The G-O-R

GOR = Great Ocean Road

One of the biggest misconceptions of my life. We started our journey, believing in the ideal road trip; driving on the coast, looking at the water from the window as we travelled. 

Um - not exactly. 

And I do not even deserve a complaining session here, as I did look at the map before starting out - numerous times. I remember thinking at the time - oh the road isn't that close to the water - oh well, you must still be able to see.

Um yeah - sure some of the journey but most of it is way inland - and curvy - curvy -curvy - CURVY roads. I am not the best traveller, and with a man who on holidays, drives like an elderly man wearing a hat - well, needless to say he copped a lot of moaning.

However, the scenery is beeeautiful, and even the sat nav took us on crazy short cuts which resulted us in seeing wild wallabies sitting on the side of the road - displaying the wildest touches of yellow in their fur, that were amazing - and very wild.

OK, so on any road trip - there has to be some humour. I am kind of a joker, you probably get this from my blog tee hee (gosh I hope you do!). Well I certainly like the humour in life, and luckily for me my husband gets my sarcastic funny bone. However, our 7 year old daughter created the biggest enjoyment in the car - and I will insert photo here, just to show the topic of conversation...

aaaaa...hhhh....eeee...mmmm....cough...cough..splutter...splutter...and I will now ask you, how you would react, when driving behind this said 'vehicle', a little voice from the back squeaks..."Um Mum, is that van for cats or something - are they driving cats around?"

I look up from playing with my camera, and what the ??????????

1. What is this van?

2. Should it be out in daylight?

3. Oooo I wonder who is driving it?

4. Is this a themed vehicle company?

5. Ooooo wonder what the other vehicles say?

5. Hang on, need to answer daughter, as she is taking my silence for something being bad and getting more and more interested.

6. "Yes darling, its for a cats home".

7. "Are they pink?"

7. Um....and this is where it gets amazing, I mean I think I did well here... 
 'Yes bub, they are cats who have been hurt and had to have all their fur shaved, so they are just pink skin'...a silent high five to myself, and a quick wink and smug smile to myself in the side mirror...kerching.

8. "Oh that's bad - but how come they eat them?"

9. I turn to Mr Oblivious..."Um Darling driver, get that satnav to take us on a shortcut...now!"... I had not even seen the 2nd line of the words, I had only seen the first line and that was BAD enough!

Ok now to make this blog more mature......the rest of the trip was amazing. We drove through a National Park, saw the 12 Apostles (what is left) - had a Spanish couple ask us if our son was a boy or girl - they had a wager on it...um also had our photo taken at the Apostles by the tallest man I have ever met, to only see said photo...

I mean come on! All he had to do was look down and we would have all been in the shot, he was so tall!

The rest of the day was driving, and driving for what seemed ages - we passed hot spots, I mean proper surf beaches and towns. Stopping at an amazing place called Lorne (need to go back there) - played on trampolines and the park - and cursed ourselves for being too late in the day to try the sea salt baths.

Then we hit the one place I have dreamt about. Bells Beach. Growing up I watched Endless Summer, numerous times. I love surfing and the whole culture, so this was one place I needed to visit in my life. Also um hello...I saw the movie with Keanu Reeves and Swayze in Point Break. Although meeting a local, he told me that scene from the movie, is set at Bells, but actually was filmed in the US - devastated.com

I loved it anyway. I breathed in the air, tasted the sand, drank coconut milk with my daughter, and nearly got smothered by a glider - it was the best!


Footnote : 
Cut to us now back in Scotland, the other day I was emptying the car of shopping and hearing my daughter tell our elderly neighbour..."They have a van for cats who are pink"........shopping was quickly dropped, hand smothered daughter and a quick goodbye was said - I just hope she does not decide to do a short story on that trip at school - mortified!

And......Finally a McDonald's Happy Meal toy I can work with!




All of my images are © Leah Donaldson Photography and are not to be downloaded, copied, printed or used without my written permission.