Neither of us was up before the sun when we woke up on day 2 of our trip. I opened my eyes long enough to peek out the campervan curtains to see if it was worth getting out of the snug of the van to take photos. It was grey and very average so I went back to sleep. When the sun had been up for a little while we mulled over breakfast options and ended up heading to the bakery. Next time I’m going to show Zara a bunch of the cooking options for the van but this time it was croissants and chai. After we satisfied our tummies we strolled to the beach just behind the van. The air was wet with spray from the waves and intermittent drizzle. We were both still wearing part of sleepwear, I think.
After a while filling our hearts hanging out, we went and got ready to go. I showed Zara how to brush your teeth when living in a van with little water. We set ourselves up with snacks and hit the road. We were barely around the corner before we say a beach with beautiful waves so we pulled over and went and watched them crash. Zara got taken by surprise by a small wave and got wetter than planned. Was took ourselves, our soggy trousers and lots of sand back to the van to keep going. We set up one of Zara’s film cameras and began trialling some shots on it.
The next part of the road took us inland through the rainforest and amazing mountains. The views kept interrupting our conversation as the trees would part and we would see hills and mountains and mist. I didn’t really realise that we had landscapes like that so close to where we live. Here I was looking for it in Scotland. It did remind me a lot of Scotland. Particularly with the mist. There were points where the trees would clear and we would be able to see in all directions but the mist was so thick that we couldn’t see past the edge of the road. It was like driving through a computer engineered world where the designers hadn’t quite decided what to put for you to see off the track. It was a weird and unique feeling. Anything could have bee beyond the sides of the road.
When we approached the location of the Apostles, I wasn’t prepared for how quickly the turn-offs came up for Gibsons Steps or the 12 Apostles so we ended up starting down the far end of the cliffs at London Bridge and Thunder Cave. It wavered between warm and nice and cold and wet. We hid our cameras under our jackets to keep them dry. My hair was all wet and stringy, whipping about my face in the wind, as wild as my heart and the waves below us.
After exploring that section of the cliffs, we went into town for some dinner, to charge our phones and to start checking out the photos on the SD card. The pub had some tasty food which filled us up. We sat under a heater in the courtyard defrosting. When we left I still felt like my neck and back were damp. The final stop in the area was the 12 Apostles. We pulled up in the carpark and checked the film camera. We were disappointed to find that the film hadn’t set properly the first time, so we put in a new roll and once we were confident it had settled in properly we set off along the boardwalk to take a look at the view. It was amazing. Having only seen pictures my whole life I was surprised at the scale. I’d always assumed they were big but a photo didn’t prepare me for the real-life experience of it. There were tourists everywhere and we hurried amongst them taking oodles of shots. Once happy we had got our fill, we got ourselves an ice cream each from the gift shop and headed back to the car.
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| Taken on film by Zara |
On the way back we were short on time so we did the inland road, ending up at Geelong just in time for some nice light and a stroll on the beach. I took some snaps of Zara playing my guitar in the back of the van. She found a palm tree branch and tried out some creative shots of me with it. Then we headed home in time for Zara to watch Love Island with her sweet housemate.
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| Taken on film by me |
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| Taken on film by Zara |
– L
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You can't go past a good roadtrip! Thanks for sharing your photos and memories – it seems you had a fabulous time, which is just as it should be. 😀 Have you ever headed out to Portland? I went there recently with friends when we were staying nearby and I highly recommend it – a day wasn't near enough time to explore! There's another lovely lighthouse – Cape Nelson – and you can go to the "petrified forest" at Cape Bridgewater, which is absolutely fascinating. It's like walking on the surface of the moon. And then Portland itself is lovely, with even more interesting places to visit. It's one of those places where you discover something new around every corner and there are plenty of opportunities for photographs.
Katie @ Katie Writes Stuff
Hey Katie!
I'm pretty sure I've now started collecting lighthouses so I will have to go to the one near Portland. I used to visit there a lot but not usually as a tourist. I was in a band and we would play there all the time. There is also that amazing whale museum where you can walk inside the ribcage of a whale!
You've totally reignited my curiosity for it and I have added it to my list. Thank you!