The best way to travel around Australia is by camping road trip. The coronavirus travel restrictions started to ease up a bit but most people were still hesitant to get out of South Australia. I was one of them. But I had a month and a half of holidays so my spontaneous traveler self told me to just damn do it.
I packed my bag and did it the backpacker way...
It was a week-long camping/road trip adventure, some parts were spontaneous in between, and to summarize it all, here is the itinerary that we ended up doing:
Day 1: Mt Gambier. Naracoorte Caves. The blue lake. The Umperston Sinkhole.
Days 2-4: The Grampians National Park
Days 5-6: The Great Ocean Road scenic views
Day 7: Great Otway National Park and back to the Great Ocean Road's nearby towns and short hikes
Day 8-9: Melbourne
Mount Gambier
Mount Gambier is a five-hour drive from Adelaide. I was too excited for our next destination that I did not find Mount Gambier very interesting. I guess there is more time for it in the future.
The Naracoorte Caves contain fossils that can be traced back 800,000 years ago.
The Blue Lake.
The limestone is an extremely porous rock that makes the Umperston Sinkhole.
Traveling in time of corona: The first time that the borders of South Australia and Victoria opened. I had the perfect window for interstate travel. No restrictions, no permits, no quarantine.
The Grampians National Park
The Grampians is a chain of rugged mountain ranges, a popular destination for hiking, scenic drives, and camping. The tourism website says it has been inhabited by the Djab Wurrung and Jardwardjali people for 20,000 years. It takes two to three days to complete the hikes but took us only two days. The free campsites were terrible anyway. (We aimed for free campsites all throughout the trip). After the trip, I met two groups who did it for one day but for future travelers, if you have the time, allocate at least two days to fully enjoy and appreciate this wonderland.
The Pinnacle
The Grand Canyon Loop
The Balconies
The Boroka Lookout
The Reed Lookout
The Mackenzie Falls flows year-round sending refreshing mist from the gorge. My favorite spot in the Grampians!
Mt Sturgeon lookout. The signage from the base of Mt Sturgeon told us that the hike was 2km but definitely it was not! It was probably the steepest and hardest one in the Grampians!
A friendly emu and a wallaby we met along the way. There were also dingos and possums that tried to share with our food!
Great Otway National Park: Getting Lost
The Otway Park looked like just a quick drive off the Great Ocean Road. But we found ourselves driving endlessly on the mountains. In the middle of our epic road trip, we found small towns, a symbol of life in the middle of nowhere. It's amazing to know that places like these exist. It's as magical as a modern fairy-tale waiting to be found; a void that validates your existence when you can't be found.
Lavers Hill, Victoria
We had to call the owner and waited for 15 minutes to fuel up.
Australian towns share distinct characteristics. They are generally embraced by the greeneries and the stillness broken by the tunes of magpies and crows that sound like sending the strangers away. This land was inhabited by the Aboriginal people millions of years ago before the Europeans arrived.
Spending the night in the middle of nowhere. There were no toilet and shower, and only a tree to protect us from the wind and wildlife. Ferguson, Victoria.
And this was the reason why.
Hopetoun Falls
A walk through the ancient rainforest.
The Triplet Falls.
The Great Otway National Park is a hidden gem. Getting lost was annoying but it was part of the adventure. I loved every bit of it.
