It was a bit rainy and cold in the morning so we took a while to get up, when we finally did, we were pretty happy to see a clan of fairy wrens jumping about catching small insects. We thought they might like some fine Weet-Bix crums so we crushed them and threw then out. Sure enough, they came right up to us. Check out the videos below. We packed up and hit the road, 200 metres down the road we stopped at the Wye River cafe for a morning caffeine hit and a cake. Nice spot! Looking forward to our next visit.

We took our time travelling along the Great Ocead Road though the townships of Kennett River, Wongarra, Skenes Creek . We stopped at Apollo Bay for more coffee then a few kms later we took the short walk through Maits Rest. Then, a few kays further down the road we arrived at the Otways. As we came in we stopped at the Koala habitat area for some photos of the koalas. (NOTE: Koalas are predicted to be extinct in less than 50 years if the current rate of habitat destruction continues. Please consider this before clearing trees from your land).

From the koala spot it was only a few minutes to Cape Otway. We checked out all the camping areas in the area and were pretty impressed by all of them. Many had toilets (pit) and untreated water available but we were most impressed by the most isolated camping area where there were no people. After a quick recce we headed over to the lighthouse hoping they would make us some food as we were starving and it was 2:30pm. Luckily the chef was only having his lunch break so he was happy to make us something. I had a chunky stewed beef pie with mash, Julie had a vego calzone with a delightful salad . Yum!

I need to say that the weather was extreme. The winds were at least 60km/h and it was bucketing down with rain. When we got to the top I thought I was going to blow away. I tried to walk around to the windy ocean-facing side but I swear I could feel my feet lifting off the ground. Somehow Julie managed to do it - maybe coz she is shorter - lol! We continued our tour of the lighthouse grounds and exhibits but ran out of time at 5pm when the staff leave for the day. (There are 2 or 3 B&B cottages available, at night the whole place is yours).

At this point we made the decision to go to our preferred campsite at Point Franklin as there was no one else there and it was more dramatic with the gale force winds and rain than the other spots. With Point Franklin itself just a few hundred metres from the camper, the sounds of the ocean crashing was almost louder than the rain and wind. As we were setting up camp we felt completely remote . Then, out of nowhere 2 people came up the path from the beach - an English mother and 8 year old son. They were also campervanning but had parked a few hundred metres up the road but weren't camping in the national park, they were returning to the relative comfort of hot showers and a powered site at the caravan park. We chatted for a while and they were quite impressed by the character and cosiness of the inside of our camper. As darkness fell they continued on their walk up the track. We decided to go for a quick run down to the beach to check it out. The rain on our faces was cold but we soon warmed up after running all the way. We took our photos and ran back up to the van.

The storm wasn't subsiding and the clouds were moving quickly across the sky and we couldn't help but stop for a while in the van with all the curtains open just watching and listening to the wind & rain. The stories of the many shipwrecks in the area were still fresh in our heads from the Cape Otway museum . These stories fascinated both of us and we spent hours recounting the tales linked to each area and all the names of the ships that went down. The most memorable was the Loch Ard which sank in the area now known as Loch Ard Gorge near the Twelve Apostles. 

We listened to music, cooked food and enjoyed the atmosphere. There was no TV reception but we had 1 bar of Next G with the external antenna up on the roof. When you feel like you're in the middle of nowhere it's amazing how good Youtube and internet radio can be. The phones didn't work but occasionally I'd get a flash of signal so SMS was working only just. After dinner the temperature plummetted so we made a pot of tea to help warm and moisten the air in the van. We relaxed by reading until the cold got to us so we crashed out to the sounds of waves crashing, the rain pitter-pattering on the campervan roof and the wind whistling through the coastal heath. Occasionally the odd gust would make the van wobble as we were parked side-on (ie: parallel to shore) to the wind. An enjoyable, memorable night and campsite.