SEGMENT 3
March 14: After leaving Melbourne we spent a few days along the marvelous
Great Ocean Road with its secluded coves, gorgeous sandstone cliffs and
spectacular scenery. The most famous formation, the Twelve Apostles (pic01),
are testimony to the ever-changing landscape; currently there are only
eight stacks left. The other four went for a swim :-).
Otway Ranges National Park impressed us with lush forests and abundant
wildlife - we saw our first koalas! Just after passing into South Australia,
we visited the Princess Margaret Rose Cave which features rare helectites
- formations that defy gravity by growing sideways out of the walls. We
were surprised to also learn that South Australia is half an hour behind
Victoria -- what an interesting time change!
We continued to Robe and enjoyed driving through the sand dunes and along
the beach of the local conservation park. This is an absolutely stunning
area! We were too lazy to down-air but our ProComp Tires safely carried
us through the deep sand. After camping out, we pushed on north and detoured
briefly into Coorong National Park where the beach consists almost entirely
of crushed sea shells (pic02). I dug a hole almost 1 foot (30cm) deep
and still didn't find any sand!
It was time to move on as we
had dinner plans: We were to meet a few local 4wheelers at a restaurant
in Hahndorf, a German village close to Adelaide. The group (pic03) welcomed
us warmly and we enjoyed an evening of exchanging 4x4 stories and travel
experiences. Glenn and Pam invited us to stay with them and we explored
Adelaide the following days. While the city was sleepy on a beautiful
Sunday afternoon, life was buzzing in the beach town Glenelg. Conveniently,
Glenn runs the Mount
Barker 4x4 Centre
and we took some time on Monday to thoroughly check the vehicle and prepare
it for the desert tracks ahead of us. We also discovered that the oil
pressure sensor broke off and Glenn organized a replacement part for us.
We were very lucky that this happened here in Adelaide where Glenn had
contacts as Jeep parts generally are very hard to come by in Australia.
After topping off all our water
and gas tanks and stocking up on supplies, we were ready to leave civilization
for the rugged terrain of the Flinders Ranges. On our way, however, we
were going to indulge in some wine tasting in the famous Barossa Valley.
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pic01
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pic03
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more pics click here
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