Camping With Kidz

Well, we had been very lucky so far, and yes, the rain came down eventually. We had been watching the weather forecast for days and had left some rainy day activities for a day just like this. What do you do in Warrnambool when it rains? Well I glad you ask. The local information centre located at the Flagstaff Hill Maritime museum has the answer. The Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum is located across the train line from the Surfside Holiday park, at 89 Merri Street, Warrnambool, and have information on ‘What to do in Warrnambool’ on wet days.
We had been out of the car for a couple of days, and were saving any sightseeing for a ‘Rainy Day.’ That day had come. We thought we would head along the famous ‘Great Ocean Road’ as far as the 12 Apostles. Not far from Warrnambool is a small town called, Allansford, there you will find the Warrnambool Cheese Factory. This factory is set up as a bit of a tourist attraction, but one to be missed unless you’re in the market for some nice cheese. We were talking it up on the way there to the kids, and hoping that there would be some sort of tour of the factory so the kids could see how cheese was made before it hit the supermarket shelves. I asked the lady at the cash register if there was a tour or similar and was told as though I was stupid for asking that tours stopped 20 years ago, no explanation so we were directed to a static display of old relics, none of which had anything much to do with cheese making. There is cheese tasting available and so of course we had to buy some.

Bay of Islands

Back on the road again, and next stop the ‘Bay of Islands Coastal Park.’ A short walk from the carpark and you see an amazing view of the Southern Ocean, and wave battered coastline.
Back in the car, heading a short distance east towards the coastal town of Port Campbell. I lovely little town with a protected bay and wharf. It was that time of the day when we were being told by the rear seat passengers that they were starving. Considering we travel a lot and keep to a tight budget on these jaunts, lunch for five in a coastal town like this was not on the agenda. There was no bakery to be seen in order to re-mortgage the house, so we told the kids that lunch was only a couple of stops away. That seemed to buy us sometime.

Before getting to the 12 Apostles there is a lookout called ‘The Grotto.’ It is a must see, and one of the more spectacular sights along the Great Ocean Road. Bear in mind, for the really young, old, or disabled it is a walk of a few hundred metres, and the boardwalk can be slippery in parts, with a reasonable stair climb down to The Grotto, and back up again.

The weather had been kind to us, and the rain had stopped shortly after leaving Allansford, with no wind, making sightseeing very pleasant.
We arrived at the 12 Apostles at about 12.20 am and were struggling to get a park. There is a medium walk from the carpark to the lookouts, that goes under the Great Ocean Road. Once your there is was well worth it. I have never seen so many selfie sticks in my life, I suggest you wear safety glasses the next time you visit to avoid losing an eye.

12 Apostles

This was the last stop on the Great Ocean Road, and time to feed the starving. We headed to Timboon, inland from the Great Ocean Road, and on our way back to Warrnambool. MacKella wanted me to mention Timboon as a must see, not to be missed destination. I’m not so sure. Yes it is a really lovely little country town, as this site is promoting camping with kids I can’t say the kids are going to appreciate this beautiful little town. They did however enjoy lunch from the bakery there. There is much hype about the whiskey distillery in the old railway station, again like the Warrnambool Cheese Factory I was hoping for small production line and education on how the factory ran, not to be. There was however a large copper pot (distilling vat.) You can enjoy meals at the Distillery, but catering for a more mature audience.
After hoping back in the car it wasn’t long before we were back in Warrnambool, approximately 48km away. We grabbed the scooters and headed back down to the skate park to burn off a bit of built up energy from a day in the car.