Australia: Day 6, Caves, Wine, and Warnambool

After getting to bed at a normal hour, the birds started chirping around 5 am.  Who needs an alarm clock??  We attempted to fall back asleep, but we weren’t able to sleep much longer.

Tossing and turning, we decided to wake up at 7:30 am and started getting ready.  We showered in the amenities block, as the shower on the campervan was tiny, and packed up.  Check-out was 10 am, so we wanted to make sure we were on the road by then.

I decided to dry my hair in the van, but when I turned it on, I managed to kill it.  Really?  That meant I’d be going around with damp hair until we hit Sydney.  So when you see pictures of my hair pulled back the entire time, now you know why! 😉

We went back to the deli from the night before, and Lyle was in a much better mood.  We filled up the tank with petrol, took some money out of the ATM, and we were on our way to Warnambool.  Rosemary told us about the Naracoorte Caves being a spot to check out while we were in the area.  At first we weren’t going to  stop, but we had a spark of spontaneity and opted to visit.

Arriving at the Wonambi Fossil Centre, we purchased tickets for the “Wet Cave” at $8 per person, which allowed us to go into this one particular cave for as long as we wanted.  The other caves required a tour guide, which meant you could only go in at certain times.  We didn’t want to stick around too terribly long, so we opted to do the self guided cave.

Wonambi Fossil Centre

Inside the Wet Cave

It was pretty cool inside, they had motion sensor lights so as you walked around, the area would light up.  We explored, took some photos, and learned about caves.  Afterwards we stopped for lunch at the Caves Café before getting back on the road (Josh had fish and chips; I had the Caves Mega Burger – which was MEGA big!).

We hopped back into the van and were on our way again – that is until we hit the Coonwarra Wine Region.  After seeing all of the vineyards, I just had to stop.  Why not pick up wine whilst in Australia?  We stopped at Katnook Estate’s Cellar Door for some wine tasting.  Since Josh doesn’t drink wine, he was now given the designated driver role. 🙂  I got to try their various Cabernet Savignons, as well as their Chardonnays – it was fantastic!  I bought a half bottle of their Founder’s Block Cab Sav and a half bottle of their Founder’s Block Chardonnay.  I liked the Cab Sav way better, but I wanted options for our nightly dinners in the campervan parks!

In front of Katnook Estate’s Cellar Door

Driving through the countryside of Australia really was beautiful.  The weather was amazing, the skies were so blue (I’m convinced the sky is more blue in Australia than it is in the US), and the roads were pretty empty.

On our drive we crossed over from South Australia to Victoria and found our way to the Discovery Holiday Parks site, checked in, and backed into our en suite lot.  I will say that backing into places in the campervan was my least favorite thing to do!  It always required Josh getting out and making sure I wouldn’t hit something, telling me to turn the wheels in another direction, etc.  Frustrating!

Once we checked in and knew where we were supposed to be, we ventured off to find a grocery store.  The GPS had us driving around clueless, but we eventually came across an IGA store where we were able to pick up dinner for the night, as well as groceries for the week (steaks/burgers/spaghetti/sandwich meat and bread).  In addition to items for lunch and dinner, I excitedly bought a box of Nutri Grain.  I cannot even begin to tell you how much of this stuff I ate when I was at Bond Uni.  I only wish it was sold in the States!  By the end of the trip, Josh admitted to enjoying it too!

One of the greatest cereals ever!

We came back to the campsite and setup the grill on the side of the campervan.  Josh grilled the two steaks we’d purchased, as well as some asparagus – it was delicious!

Our delicious dinner!

After we ate, we walked over to the camp kitchen and washed dishes before taking a walk over to the beach to watch the sunset.  I love sunsets on the beach, there’s just something so peaceful about watching the day end – especially when you’re with someone that you love.

Self-timer photos are great! 🙂

A lovely sunset

It was a bit chilly outside, so we decided to walk back to the van.  Josh decided he wanted to mess with the TV some, and was able to figure out how to find programs.  We ended the night watching Gordon Ramsey preparing holiday treats, followed by Field of Dreams.  We decided to call it a night around 11 pm – another exciting day was in front of us, we needed to rest up!

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