Warrnambool

5 (afternoon) - 6 May

Strange how quickly situations can change. One minute we were rain-soaked and fairly miserable in the Grampian Mountains, and yet later on that same day and many kilometers further along the road, the sky turned blue, the sun came out and we found ourselves in the delightful resort of Warrnambool, the only city on Australia's historic Shipwreck Coast.

Better still, we found a superb campsite/holiday park situated just a ten-minute walk from the town centre, but only a two-minute walk (over a sand dune) to the beach.

After the Grampians, this was a good opportunity to catch up with the housekeeping (in Sharon's case, the laundry; in mine, writing up this blog).

In the evening, we explored the town and found a good bar with a boisterous Friday-night crowd, and a rather more sedate 'Irish' pub.

6 May

Great morning - bright blue sky and sunshine, but a bit on the chilly side. We spent the morning in town buying cheap winter woollies (hats, scarves and gloves) from the numerous army surplus stores here.

Later we put our new warm gear on, grabbed a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses from the campervan and spent a relaxing couple of hours at the beach looking out to sea.

The tea-cosy thieves were still at large in Warrnambool

That evening we threw caution to the wind and ate at Warrnambool's 'Red Rooster'; an Australian chain that specialises in roast chicken - and it was pretty good, too.

Warrnambool sunset. Didn't the Kinks sing about that?

Fully rested and recuperated thanks to the charms of Warrnambool, we were ready to contemplate the beginning of the end to our Australian travels; the start of the Great Ocean Road.