Winter on the South West Coast of Victoria

Winter on the Great Ocean Road and in the Otway National Park is a time of quietness and subtle light.

The summer crowds have gone and it’s easy to quietly enjoy the place’s beauty.

The wind had been up for a couple of days. It was still, though, as I road down the ocean road, allowing a perfect curl on the waves at Apollo Bay.

Further west at Port Campbell, the wild sea gave an alternative view of the famous Twelve Apostles.

White water surrounding the sand stone monoloiths, crashing against then.

In winter, in the continuous mountain mist on the Otway Ranges, the rain forest has its winter beauty on display.

One of my favourite places in the Otway Ranges is Lake Elizabeth and its surrounding rainforest.

Though winter is cold and wet, in Australian way, the riding through the rainforest on empty roads is especially rewarding.

The cool climate rainforests of Victoria have a very special charm.

But in winter on the south coast of Australia, in the Southern Ocean, there is often a storm brewing out at sea.

Even in Winter -the GOR is a great ride.

Even in winter the Great Ocean Road is a great ride

The joy of a midweek ride in winter the road is pretty much empty. It allows the rider set up a rhythm on the road. Smooth riding over the damp road and around the tight corners.

With dark clouds foreboding Apollo Bay and its little fishing harbour is a welcome destination.

But it was soon into the Apollo Bay Eco Hostel and its welcoming warmth.

In Victoria that faces the Southern Ocean the weather doesn’t settle for long.

The next day was clear and calm. Perfect riding weather along a near perfect riding road.

There is a lookout at the back of Lorne there a fantastic view over the ocean.

On this day the sun was in the perfect spot to light rainbows in the spray of the breaking surf.

For me the best riding on the GOR finishes ar Airies Inlet. From the the villages but up against each other with only glimpses of the great Ocean over the houses and dunes.

The Airies Inlet Light House the last stop before heading home to Melbourne.

Hard to believe it was winter.

In Melbourne, I’m lucky enough to live by a little harbour and can take a walk on a summers day and admire the wooden boats.

Summer is finally in Victoria, Australia

On a clear warm spring day with a touch of summer in the air there is no better place to head the down the Great Ocean Road for a ride with a friend.

One of my favourite stops on the Great Ocean Road is Wye River, a beautiful beachside village.

The Wye General Store Cafe is a great spot for lunch and a cold beer on a hot day.

I should have gone for a swim in the Southern Ocean while there but the riding was just too good.

Mid week, little traffic, no wind and warm on this beautiful road. Perfect biking conditions.

So back home it was on the bicycle and down to Williamstown Beach, my local, for a dip.

The weather is still going to be volatile in Australia’s south east but summer is definitely in the air.

And on a warm evening Melbourne shows off her colours when you look across the bay from Williamstown.

An interlude in Victoria’s temperate rainforest.

Friends and followers its a while since I last posted. At that time I foreshadowed further tales of my forebears pioneering times in Western Australia

But the truth is that 8 months of travel on a motorbike much of it sleeping in a tent left me tired and a case of still itchy feet complicated my enthusiasm to write

The only remedy was getting back out into nature.

To the east of Melbourne the Grand Ridge Road is a winding 132 km ride across the the Strzelecki Ranges and a mix of sealed and unsealed road.

The road runs through rich farming land, old growth temperate rain forest and sadly, old forests that have been destroyed by clear felling.

At the eastern end, the road winds down into Yarram through the Tarra Bulga National Park

Here are some views of this beautiful forest.

Coming down of the mountains the forest is dryer and the wild flowers abound.

To the West of Melbourne is the Great Ocean Road and the Otway Ranges – a favourite haunt I have written of often.

But even on a day trip to a well known area there are new places to find and the waterfalls were at their best after the spring rains

The swimming hole at She oak falls was too inviting to resist

Unfortunately I got to Stevenson Falls late in the day and as it was too late for a dip on a day trip

But I had been enjoyed my time having a beer and a swim at Wye River.

A stop off at the beautiful harbour at the coastal village of Apollo Bay

The perfect end to any day trip is of course- A beautiful sunset.

Now I’ve had a little interlude, a couple of day trips and the batteries are starting to feel recharged I will get back to my families pioneering tale. After you are warned at the start of my blog it is a discontinuous narrative!!!

Desert gives way to Rainforest in the Bunya Mountains

The Bunya Mountains are west of Brisbane in Australia’s Great Dividing Range and house the world’s largest Bunya Pine forest.

The Bunya Pine is one of the few plants surviving from the Jurassic period -200 million years ago these magnificent trees developed and the Bunya Mountains is the place on the planet where they are still prolific.