Adelaide – Mount Gambier – Melbourne

When we left Adelaide the weather was pretty grim. It turns out that a weather front was making its way up from down south. We had to drive through it in order to get to Mount Gambier which was pretty gnarly at one point. The rain was so heavy not even the fast setting on the wipers could clear the windscreen. Fortunately, we passed through the worst of it fairly quickly but it was still wet and windy when we got to our destination.

Whilst at Mount Gambier we went to view the Blue Lake, which in summer is a bright blue but as we were there in winter it was more of a grey-blue, but still quite beautiful. We also managed to visit the Sink Hole and Gardens which was also quite impressive. A chap, some time ago, had decided to build some stairs around and down the sinkhole to some lovely gardens at the bottom. Unfortunately the weather didn’t stay clear for long and we spent the rest of the day confined to the campsite.

Mt. Gambier Sinkhole:


For the next part of our journey the plan was to go on the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne; however due to the weather we were a bit worried about driving on it with the van. We made the decision to wait another day at Mount Gambier in the hope that the front would move on and leave some dry, calm weather…and luckily it did.

The Great Ocean Road was definitely worth the wait. We stopped to view the various rock formations including London Bridge and the 12 Apostles. The road twisted and turned through the forests and along the cliffs and provided spectacular views. We passed fallen rocks and tree branches along parts of it; which was the result of the previous day’s bad weather so we were glad we had waited. We arrived safely in Melbourne late Saturday afternoon to glorious weather which stayed with us for the couple of days that we were there.

London Bridge on the GOR:


Whilst in Melbourne we took a ride on the Tourist Tram; visited the Immigration Museum; walked through China Town and experienced the café culture; which reminded us of being in France or Spain. One of the highlights for us was dining at Fifteen Melbourne – Jamie Oliver’s restaurant managed by Tobie Puttock. We had watched the Fifteen Melbourne TV series whilst in Perth so we thought we’d try it out as it always looked so good. We had a fabulous evening and Tobie was even cooking in the kitchen that night so I was quite excited about that!

Melbourne in all it's glory: