supercheap to block the heater hose). The car ran a bit hot - engine and auto gearbox wise- but no danger of overheating as we took it quietly. Outside temperature was 35.

Monday, Wangaratta to Marengo also a hot day but once past Melbourne temperature dropped and the last 100k were a pleasant journey with no threat of overheating.

Tuesday. Rained all night and all morning and we have now discovered that the newly purchased commodore has the well known Commodore leak in the passenger side footwell another thing to fix when I get home. We woke late and had late morning tea at the Appolo Bay Bakery. Now just relaxing, considering an afternoon snooze before happy hour with the 'Koalas'. (Ken and Judy).

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[Surf Tragic]

Hi Tooleyau,

What a great trip you are doing. Did you try the Scallop Pie while at the Bakery? We just had a few days there at Apollo Bay, and I HAD to go back and have one more

Surf Tragic

[shesgotthelook]

Booked Castlemaine Fri & Sat night so if anyone wants to keep us company on the Friday night, please come along!

[tooleyau]

Wednesday.
Drove north to Colac. We stopped at Forest when we saw a sign saying 'Brewery Café Coffee'. We had a coffee and bought some locally brewed pale ales for consumption later.

We drove through Colac and stopped at the Red Rock Lookout which provided us with a scenic view of the area.

We headed to Beeac for lunch and passed through some rough country. There must have been a lot of rocks around as there were miles of well constructed stone fences. There was little to eat in Beeac so we turned south and had lunch in the park at Colac.

After lunch we drove through Gellibrand and then Beech Forest and then stopped of and checked out the Hopetoun Falls.

After leaving them we braved the winding and narrow "Beech Forest Mount Sabine Rd. A fascinating drive. Very very narrow and very winding.

Back into Appollo Bay where Ken (Koloa) spotted an ice-cream shop.

Back in the caravan park Ken tried the previously purchased pale ales and gave them a strong thumbs up.
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[tooleyau]

Thursday.
Some of our group wanted to see the Otway Lighthouse, and since we could not take our dog into the park Anne and I decided to drive East and see what we missed out on the way here due to poor visability. A pleasant and sunny journey to the small township of Wye river where we had a pleasant meal at the only cafe. Then a relaxing drive back. We stopped in at the Koala Kafe for an ice cream.

When we got back we found the others had returned. Apparently it now costs almost $20 per person to see the lighthouse and surrounds so they declined the offer and found some 4 wheel drive tracks to play on before returning to home base.

We have packed up the annex ready for tomorrows departure.

Have to close now as happy hour is commencing.

Pictures below of lighthoise and Kafe. Apologies to those who own the copyright.

[brenten]

thanks for the updates its interesting to read about your trip....brenten

[tooleyau]

Once again we had a lazy start but were out of the van park by 10.00
We headed west up into the hills and stopped for coffee at Lavers Hill, then onto the 12 Apostles.

We did the mandatory walk out and looked in amazement at one of natures mysteries. Then onto Port Campbell for lunch at the pub (nice burger).

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We then drove the 10k down to Petersborough where we are based for two nights.

Tooley

[tooleyau]

Saturday we drove up to Timboon, a nice little town in the hills and visited the Whisky distillery, we did not partake, but we did find the ice-cream shop. The town appears to be very small. While the others took off to the cheese factory Anne and I found a garage on the GPS and this led us into the real part of Timboon. A quite busy little town away from the highway.

Lunch at the Cheese factory and then back down to the Great Ocean Road where we visited some of the places we drove past on our way to Petersborough.

Sunday an early rise for a 9.00 am departure. We meandered through Victoria and had lunch in the park at Creswick.

Arrived in Castlemain where we discovered a number of like minded souls who wanted their picture on the forum.

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[shesgotthelook]

Hi Tooleyau, so sorry we didn't get to meet you & Koala Ken & the crew, but school age kids & employment get in the way of things sometimes!

Here's a few pics I took in Castlemaine.

[tooleyau]

Monday.
A touring day. Firefighter (Geoff) was kind enough to show us around the district. We left Castlemain and drove to Maldon where we had a wander around town before heading to Dunolly where we had lunch at the Bakery. Excellent pies.

After lunch we toured Graham and Linda's Vintage Caravan Museum and their Collectable and Retro shop.

There were some nice vans. One that caught my my attention was a 15+ft van with a shower inside. Anne said we can't buy it as it would require me to raise the roof of the carport (again).

After a pleasant cuppa and baked date scones we headed to Maryborough where the railway station was a standout.

We headed home as it stared to rain. Got back to the caravan park and settled in for a quiet afternoon.

Special thanks to Firefighter for acting as tourguide abd Graham and Linda for openning their shop and Museum for us.

Tooley.

[tooleyau]

Tuesday,
Lazy day. Spent time wandering around the township. Pleasant little town is Castlemain. Checked out the Restorers Barn and if you are doing up an old van, and want old style hinges and electrical connections then this shop may help.
We also checked out the Mill. A big, big shed that now has lots and lots of small antique dealers displaying their wares. Mostly 60s and 70s stuff. Lots of clothes. I think they might have cleaned out all the op-shops in the region.

We had lunch in the 'Das Koffeehous' not a bad spread. Spent the rest of the day lazing and preparing for departure.

Wednesday,
Packed up and said our goodbyes to our 'local guides' Geoff and Ralph and headed to Cobram where one of our travelling companions had organised to pick up a part for his van. Upon arrival he was greeted with'Sorry, we dont do van repairs anymore, don't know why the old man told you that'. They did suggest we might do better at Yarrawonga as there was a van repair shop there.

After lunch at a cafe we headed east to Yarrawonga where we found a caravan repair place that could not have been more helpful. So, if van repairs need done, then contact these guys. Yarrawonga Caravans.
After desired part was paid for we continued east and arrived in Rutherglen, in time for happy hour.

Thursday.
Gentle stroll up the main street of Rutherglen for morning tea. We had a choice of 3 bakeries. It seems that the bakeries and cafes are set up for the tourist trade. Those either pasing through or those settleing in for a weekend of wine tasting. The IGA had the biggest selection of wines that I have ever seen in a IGA. Probably for those who are too lazy to drive to the wineries.
After lunch we went to Pfiefers and bougt some wine, then back to Stanton and Killeen, and bought more.

We all had pizza for tea in the Camp Kitchen, purchased from the Pizza shop in the main street. Good deal - 3 family sized pizza for $18 each. 3 couples tried their hardest but there was 3 slices left. Breakfast perhaps.

[tooleyau]

Friday we used as a Family History day. We visited Howlong where we had morning tea and then visited the Courthouse Hotel that used to belong to my Great Great Grandfather.  A lovely old building rebuilt in 1902 after a fire destroyed the original. We were lucky enough to get a tour by the current owner and also saw some photos of the original  building with my ancestor standing out the front.

We then joined the others in Corowa for lunch then headed to Barnawartha where we located an old winery that my mother used to play in and around when she was a child when her mum - my grandmother - visited a close school friend.  We were lucky enough to speak to the school friends granddaughter who gave us her father's phone number. We spoke to him and he remembered my grandparents visiting his parents,  but unfortunately was unable to provide us with any more information than we already knew.
Back to the van for tea.

Saturday.
Up earlyish for the trip to Chiltern where we parked in the main street.  We walked up and down checking out the antique  (and junk) shops. We were lucky enough to score a guided tour of the chemist shop. In 1968 the owners could not sell the shop so just locked the door and walked out. The National Trust took over in 1990 and made it a museum.

We then visited Lake View House where Australian author Henry Handel Richardson lived as a child. She is best known  for her book 'The Getting of Wisdom'
Unfortunately when we went to depart the VB Commodre failed to start.  One trained mechanic, and two bush mechanics could not get it stated.  The NRMA mechanic could not do any better so it was transported to the Howlong garage by the NRMA guy where it will given a new starter motor.

Sunday
I got a lift back to Canberra with Ken (Koloa) and Judy who dropped me at home.

I jumped  into Anne's Mitsi and in 4 hours was back in Rutherglen.

The plan is get up early tomorrow,  call in to Howlong to get some stuff out of the VB, have a quick chat with the mechanic then head home.

Expect to be back mid week to pick up the VB.

Thus ends an excellent two week away. We saw some wonderful sights, met some wonderful  people,  traveled with some great friends and had a great time.

The VB proved to be an excellent tow vechicle and once given a new starter motor should become a regular tow vechicle for vintage caravan events

The end

[Koala]

fter a long day driving from Wangaratta to Apollo Bay, most unusually Michael and I were sitting outside the vans relaxing with one or two of his Bourbons (which as usual taste better than mine) when I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. This big fella hung around for quite a while.......at least a couple of Bourbons, and munched his way through a fair chunk of eucalyptus tree.

They are a fascinating animal and I can confirm that all Koalas are good looking.

Rugged but beautiful coastline just past the 12, 9 , 8, 7 Apostles.

This is our small crew on the trip plus Anne the photographer. Good friends, great scenery and great food, what more could you want.

Speaking of food, I decided to try the new Weber Baby Q and rustled up a roast chicken and rolled roast beef. Not bad eh!!

And a Bread and Butter pudding with Judy's help.

And for Graham and Murray, I can confirm that heaven exists.........it is at Apollo Bay.

It was also most pleasing to meet up with Firefighter and his party at Castlemaine where we had a great time chatting about everything Vintage. Hopefully we can pull together another cross border gathering again some time. Also we are sorry that we missed Shesgotthelook and family it was disappointing to be so close and our itineraries did not overlap.......next time.
Thank you Michael and Anne for your organising (and the Bourbon)

Koala

[strugglebrook]

Mr Tooleau, Latest Unique Cars has a spead on VB Commodore.

JD.