Great Ocean Road-Twelve Apostles to Melbourne
I met this man on the way, spraying pesticides on plants. As soon as he saw me, he greeted, “Sat Shri Akaal”! He realized I am an Indian, and took me to be a Punjabi. I said I am not. His name is Bill and we started talking about cycling and his travels in India. He had traveled most of India by a camper van around 20 years back. He asked me if I want to experience another adventure, and invited me to join him the next day for sailing with the Apollo Bay sailing club. I accepted the invitation and confirmed to count me in.
I reached Apollo Bay and saw the weekend was going to be a long one due to the ‘Australia Day’ celebration. The entire town was packed with tourists and there were no camping spots available. I tried to find some options to do stealth camping on the beach, but then realised that it won’t be possible.
The only option left for me was to turn back and ride the same ‘Wild Dog Road’ uphill, to find a camping spot where I had started from. A diversion through another road took me all the way back to the top of hill.
Paul and Leiset hosted me in Torquay. They are real hardcore cyclists who have cycled through Central Asia, South America and Europe for almost 3 years. I followed their suggestion to go to Queenscliff instead of taking the highway through Geelong. From Queenscliff, after ferrying across to Sorrento, there is a cycling path all the way to Melbourne.
ath & Steve hosted me in Melbourne. They have cycled most of the countries in Europe.They have a splendid house with a wonderful view. I found it really relaxing here; a perfect end to my journey of the Great Ocean Road & Kangaroo island. I stayed two nights with them and got my bike fixed and serviced for the next journey to Tasmania. Steve helped me to fix most of the issues my bike had, and also to buy new accessories.
I wanted to move closer to the ferry and got in touch with another cyclist, Suzzane, who lives only 500 meters from it. She accepted my request and hosted me.
