More Great Ocean Road Australia

I have just left my wildlife retreat. Currently (December 2019) Australia is experiencing an outbreak of fires. I start actively watching for news updates because the fires escalate day by day. I may need to alter travel plans or even leave the country.

Today I am heading to an airbnb in Port Fairy Victoria. I am staying in an adorable cottage for the night and stopping at some sights along the way.

Gibson’s steps

My first stop of the day is Gibson’s steps.

The steps provide a pathway down to a beautiful beach. Today the Gibson steps are closed due to storm damage and erosion. I just soak up the view up top instead.

Great Ocean walk

From the parking lot I notice a trail marker for the Great Ocean Walk. I read later that that it is an 100k scenic walk along the coast. Today I only walk a little bit of the trail since I hadn’t prepared for a long hike.

12 Apostles

I head back to my car for the short drive to the twelve apostles, a collection of limestone rocks off the coast.

I plan to head to the next rock formation down the road, Loch Ard Gorge, but I see a sign for a cheese and food trail and suddenly decide it is more important to follow that trail then to stop at any other roadside wonders.

12 Apostles Food Artisans

I follow the road with the food trail signs until I get to the first stop Apostle Whey Cheese. I skip the chocolate stop (Gorge Chocolates). I know you must be thinking there something wrong with me but I prefer a block of cheese over a chocolate bar 99% of the time.

I partake in a cheese sampler, tour the grounds and purchase to cheese to go.

I also pick up an official copy of the food map.

I head off to the next location but stop to look at some cows on the way.

I am heading to a brewery nearby, Sow and Piglets Production Brewery. From the website it appears that they sell sausages and such to eat. Beer samples and sausages sound good to me. When I arrive I find the brewery is closed for tastings. I must have arrived off season. If I want to try the beers I have to go to their microbrewery location in town.

Instead I head to the town of Timboon. My first stop is Timboon Railway Shed Distillery. It is a whisky distillery and restaurant. I try a couple whisky samples and then sit down for a late lunch.

I finally try a sow & piglet beer.

Right around the corner is an ice cream shop. I head over to Timboon Fine Ice Cream where they have some unique and fun flavors (at least to this American).

I order one scoop of Orange & Cardamon and one scoop of Rhubarb & raspberry. I really love the flavors.

After my ice cream I head back on the road. I plan to go straight to my Airbnb but I drive by Cheese World and I cannot help stopping.

They have Meredith Dairy in stock. I first learned about Meredith Dairy in central Florida where a local cheese monger sells the marinated goat cheese feta. It probably is one of the best cheeses I have ever tasted. Meredith Dairy cheese is produced in Victoria; in fact I emailed the farm to see if they gave tours before my trip and sadly they do not. In the USA we import the feta but some of their other products are new to me. I pick up some cheese to take back to my cottage tonight.

I check out the cheese store’s wine collection which is unfortunately heavy on the not so great wines we can already try in the USA. Luckily I already have some bottles I purchased a couple days prior.

I head to my cottage in Port Fairy to rest for the evening. It is an adorable cottage named Elizabeth Margaret Brady Cottage built in 1860.

There is charming bedroom and a cozy living room with a working gas fireplace that I use that evening.

The cottage can hold a small family. There is an attached area with another bedroom and bathroom. It is a pretty large place all to myself. There is also a washer on sight. I am happy to be able to do laundry.

There is complementary wine. I can add it to my wine and cheese tasting for the evening.

I prepare some snacks and a cheese plate and relax by the fire for a evening. Today has been a great day.

Great Ocean Road Australia

I have my rental car ready and I am heading out along the coast for a road trip. In my research I found that a drive down Great Ocean road is a must. A road trip along great ocean road is the plan. I am starting from Melbourne (or Lancefield – guesthouse location) and will ultimately end up in Adelaide where I will return my rental car.

I drove near Hanging Rock yesterday so I am not a total novice to driving on “the wrong side of the road” but I admit I am a little nervous on driving on curvy cliff-side roads in traffic. I will drive slowly and cautiously. Hopefully locals won’t want to kill me for backing up traffic.

My little car seems to do well. Things do get a little curvy at some points but I make it through ok.

As soon as I reach the coast I am rewarded with beautiful views. My first stop is in Torquay for some lunch. I originally planned for lunch at another restaurant in another town but I discovered the restaurant I originally wanted to dine at is closed for the day. I instead stop at Fishos for some fish and chips.

Torquay

It takes me longer than usual to order because I have never had any of the types of fish on the menu. I ask the cashier lots of questions to get an idea of the different fish types and how to compare them to fish I know. I settle on one finally and of course order it fried – because fried. I like the nice little outdoor area. The weather is perfect.

Weirdo birds that just lay in the grass like this. Must be nesting.

I am parked across the street at a park that overlooks the water. I walk along the trail, taking in the views. I notice many birds along the way.

I drive on but stop on my way to Lorne to get some spectacular views of the coast.

Lorne

I stop at Lorne to take some pictures. I enjoy the shale-like flat rocks and watching surfers at the beach. It looks like a nice area. I would have liked to spend a night here and explore a little more.

Again I am on my way and stop at another lookout.

I slowly move away from the coast as I head to my final destination for the day north of the Great Otway National Park. Oh how I wish I scheduled more days on this drive. There are so many areas I would have loved to explore more….

Bali Surf Retreat

My bratty moment

After 3 nights sweating it out at the yoga retreat all I want is A/C and coffee.

My car arrives to pick me up from my three night silent retreat and we stop for coffee (canned coffee from convenience store but good enough). I arrive at The Pineapple House in Bali after about an hour’s drive and I am happily greeted by the staff. I am shown to my room and given my schedule: surf lessons at 6:30 am tomorrow and massage at 10 am. I settle into my room to do some travel planning because I am way behind on my bookings (I still have Australia and New Zealand to fully book).

I come out of my room to do laundry since I failed to get any done the past couple days. I also decide on a dip in the pool. Somewhere during my pool time the A/C unit in my room stops working. I play with all the options and it will not come on. The internet also keeps going down so it presents a challenge for using WhatsApp to communicate with the resort staff. I finally get a hold of the staff and they will come fix the A/C. Due to skipping lunch I am very hungry so I head out to walk to get dinner believing the A/C will be fixed while I am out. ~ As a side note I am unable to get money out of the ATM once again~. I need to find a restaurant that accepts credit cards. Indonesia is the only country that has given me ATM problems so far (besides one rogue Cairo atm).

Warning: First world whining alert!!!!

I come back to a hot room again. I am dripping sweat and miserable. I want to cry. I just spent three days sweating at the silent retreat I absolutely cannot do this one more night. I try to contact the staff again but it is late and thus no response. I am so determined to have A/C that I check my Marriott and Hilton apps for nearby hotels because I know that they will have A/C. I find a Sheraton Four Points in the next town over. It is a little more than I want to pay but I don’t care. So I pack it all up, wet laundry and all. I try to call a taxi but they require an Indonesian phone number to order a taxi. I ask how do I get a taxi if I don’t have a local phone and they hang up on me. So I gather all my things and walk out to the street to flag down a taxi. It is 110k Indonesia cab ride. Let’s do this!

I am so wound up so takes me a while to get to sleep but I eventually do and I don’t know what my plans are for the next few days but I’ll figure it out later…..

The next morning I get a message from the retreat owner. They are very sorry for the miscommunication and are asking to remedy the issue. They even offer to refund for the night. It is a beautiful place to stay, besides the A/C mishap the night before, and they do a great job trying to make sure I am happy. I pack up and return.

I am given a new room on the bottom floor. I don’t have the same view as the other one but my room is bigger, as is the bathroom. Plus the AC works in the new room !!! (I feel like such a prima donna as I write this now but at the time it seemed really important to have that A/C. I believe that if I didn’t just come from a silent retreat I probably would have just dealt with the heat as a normal travel inconvenience for the night).

I missed my surf lesson for the day but I am back in time for my massage. The retreat includes a yoga class but I choose to hang out at the pool instead and later walk to dinner.

What is a sidewalk? Dodging traffic while walking to restaurant.

The next morning I get up early for my surf lesson. I grew up in central Florida and spent a good amount of childhood at the beach. For some reason I never thought I had the skills to be a surfer and thus never tried (have boogie boarded though and tried wind surfing a time or two). In Canggu Bali I am going to learn to surf. My instructor picks me up on his motorbike to drive me to the beach. Side note: This is the first time I rode a motorbike during my travels. I have been avoiding it due to fear. Rides on motorbikes are so much cheaper than in taxis. I figure today is good as any other time so I hopped on back. It is scary at first but I didn’t die so I guess everything is fine.

I am given a wetsuit shirt to wear and a board. My instructor give me a beach lesson first. He is great and very patient with me. I can tell surfing will be a challenge for me due to being 1. out of shape and 2. my shoulders are torn up for incorrectly carrying my backpack around for months. Eventually he gets me out on the water. The waves seem to be perfect for learning but I am a mess. I catch a couple waves but lose my confidence and lose the wave or I just flat out wipe out. My shoulders are exhausted for the effort. By the time my lesson is over I caught about two to three waves about at a standing position (the first time super shaky, second time basically surfing on my knees, and third time I purposely wipe out because I believe I am going to take out another surfer). I am worn out. I could come back tomorrow and probably actually surf but I know my body will reject it due to fatigue. I wish I would have booked more days so I could have a recovery day. I vow I am going to pick up my lessons again when I return home (Note: It is 9 months out from that trip and I still haven’t.)

I return to my retreat where an amazing smoothie bowl is awaiting me, plus coffee. Oh how I love coffee!

My arms are beat from my morning surf lesson so I skip yoga again. Oh how I wish I was in better shape in preparation for my retreats! I spend the rest of the day hanging by the pool and catching up with travel bookings.

I go out and get another great meal at the highly rated Ulekan.

GADO GADO – STEAMED VEGETABLES, ORGANIC EGG, TEMPEH, PEANUT SAUCE, PRAWN CRACKER

AYAM LALAPAN – FRIED CHICKEN MARINATED IN LEMONGRASS & GARLIC WITH TRIO OF SAMBAL

I sleep well that night and wake up for one more delicious breakfast.

I am heading to Ubud today to really work on relaxing!

Hoi An beach day

I want today to be a beach day. There are bikes I can borrow to ride to the private beach of the hotel but the ride looks long and the map is confusing. I am afraid of getting lost so I take the hotel shuttle van instead.

The shuttle drops me off at its private beach that is connected to a restaurant.

I am in the mood for a snack so I sit at the cafe with a drink and snacks and watch the ocean.

Very unhealthy lunch of cheese sticks and yam like fries.

I grab a beer can to go and wander down to the beach via a stairway that has a metal fish like structure at top.

I have my own towel so I just claim a lounge chair. There seems to be enough available. The beach is not crowded since the weather is iffy and it does seem to be off season. I tend to like the overcast days though. I get too much sun out sightseeing as it is.

It is mostly relaxing until a tour group of English speaking teenagers camp out close to me. They are loud and running around screaming. I decide to move a little further from them to get some peace.

I entertainment myself by watching dogs play on the beach.

In the distance is one of those ocean swings that Instagram influencers seem to love. It falls over with high tide and the resort staff have a heck of a time pulling it in.

It is almost time for my return van to show up. I pack up my things and wander down the road a bit while I am waiting. It looks like some places have storm damage from a past storm.

The vibe is very calm and peaceful. I wonder if it is different during season? Perhaps on another visit to Hoi An I stay near the beach instead for a change of pace?

I am back to my hotel to finish my evening on the other part of Hoi An.

Da Nang is a bust

I asked for downtime and I got it. My time in Da Nang is basically a bust.

I am able to arrange to van ride to Da Nang from Hue. The van ride I book includes a couple stops along the way.

Thanh Toan Bridge

First stop on our ride is in a small village that is famous for its Thanh Toan Bridge. little bridge Thanh Toan Bridge, a Japanese bridge built in the 1700’s. It is a quaint wooden bridge in a quiet town. Note: At the time of this post I discovered the bridge has been disassembled for possible renovations.

Lang Co Beach

Our second stop is at Lang Co Beach. We stop at what looks likes a once great beach resort but now appears to be fallen into disrepair. There is a place to buy jewelry on this stop (there is always is). I don’t bother going in so not sure if it was gold or whatever. We walk through the resort to get a view of the beach. If it isn’t for all of the trash on the beach it seems like it could be a wonderful place during season. I see some medical waste.

Hai Van Quan

Last stop is the Hai Van Quan along the Van Hai pass. Van Hai Pass is the curvy scenic road that you take into Da Nang. It is quite overcast today but it does still look pretty out the window. We stop at the Hai Van Quan. Built in 1826 by King Minh Mang the gate overlooks Da Nang and also contains an old French fort and Vietnam War bunker.

Da Nang

Finally I am in DaNang. I think I am the only passenger stopping here, the rest are onto Hoi An.

I had high hopes for Da Nang. I am going to visit that famous hand bridge, the marble mountain, and more…. but of course I am visiting during rainy season. I knew there is a risk of rainy days but pretty much my whole time in Da Nang consisted of thunderstorms, not unlike the tropical storms we get in Florida. I felt at home, sort of.

My room is on an upper floor and I have a great view of the ocean.

Storms start. I head upstairs to get a look at the pool. It is closed of course. I’ll try for a visit later.

As the storm progresses the wind gets stronger. The weather proofing from the windows does not hold and water slowly puddles in. I use towels from the bathroom to soak up the water so it doesn’t further flood the room. I later call to tell them repair is needed but they don’t seem too concerned so I just make sure to ask for more towels since mine are all on water duty.

It is later before the storms end. I am not in the mood to explore town in the evening. Instead I take pictures of Lady Buddha off in the distance.

I send an email to my family to check in and let them know I am safe. It is soon after I get a reply from one aunt who remembers my uncle getting stationed in Da Nang during the Vietnam war. I had no clue, war stories don’t seem to be widely discussed. It is odd for my aunts to imagine it being a vacation resort town now when my uncle had a vastly different experience here many years ago. It makes me appreciate how far things have come since then.

Day 2

It is supposed to storm once again all day. I decide not to arrange a ride to sights and just take more downtime since I am not in the mood to be out in the rain.

Buffet breakfast is interesting at the hotel. This is the first place I’ve been at in a while that doesn’t offer a western style breakfast.

During breakfast the storm comes again.

Got a little rooftop pool time during one the brief times the sun comes out. I almost have the entire pool to myself. It is a nice and relaxing view but doesn’t last long because the storms start again.

My hotel offers afternoon tea. I decide to take advantage of it today.

A couple hours pass and I am sick of wasting time watching movies and such. I am in the mood for pizza and luckily the rain stops again. I find a European style pizza place run by an Italian ex-pat near by.

L’Italiano Da Nang

After all that food I need a walk, luckily the rain still hasn’t begun again. I walk down to My Khe Beach.

My Khe Beach

On the way to the beach I walk by some seafood markets. The different types of crustaceans and clams fascinate me.

It is a little challenging to walk across to the beach. There is a steady stream of traffic and they are going much faster than Hanoi. I am scared to try the Hanoi cross here. Luckily traffic lightens up enough for me to cross.

The beach is nice and quiet with only a few people relaxing in the sand; it is off season so it is normal for the beach to be empty.

The rain starts again so I head back to my hotel. This evening is Halloween and rain does stop briefly in the evening for me to go out for a beer. There is a not so crowded bar and food area about 5 blocks away I don’t stay long because I am sure the rain will start again soon.

My stay in Da Nang is short and I pretty much miss all the main attractions but I am well rested. I’ll have to return to Da Nang sometime when it is not rainy season!