The drive from Adelaide to the Naracoorte caves wasn't anything to rave about. Pretty simple long roads with heaps of farm lands and wineries along the way. Once we got to the caves, we booked two tours. One through the Victoria Fossil Cave and the other took us through the Bat Cave (dun-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-batman!) To be perfectly honest, I wasn't keen on walking through caves but David really wanted to take advantage of everything Australia has to offer. No way I'm going to go against that type of great mentality. I've done a few before and always seem to be disappointed because nothing has ever compared to the caves I visited a little outside of Prague when I backpacked through Europe. While these caves weren't as picturesque, I have to say I really enjoyed both tours. Maybe it's my age, but I really appreciated all the knowledge and historical information we received about fossils. Australia's landscape and animals always reminds me of the prehistoric era. They have the worlds oldest rain forest. They have dinosaur looking animals like cassowaries and echidnas. And these caves held fossils that showed koala and kangaroo relatives, which basically looked the same but were much much larger. Scientist have discovered that kangaroos and koalas have not had to evolve for over 400,00 years. Not sure why, but that really stayed with me. Anyhow, take a look.
The Irish pub was pretty much what you would imagine. And maybe a little better than your average run of the mill Irish pub. It did remind me a bit of the ones I have visited in Dublin. Guinness was on tap with proper pours, great live music and a great atmosphere to match. The guitarist was playing great versions of varying hits and the dance floor was filled with young and old people dancing and singing along. After a few pints and a couple of conversations with locals, we headed back to the hotel because tomorrow would be another early start with plenty of stops to make as we would officially start The Great Ocean Road.
Before hitting the road, we drove over to the bay for brekkie. The owner of our hotel gave us a recommendation and boy did he deliver. The Pavilion was nestled between a calm horseshoe shaped bay and the open ocean. As soon as we arrived in the parking lot, we were all in awe. It was a beautiful scene and you instantly understood why people live in Warrnambool. The bay stretched for miles of open beach. We could see runners and bike riders enjoying an early start to their day. Horse owners exercising their horses in the sand and taking them for swims in the water. Families prepping sailboats and getting ready to head out on the water. It was a great outdoors area that seemed to be enjoyed by all. On the other side there were trails that took you along the tide pools and cliffs. This area is where we would explore after brekkie. The Pavilion had a great view to the bay and ocean and the food was just as pleasing. Probably one of the breakfast meals we've had while out here.
We made one more stop before Melbourne and that was for a short rain forest walk in the Otway National Park. This was probably my favorite part of the entire road trip. Driving through it was beautiful. Walking through was even better.
We parted ways from here. Anelle and I returned to Adelaide for work and our family headed towards the world renowned Whitsunday Islands in tropical Queensland for some fun in the sun. We would see each other again in Sydney for Easter before they head back to 'Merica.