Tuesday March 25, 2014

The not really 73 kms is because I had left my Garmin on while we were on the ferry so it recorded the ferry crossing distance as well 🙂

We left Torquay under a cloudy sky.  We had our jackets on primarily because of the wind, not particularly because of the cold.  We cycled out to Point Danger and then followed the Esplanade and a nice quiet road out of Torquay towards Barwon Heads.  One of the grounds people at the campsite had given us good directions to get to Barwon Heads along the coast road and then said once at Barwon Heads you can’t go wrong because there will be ferry signs to Queenscliffe.

Whilst we were at Point Danger we chatted to a road cyclist who invited us for a coffee at his house before we left.  It was already 9:30 so we declined but it was nice of him to offer.

We cycled into a headwind for much of the time to Barwon Heads, but it was a nice route.  We managed to get a photograph of a live kangaroo.  It was just sitting by the side of the road, eating grass.  I even rang my bell so that it would pose for the camera and it did.

Then it just bounded away.

At Barwon Heads we cycled into the Town to look for a bicycle shop.  Barwon Heads is noticeable for two reasons Cadel Evans has a house in Barwon Heads, the second is that there were no bicycle shops.  For those who don’t know who Cadel Evans is – he is the Australian who won the Tour de France a couple of years ago.  Apparently he is a very nice guy.

We cycled on into Ocean Grove, which had two bike shops.  We stopped at a bike store that sold Trek bicyles, Ralf got his brakes replaced and we both had air put into our tires.  The owner of the shop ?  put me on the spot by asking for my 10 most memorable moment while touring!!  As our touring experience is only limited to 4 months, it was tough.

•  Dog Leg corner and Mount Cook – NZ
• Rimutaki Rail Trail
• Great Ocean Road before the 12 Apostles
• The kindness of strangers

We got great service at Hendry’s bike shop.

We then headed out to Queenscliff where we caught the ferry to Sorrento. We had time before the ferry to have lunch and a little walk around the Town.

Could you imagine living in this house during its hey dey.  I think I would probably be working \”below stairs\” and not living the high life upstairs.

Arriving in Sorrento.

We figured we would have the time to get to Rye and find a caravan park.  The caravan parks are different along this stretch of the coast.  They are referred to as foreshore caravan parks, which means that they are run by not-for-profit committee.  It also means that they are stretches of land between the shore and the road, about 50 to 300 metres wide.  We stopped at a couple but they didn’t have a camp kitchen.  We eventually found one at Capel Sound foreshore, which has an open air camp kitchen.  The toilets and showers are clean, which is the main thing.