Sorry, No Danger This Week

Haven’t been doing anything too death-defying lately, unless you count driving on the wrong side of the road. I took the ferry from Devonport up to Melbourne, which by all accounts is a lovely city. Everyone tells me it’s great. So this borders on criminal touristic negligence, but I only stayed there long enough to drop Booster off at a bike shop to get boxed up for her next flight. Then I rented a car to drive the Great Ocean Road.

It’s reputed to be one of the most beautiful drives in the world, and it does not disappoint. The only road I’ve ever driven that comes even close is the Hana Highway on Maui. But this one has more koalas and kangaroos, so you be the judge.

Koalas, by the way, are much bigger than I thought. Like watermelon-sized. Furry gray watermelons. And they often choose the most ludicrously slender branches to sit on. this is a family website, so I will not share the photo of the koala who invented the wooden G-string.

Along the way I found what is probably the most beautiful campsite I’ve ever chosen in my life. The award for all-time favorite campsite still belongs to the one night I camped in Antarctica, when the captain of the ship I was on was too drunk to be trusted to pick us up from shore. That one ranks numero uno because it’s entirely possible—no, almost certain—that no human being has ever pitched a tent in that exact spot before. But I didn’t pick that little island; it was chosen for me. My site a quarter-mile off the Great Ocean Road had no drunken Russian seafarers involved.

It overlooks Johanna Beach, and because it’s also a launch site for hang-gliders and paragliders, it has a majestic vista. And nonstop wind, but that wasn’t enough to prevent me from sleeping out under the stars. I lucked into a completely clear night with some of the best stargazing I’ve ever experienced. The photo won’t do it justice, but here’s the view from where I slept.

I will say one thing for the Great Ocean Road: I am so glad I didn’t do it by bicycle. Too many blind curves, too many drivers passing me. But someday I’ve got to come back down here and rent a motorcycle to ride this thing. So many curves! And hills! And riding it uncaged you get the smells: rainforest, the spray off the waves, koalas in lingerie….