Oz report 3 GOR day 1

So much excitement has sort of eclipsed my last Oz report. We flew to Melbourne on staff travel and "did" the Great Ocean Road. Because our intended flight was full we had to reschedule at the outset and take a zeroth night in the Ibis very-budget at Melbourne airport. You can of course click on the photos to enlarge them.

Three men in a boat at Ibis

Thereafter K had organised Airbnb for each of three nights and I have to say this is the way to go as I think you will agree...

Simple map of GOR

The GOR starts at Torquay, 113 km south of the airport, where of course we had to sample the beach. Indeed the whole coastline of the GOR appears to me made of this soft orange rock which looked to me like sandstone. Note the virga trailing from the clouds. An inscription on the boardwalk helpfully informed us that Antartica lurked 6000km across the horizon which we figured might explain the sea temperature.

Torquay

From Torquay to Appolo Bay the GOR generally hugs the coast apart from convoluted and tortuous bends and gradients to negotiate water courses. One such exception is at Cinema Point where we are told that returned First World War servicemen built the Great Ocean Road as a tribute to their fallen comrades.

The next port of call was Lorne which boasts a pier (which we did not frequent as it looked rather tacky) and (fleetingly) a topical inscription on the sand.

The pier, Lorne

We dutifully added our own rock stacks at this location. Mine was of course the best, but then it fell over... Strange but that name was also left here.

So many beaches that I lost count. Wide seas, large skies, gorgeous weather.

And so to Apollo Bay the destination of our first Airbnb. First we checked out the local Fish'n'Chip place where we sampled Flake, apparently the Oz equivalent of the British Rock Salmon and a euphemism for Shark. Had we known... We wandered down to the quay, passing an interesting sign and still more interesting graffiti thereon, and found a fishing vessel garlanded with powerful lights which we learned attracted squid. Now why, I ask, would anyone want to attract squid?

And so to our first Airbnb a ways up the awesome Wild Dog Valley, complete with parrots, deer and goats on the property and the Karmic goat farm nearby. The good thing about Airbnb is that you have the place to yourself. I have never liked regular B&B which remind me of my first digs in Banstead on getting a job with the BBC: the landlady was a lonely older person who kept calling me to see if I wanted a sandwich or a drink when all I wanted was solitude.

Wild Dog Valley, Apollo Bay

Our first Airbnb

Wild dog valley

Look what K found!

Karmic - They make soap from the milk

More valley

The landlord keeps a flock of deer

Locomotion

Locomotion: noun - movement or the ability to move from one place to another.

When young, my bed was a ship on which I lived and went places. Now, when driving and on my own, I can figure I could live and travel in this car, it would be my castle. My bicycle is an extension of myself, my locomotion - self contained, self propelled, self sufficient. I have the same feeling, only more strongly, when running barefoot. That I can run and run for miles, just me without aid, is a great feeling.

The occasion was Ali's mum's 90th birthday party so I was based in Willand again, and afterwards in Torquay for a couple of days. During which I did three tracked runs.

150724 Culm valley run

The first route was my prophesied run to Culmstock. It rained steadily the whole time and, although I love running in rain, I was not able to appreciate the river valley as much as I had hoped. The run was about 11.5 miles and my average speed, according to my GPS, was 6.05 mph.

150726 Cullompton run

The second route followed the river south through Cullompton. Once again it rained steadily the whole time. I had been asked to buy milk "on my way back" and, on entering the shop totally drenched, the cashier remarked that she had not realised it was that wet!  Total distance 10.8 miles, average speed 5.78 mph.

150728 Torquay run

The last route started from the Travel Lodge in Torquay. I found a beautiful valley near Cockington.

I found myself running across the front lawn of Cockington Court and was not sure whether I was trespassing. Part of the estate took me under this bridge.

At the furthest point I looked back to Torquay, and forward to Paignton.

You can see from the track that I made it down to the sea - this beach was secluded enough for a quick swim naked (it was early morning). And then back along the coast road to the hotel. Total distance 7.7 miles, average speed just 4.37 mph this low figure being due to getting momentarily "lost" in some undergrowth which got progressively denser and more brambly until I was forced to retrace my (barefoot) steps. There is a limit to the amount of brambles that one can entertain when barefoot.