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The Road to Adelaide
Jul. 22nd, 2018 01:55 amStarting from Port Campbell we continued west along the coast. Just out of town we stopped at a series of spots (The Arch, London Bridge--which has fallen down, The Grotto, and Bay of Islands) where the waves of the Southern Ocean have carved the headlands into fascinating shapes.
We drove through Warrnambool and stopped at Logan Beach, where whales are often sighted, but didn't see any, then went to the Lake Pertobe Adventure Playground, which is a fabulous series of playgrounds (including a maze and a couple of ziplines) around a lovely lake with paddle boats and tons of interesting water birds.
We drove out to Port Fairy, but were too full up on coastal walks to tackle Griffiths Island. We were getting a bit peckish, so we went on to Koroit, where the Bakehouse supplied us with savory snack pies that gave us enough fuel to tackle Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve. Nestled in the caldera of an extinct volcano, it's a lovely park with walking trails through various landscapes. After being greeted by a couple of emus wandering the parking lot we headed out on the Lava Tongue boardwalk and were lucky enough to see two koalas up in the trees. One was sleepy, but did give us some face time, while the other was climbing higher for a snack way up in the tippy top branches.
By the time we finished there it was time to head north into the Grampians region. We got a gorgeous sunset as we came across the plains toward the very jagged mountains and arrived after dark (sunset is around 5:30--it's winter here) at the Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld.
Dinner at their restaurant, Wickens (after the chef) was the one meal I had reserved from the States, as it's considered one of Australia's best and was right on our route. Alice was excited to do their 8-course tasting menu and we were very proud of her for trying everything. Her favorite was the blue eye (a local fish we've encountered several times) with salsify and local truffles. The one course she just couldn't handle was the lamb tongue--the meat was fine, but it was covered in carrot sauce and she really does not like carrots. They have "the largest kitchen garden in Australia" and their food is largely inspired by what they grow. Jason had their "cellar" pairing of wines from around the world, while I went for the all-Australian pairing. We each had some fantastic wines and really enjoyed getting to compare them. The whole process took more than four hours! We were all falling over by the end and very glad it was only a short walk back to our room.
This morning we managed to drag ourselves up and out relatively early and after breakfast in their more casual wine bar we got on the road just after 9am. We spent the first part of the day in Grampians National Park. We visited the cultural center developed and maintained by local Aboriginal people, stopped by Reeds Lookout and then did a short hike out to see The Balconies and another, even shorter walk to see the Mackenzie Falls. It's a really stunning area, with astonishing vistas and an amazing variety of geology to admire.
From there we headed north to find the road to Adelaide and spent the whole afternoon driving. I actually let Jason take the wheel for an hour while I napped. It's a fairly monotonous drive through flat farmland and the only real stop we made was for gas and Krispy Kreme donuts, which we can't get at home.
About five miles outside of Adelaide there are all these signs warning trucks about the approaching descent and it really is impressive...think the Route 2 hill into Alewife, but continuing for miles. We coasted into town about 7:30pm and went straight to a Nepalese restaurant that our host recommended, a few blocks from our house here. After a quick and tasty meal we found the very charming cottage, got Alice right to bed, and settled in to catch up online.
We'll be here for a couple of days before heading out to Kangaroo Island.
We drove through Warrnambool and stopped at Logan Beach, where whales are often sighted, but didn't see any, then went to the Lake Pertobe Adventure Playground, which is a fabulous series of playgrounds (including a maze and a couple of ziplines) around a lovely lake with paddle boats and tons of interesting water birds.
We drove out to Port Fairy, but were too full up on coastal walks to tackle Griffiths Island. We were getting a bit peckish, so we went on to Koroit, where the Bakehouse supplied us with savory snack pies that gave us enough fuel to tackle Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve. Nestled in the caldera of an extinct volcano, it's a lovely park with walking trails through various landscapes. After being greeted by a couple of emus wandering the parking lot we headed out on the Lava Tongue boardwalk and were lucky enough to see two koalas up in the trees. One was sleepy, but did give us some face time, while the other was climbing higher for a snack way up in the tippy top branches.
By the time we finished there it was time to head north into the Grampians region. We got a gorgeous sunset as we came across the plains toward the very jagged mountains and arrived after dark (sunset is around 5:30--it's winter here) at the Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld.
Dinner at their restaurant, Wickens (after the chef) was the one meal I had reserved from the States, as it's considered one of Australia's best and was right on our route. Alice was excited to do their 8-course tasting menu and we were very proud of her for trying everything. Her favorite was the blue eye (a local fish we've encountered several times) with salsify and local truffles. The one course she just couldn't handle was the lamb tongue--the meat was fine, but it was covered in carrot sauce and she really does not like carrots. They have "the largest kitchen garden in Australia" and their food is largely inspired by what they grow. Jason had their "cellar" pairing of wines from around the world, while I went for the all-Australian pairing. We each had some fantastic wines and really enjoyed getting to compare them. The whole process took more than four hours! We were all falling over by the end and very glad it was only a short walk back to our room.
This morning we managed to drag ourselves up and out relatively early and after breakfast in their more casual wine bar we got on the road just after 9am. We spent the first part of the day in Grampians National Park. We visited the cultural center developed and maintained by local Aboriginal people, stopped by Reeds Lookout and then did a short hike out to see The Balconies and another, even shorter walk to see the Mackenzie Falls. It's a really stunning area, with astonishing vistas and an amazing variety of geology to admire.
From there we headed north to find the road to Adelaide and spent the whole afternoon driving. I actually let Jason take the wheel for an hour while I napped. It's a fairly monotonous drive through flat farmland and the only real stop we made was for gas and Krispy Kreme donuts, which we can't get at home.
About five miles outside of Adelaide there are all these signs warning trucks about the approaching descent and it really is impressive...think the Route 2 hill into Alewife, but continuing for miles. We coasted into town about 7:30pm and went straight to a Nepalese restaurant that our host recommended, a few blocks from our house here. After a quick and tasty meal we found the very charming cottage, got Alice right to bed, and settled in to catch up online.
We'll be here for a couple of days before heading out to Kangaroo Island.
