Continued south on B140 to Warrnamboll then took Princess Highway east to B100, The Great
Ocean Highway. Stopped at the following places: Bay of Isles, Bay of Martyrs, The Grotto, London Bridge, the Arch. Spent the night at Port Campbell in the caravan park, space 8. Very pretty coast. I can see why it is so popular.Day 125 December 1 Monday
Left Port Campbell and stopped at Loch Ard George, and the Apostles which was spectacular as promised. Except today was very windy all day with rain squalls. Had to wait so get some pictures in at least partial sun. Went for a walk in the temperate rain forest at
Left Port Campbell and stopped at Loch Ard George, and the Apostles which was spectacular as promised. Except today was very windy all day with rain squalls. Had to wait so get some pictures in at least partial sun. Went for a walk in the temperate rain forest at 
Melba Gully State Park. Just like Jurassic Park with huge ferns and jungle. Stopped at Joanna beach named after a ship wreck. On the way to Cape Otway light house, there were lots of red gums there and saw six kolas there, one with a baby. Spent the night at Apollo Bay.
Day 126 December 2 Tuesday
Continued on B100. Just before Lorne, I hiked the short distance to Seaoak Falls. Since the area
is in a draught, very little water was coming over. At Lorne, drove the 16 km to Erskine Falls, also not a lot of water but still pretty. Went to the Information Center and went on-line for ferry tickets to Tasmania. Leaving Dec. 16 and returning Jan 5 at a cost of $360. The trip over for the driver was half off at $50. The vehicle is $65each way. It will be during the height of the holiday travel season. Christmas and New Years in Tas. Hope I can find places to stay. Continued to Split Point Lighthouse and walked around. All the little towns along the way had very nice beaches. Most were filled with kids surfing since it is only a few hours at most drive from Melbourne. Went through Geelong, a major city, using hwy A1 again. Just out of town took C704 to Bacchus Marsh (yes two c’s). Spent the night at the caravan park.
Continued on B100. Just before Lorne, I hiked the short distance to Seaoak Falls. Since the area
is in a draught, very little water was coming over. At Lorne, drove the 16 km to Erskine Falls, also not a lot of water but still pretty. Went to the Information Center and went on-line for ferry tickets to Tasmania. Leaving Dec. 16 and returning Jan 5 at a cost of $360. The trip over for the driver was half off at $50. The vehicle is $65each way. It will be during the height of the holiday travel season. Christmas and New Years in Tas. Hope I can find places to stay. Continued to Split Point Lighthouse and walked around. All the little towns along the way had very nice beaches. Most were filled with kids surfing since it is only a few hours at most drive from Melbourne. Went through Geelong, a major city, using hwy A1 again. Just out of town took C704 to Bacchus Marsh (yes two c’s). Spent the night at the caravan park.Day 127 December 3 Wednesday
Left Bacchus Marsh and headed to Ballarat on M8. Then took A300 north following the Goldfields Tourist route. At Daylesford headed north a short distance to
Hepburn Springs. There is an old spa there and a nice brand new one. The springs are soda water with a sulfur smell and tasted awful. Besides baths there 
were all kinds of spa treatments. Ate lunch at Mt. Franklin and drove to the top. No view. Drove all the way to Echuca on the Murray River. The river is pretty much the border with New South Wales. Spent the night at a park along the river. Did not appear to be flowing and looked stagnant.
Left Bacchus Marsh and headed to Ballarat on M8. Then took A300 north following the Goldfields Tourist route. At Daylesford headed north a short distance to
Hepburn Springs. There is an old spa there and a nice brand new one. The springs are soda water with a sulfur smell and tasted awful. Besides baths there 
were all kinds of spa treatments. Ate lunch at Mt. Franklin and drove to the top. No view. Drove all the way to Echuca on the Murray River. The river is pretty much the border with New South Wales. Spent the night at a park along the river. Did not appear to be flowing and looked stagnant.Day 128 December 4 Thursday
Drove into Echuca and took A300 to C355 to Shepparton. Just east of town took C366 south to Merton where I headed West on B300 then C516, then B340 to Alexandra. Just outside town took to road to Eildon National Park. It is big reservoir with mountains all around. Spent the night at Lakeside campground space 44. A few spaces away was a group of about 30 salespeople spending the night having a party. Went for a walk a short distance around the lake.
Drove into Echuca and took A300 to C355 to Shepparton. Just east of town took C366 south to Merton where I headed West on B300 then C516, then B340 to Alexandra. Just outside town took to road to Eildon National Park. It is big reservoir with mountains all around. Spent the night at Lakeside campground space 44. A few spaces away was a group of about 30 salespeople spending the night having a party. Went for a walk a short distance around the lake.Day 128 December 5 Friday
Lake Eildon
Lake EildonLeft the campground and drove the Skyline Rd to Eildon, a small resort town on the lake. Went up to and drove across the hydroelectric dam to Pinninger Lookout with nice views of the reservoir. Went to the Cathedral Mountains State Park. Went to Neds Campground and hiked the one hour to Neds saddle and then the 15 minutes to Neds Peak. View not good because of the trees. Drove to the end of the road, rough and steep to Sugarloaf Saddle.
I hiked (climbed 
)
I hiked (climbed 
)to the top of the peak which was about a half hour trip. The last half was a definite class three climb and I took the easier of the two routes. Very nice views. Decided to spend the night in the park at Cooks Mill campground. Flies were not bad at all. Tired today after all the hiking in the warm weather.
Day 129 December 6 Saturday
Left Cooks Mill camp and drove B360 to B 300 to Mansfield. Along the way saw for sure my first wild echidna so I could not stop because there was no shoulder on the road and someone was tailgating me. Took the road to Mt. Buller which is a big ski resort. Long steep twisting road
Left Cooks Mill camp and drove B360 to B 300 to Mansfield. Along the way saw for sure my first wild echidna so I could not stop because there was no shoulder on the road and someone was tailgating me. Took the road to Mt. Buller which is a big ski resort. Long steep twisting road
again to the resort. Mountain is 1800 meters high (about 5400 ft). Hiked about 1.5 km to the very top. Nice and not too much wind but cool. Ate lunch there. Drove back to Mansfield. The road from Mansfield to Whittfield on C321 was through the mountains and the road was curvy and steep in places. Very pretty. Continued on to Moyhu where I spent the night at a cute little caravan park space 12.Day 130 December 7 Sunday
Left Moyhu and continued north on C 321 to C521 which intersected the Great Alpine Road near Myrtleford. At Myrtleford took the road to Mt. Buffalo lake which is a man made reservoir,
which was full. Walked around there a little and had a snack. Went back to Myrtleford and took the Great Alpine Road to Buffalo NP. Named so since an early explorer thought it looked like a sleeping buffalo. The mountain is granite and has a plateau at the top. Drove up another steep and windy road to the plateau and had lunch at Lakeside Park and campground at Lake Cataril. Drove to the end of the road and hiked up the 1.5 km trail to the summit of 
The Horn at 1732 meters, the highest point in the park. It is amazing on the trail they jack 
hammered steps in the granite. Very good 360 deg. views and very little wind for a change. It was cool, in the 50’s. Drove back down and decided to climb the Hump which is1695 meters. The trail goes past the Cathedral which is a rock climb. Nice views from there too. Drove down to the entrance and had my entry changed to two days as this is a very nice park. Went past the town of Bright a short distance and spent the night at Freeburgh Caravan Park space 25.
Left Moyhu and continued north on C 321 to C521 which intersected the Great Alpine Road near Myrtleford. At Myrtleford took the road to Mt. Buffalo lake which is a man made reservoir,
which was full. Walked around there a little and had a snack. Went back to Myrtleford and took the Great Alpine Road to Buffalo NP. Named so since an early explorer thought it looked like a sleeping buffalo. The mountain is granite and has a plateau at the top. Drove up another steep and windy road to the plateau and had lunch at Lakeside Park and campground at Lake Cataril. Drove to the end of the road and hiked up the 1.5 km trail to the summit of The Horn at 1732 meters, the highest point in the park. It is amazing on the trail they jack 
hammered steps in the granite. Very good 360 deg. views and very little wind for a change. It was cool, in the 50’s. Drove back down and decided to climb the Hump which is1695 meters. The trail goes past the Cathedral which is a rock climb. Nice views from there too. Drove down to the entrance and had my entry changed to two days as this is a very nice park. Went past the town of Bright a short distance and spent the night at Freeburgh Caravan Park space 25.Day 131 December 8 Monday
Drove back to Mt. Buffalo NP. Hiked to Eurobin Falls about 1.5 km return. Actually Ladies Bath falls and upper and lower Eurobin
falls which were good. Drove further up the road and hiked the 4 km return trip to 
Rollasons Falls which has upper and lower falls. Lower falls were pretty but the upper falls did not have a very good view. Then drove to the reservoir picnic area which was down about a 6 km single lane dirt road. From there hiked to Og, Gog and Magog rock formations on almost a way trail for a 4.5km return trip. Decided then to hike up to the 
Monolith which was close by. Hiked 
the 1.5 km to the rock outcrop and found that they had closed the final stepped for safety reasons. Nice views from there. Getting late so headed back to Bright and got a few groceries. Could not find internet café with wireless or ethernet for my laptop. Stayed at Freeburgh Carvan park again. The owners are from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Drove back to Mt. Buffalo NP. Hiked to Eurobin Falls about 1.5 km return. Actually Ladies Bath falls and upper and lower Eurobin
falls which were good. Drove further up the road and hiked the 4 km return trip to 
Rollasons Falls which has upper and lower falls. Lower falls were pretty but the upper falls did not have a very good view. Then drove to the reservoir picnic area which was down about a 6 km single lane dirt road. From there hiked to Og, Gog and Magog rock formations on almost a way trail for a 4.5km return trip. Decided then to hike up to the 
Monolith which was close by. Hiked 
the 1.5 km to the rock outcrop and found that they had closed the final stepped for safety reasons. Nice views from there. Getting late so headed back to Bright and got a few groceries. Could not find internet café with wireless or ethernet for my laptop. Stayed at Freeburgh Carvan park again. The owners are from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Day 132 December 9 Tuesday
Left the nice campground and went back to Bright to mail some things and get some petrol. Drove to the town of Mt. Beauty via C536 and C531 and continued to Falls Creek Alpine Village, a ski resort. Not as nice as Mt. Buller in my view. Checked on the dirt road to Omeo and was told it was ok. All alpine country most of the way. Hiked up the one km trail to
Mt. 
Cope for some nice views. Saw two young researchers for Melbourne doing plant studies. Continued driving through the Alpine NP to Omeo, Dirt road was ok but steep and twisty and narrow but pretty and fun. Drove past Omeo to the town of Swift Creek and spent the night at the city owned campground.
Left the nice campground and went back to Bright to mail some things and get some petrol. Drove to the town of Mt. Beauty via C536 and C531 and continued to Falls Creek Alpine Village, a ski resort. Not as nice as Mt. Buller in my view. Checked on the dirt road to Omeo and was told it was ok. All alpine country most of the way. Hiked up the one km trail to
Mt. 
Cope for some nice views. Saw two young researchers for Melbourne doing plant studies. Continued driving through the Alpine NP to Omeo, Dirt road was ok but steep and twisty and narrow but pretty and fun. Drove past Omeo to the town of Swift Creek and spent the night at the city owned campground. 
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