Despite the fact that it is winter here, we have enjoyed exploring and admiring the coastal towns around Ocean Grove. The beaches seem to go on forever and the lack of development along the coast makes for a stunning natural coast line. We drove to the world famous Bells Beach where The Rip Curl Pro (surfing competition) happens each year, attracting surfers and spectators from all over the world. It is supposed to be the best surfing beach in all of Australia-I cannot speak from experience…yet!

Bells Beach at sunset

It seemed like we were the only ones there, other than a handful of surfers. Alexis had a lot of questions about the particular style of dress and hair that she observed. She was confused by the fact that many of them had shorts on but then a toque as well. She also suggested that many of them needed a haircut or at least, a comb through.

We drove to another coastal town called Barwon Heads (pronounced ‘Ba when’ Heads-we have been working on our Aussie accent). It is a very small town where at the bluff, you can see incredible views of the ocean.

Finally, we spend a morning in Geelong. It is not exactly a coastal town, it is considered a bay town because it is on Port Philip Bay, not the ocean. It is a town of 250,000 people and it has the closest mall-important to note. We walked along the waterfront and discovered the many quirky wooden sculptures that tell of the history of Geelong and the important people who have moulded this city.

The Volunteer Rifle Band with Alexis as conductor and Reid playing the tuba

The Tram Conductor from 1940

I have learned very quickly how different it is to travel with kids as opposed to just Shane and I. We spend a lot of time checking out playgrounds and open spaces instead of museums and historical sites.

Over the weekend, we visited the quiet coastal town of Queenscliff. It is located just 20 minutes east of where we are staying in Ocean Grove.

In its day, Queenscliff served as a 19th century holiday destination for Melbourne’s elite, a busy maritime centre and a strategic defence base. The town’s charm and impressive historical hotels made us feel as if we had stepped back in time. We stopped to have a look at the walls of defence that had once protected the area from any intruders as it’s location marks the entry point to Port Phillip bay (leading to Melbourne). We also visited the lighthouses, one white and one black lighthouse, the black one being one of three in the world, located inside Fort Queenscliff.

Today, Queenscliff is unique and charming coastal town offering stunning views of the coast line, plenty of places to get a good coffee and yummy bite to eat and a harbour where you can swim with dophins, go scuba diving, or simply fish from the iconic landmark, Queenscliff Pier (none of which we were able to do because of the time of year). We will be sure to come back to Queenscliff in the summer months when the town becomes alive with activity.

You can see the Queenscliff Pier in the distance, as well as the black lighthouse inside Fort Queenscliff.

It has been just over a week since we arrived in Ocean Grove. It is a very small, beautiful, ocean side town with 2 grocery stores, 3 primary schools, 1 highschool, a couple of lovely cafes and a surf shop. Most of the town is vacant right now as it is winter here. The locals we have met have told me that this is coldest winter in 25 years. It’s about 10 degrees out and we are enjoying the fall-like weather. Reid, Alexis and I have spent our days exploring the town while Shane has been at work. We have found ourselves to be the only ones walking outside and playing at the playground. It is simply too cold for the locals to be outside. We have been told that in the summer months (November to Easter), this town is very busy as the home owners come from their permanent residences in other parts of Victoria, to stay in their ‘holiday houses,’ as they call them. It would be similar to having cottage in Ontario (except that there is an ocean here, not a lake). We have enjoyed exploring the beach, collecting shells and watching the locals surf.

This is holiday house we are staying in for a month while we figure out where we want to live for the next 2 years.

The beach at Ocean Grove is stunning. It seems to go on as far as the eye can see. It seems deserted right now because it is winter.

After saying goodbye to friends and family, it was time to take all our worldly belongings and head to the airport. The 30hrs+ of traveling ahead of us seemed impossible but we took it one leg at a time. After nervously checking our luggage, not completely sure we would be under the weight restrictions/number of bags/number of carry-ons allowed, with kids in tow (literally, we pulled them along on their trunkis), we made our way to security and then on to eat.

After 3 flights, 4 interesting airplane meals, many hours of tv/movies and a few hours of uncomfortable sleep (but no sick kids), we landed in Melbourne. It was about 12:30pm Melbourne time (totally lost track of Toronto time at this point but somewhere about 2:30am?) and we were exhausted but happy to be in Australia. The weather was about 12 degrees so we were definitely the only ones in shorts and flips flops. We grabbed a much needed coffee from Gloria Jean’s and picked up our rental car. With kids sleeping in the back, Shane and I navigated our way to the coastal town of Ocean Grove, learning to drive on the wrong side of the road (the signal light was confused with the wipers many times). We are staying in a holiday house that belongs to one of Shane’s colleagues, it is lovely and we look forward to exploring in the days ahead.