Day 19 – Port Campbell to Cape Otway (Aire River)

An odd start to the day, we’re not up particularly early as we’re not in any hurry.  The plan is to camp in the Aire River National park for the next three nights. While there are drop toilets there will be nothing else, a little preparation is needed. So by the time we have breaky, have showers, empty the dunny and get everything packed up it’s after 11 when we pull out.   Fortunately it’s only 70 or so Km up the road to the national park. 

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We drive past the 12 Apostles and Gibson Steps for the last time.   About 20km later we leave the coast and head inland at a place called Princetown, there is a commercial campground here that I had thought we might stay at before all the rain hit earlier in the week.  We can just see some vans from the road, but no idea what the conditions are.   As we leave the coast, the road gets much hillier than the flat coast we’ve been on for ages.  So much so that there are a number of pull in areas to let traffic held up behind pass.  Fortunately there not been anyone behind us.   We reach a town called Lavers Hill, I want to fill up with fuel here as we have a little under half a tank and this will be the last fuel before Apollo Bay.  Well that was the plan.  One station is closed permanently, and the second, some kind of general store, doesn’t sell diesel.  Shit.   I guess it could be worse, we do have enough, just, and we have some in the Jerry, it just might mean a side trip into Apollo Bay tomorrow.

While there are not heaps of campgrounds in this area and you are pushed towards commercial sites, there is not one single RV dump point outside of a caravan parks between Warrnambool and Lorne.   Talk about a place being RV friendly!

With about 4km to go we turn off the main road, which in itself is not very wide, onto this increasingly narrower country road.  After 3km, it turns to dirt and I’m sure gets narrower,  As we round a bend I see the sign to Aire River East Campground, we’re booked into the West Campground. Crap. I didn’t realise Google has brought us in the wrong way (Edit, Google was right, I missed this turnoff due to the road and traffic, then it rerouted me).  There is a bridge, but it’s weight restricted to 5t, we’re normally 5.5t, that and the bridge is pretty narrow.   We look at our options.  It must be over 10km to go back around.  Doing a U-Turn won’t be easy.   I walk out on the bridge,  it’s not super old, I figure there is a bit of wiggle room in the 5t and we are distributed over 8 wheels.   I give the couple of retirees that are fishing the warning that we’ll be coming over and then breath in and drive….very slowly.   Needless to say we made it over…..

We find the campground, work out the best position and setup.   We expected a heap of families here given it is now school holidays, but no.  It seems we have a few large group of twenty somethings around us and looking at all the empties around the campfires, I reckon they might have given me a run for my money at the time.   This might end up being an interesting evening.

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After some lunch, we take a walk down towards the river, we walk across the bridge, down a 4×4 track.   We realise it going to be 2-3km on a very soft 4×4 track to walk to the beach, we’ve got a 4×4 so I go back get the car and we drive the track.  After about 2km, the track opens out to the river, but we continue on to the end where we walk to the beach.   It’s really nice, not too much wind and great in the sun.   The kids play in the rocks at the eastern end of the beach, and while standing on this large rock, nearly get hit by this huge wave.  Not enough to do any damage, but enough to get the excitement happening. 

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As we go to leave, I can see the beach is not that long, so suggest to Justine she walks with the kids along the beach and down the river and we meet up where the track meets the river.   It should take about the same time.    On their walk back there are some of the twentysomethings around and a few of them are swimming in the river, “bloody cold” is the official temperature apparently.   Liam wants to go for a swim so badly, we’ve got towels in the car so we give him the OK, he can’t convince (sensibly) Caitlin to join him so in the end decides not to.

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As we return across the bridge a couple of young girls stop us, and ask if they need to let their tyres down to drive the track.  I tell them we didn’t, but ask what they are driving, “A Mazda, but it has a 4wd button!” we’re told.   Um, unless that Mazda is a BT50, forget,  it’s the clearance more than anything.  I really suggest not to try and thankfully it seems they take the advice.     

Back to the van, officially we not supposed to have a fire in our or own firepit.  The two groups around us are who are first to the communal pits are using more colourful language than the local fruit market operator.  While booked in for three nights we think we might leave tomorrow.

Being conservative with the toilet we take a few extra trips up to the local fragrant amenities, The night is dark so there are so many stars out tonight.  We see at least three satellites, I suspect most of them may be Starlink so might not be that big of a deal.