Walkabout Day 15 - Adelaide - Apollo Bay

I farewell the Ongs and am away at 7am, and straight up into the hills and eastward, departing Adelaide. According to the thermometer, it is 9 degrees. The landscape changes gradually from rolling green hills to flatlands as I traverse the inland highways. I pause at one point to climb an outcropping dubbed Christmas Rocks, and get a good view of the countryside. I think breaking up the ride with physical exertion is better than just stretching my legs. I am finding the lack of physical exertion, bar the hiking at Uluru, to be a little frustrating in this trip... some early morning runs would be good I think. That'd settle me down some.

Riding direct from Adelaide to Melbourne should take 7-8 hours, but I am taking a non direct route, inland down to Portland then along the coast to Port Fairy. I really want to get a photo of me standing in front of the Port Fairy sign, wielding a bottle of port, a wand, and a big grin, but alas am not so equipped.

 I stop to look at a wind farm, with about 30 windmills going. I'm glad to see this kind of thing cropping up, energy is one of the biggest non-social challenges facing our ever-increasing race.

Then on to Warrnambool where the Great Ocean Road begins, or ends, depending on your perspective. To start with on the GOR, I am stopping every 500 metres to take photos of one after another spectacular limestone formation... the Bay of Islands, the Grotto, London Bridge and finally the 12 Apostles, which were quite something. Then I am fully applied to the road, with not much time left in the day and a long way to go. The road would get crowded very quickly I think, but for the most part I am able to ride alone. The Great Ocean Road fully deserves its reputation, it is truly a great and memorable ride, sweeps and curves and turns and scenery and it goes on and on and on. The sun goes down and the light starts failing, so I stop in Apollo Bay and got a room for the night in a pub, and will finish the rest of the road tomorrow. They have the most beautiful trees out the front. It feels strange to see and smell the sea once more, and yet familiar somehow.