Australie du sud et la Great Ocean Road

South Australia Album

Seven days since leaving Perth, and we had crossed the Western border into the South part of Australia. We had a lot to look forward to: the Great Ocean Road, Adelaide, caves and volcanoes,all of which were avaiable to us along the coastline. It's not like we've never seen the sea before, but for some reason, the waters appear much grander and more spectacular by the shores of SA. The waves, for example, crashes more loudly with more confidence than any others I've seen before. It is also thanks to them, that the rocks, limestone, natural bridges and caves have been sculpted to postcard perfection. Cruising along such scenery,  really is what all this roadtrip is about.

In one day, we made our way through Locks Well Paradise Beach, a beach so perfect we felt guilty leaving our footprints behind; through Coffin Bay, where the luxury houses and perfectly mowed lawns allowed the residents to turn a blind eye to its name (actually named after a man called Isaac Coffin); past Salmon Point to take copious amounts of photos of the dramatic cliffs; and visited Lincoln National Park for a picnic lunch by (more) water.

Skilled like a professional at the half-court tennis in Caravan Park, Adelaide

With George in the backseat, the three of us continued our long drive towards Adelaide. Our choice of accommodation when we arrived, was a camp site in a caravan park outside the city. When you put two European guys together, and offer them a round of tennis, they will clap and shout with glee for being able to flex their muscles with a racquet. And that's exactly what we did at the caravan park. The city of Adelaide did not tickle our fancy the same way the half-court tennis (with miniature rackets) did. I suppose that to a group of car-ridden campers who grew up in cities, and had spent the last week moving around, nothing beats a couple of games of tennis, followed by a hot shower and a kangaroo and crocodile steak BBQ.  But to complete the picture, we did venture into the city. We found a big Central Market, Victoria Square with the  Queen looking bronzed in the middle, two goth-inspired cathedrals,  and a library with free internet access (yipee!). If you plan to visit Adelaide, I would not be the person to go to. I wouldn't be fair to a city that has probably a lot to offer. It's just that Antoine and I were not in the right mood to sightsee and spend time getting to know the place.

A little further long, at little town by the name of Mt Gambier, we found great pleasure in exploring. They had cave gardens, sinkholes and two huge, gorgeously crystal blue lakes. Mt Gambier had been blessed by beautiful natural phenomenons and had built their pretty little town around it, complimenting these spots with gardens, and picnic tables, and all things flowery. The Blue Lake (very appropriately named) even slowed us right down to a stop for a laze under the sun on the grass.

One of the biggest highlights on this part of the roadtrip was the Great Ocean Road. It hugs the cliffs of the coastline in Victoria, a major tourist destination just outside of Melbourne. We made a total of 6 stops, to visit and get photo-hungry for 8 natural wonders on this one road. To be precise, they were: London Bridge, Lord Ard, 12 Apostles, The Arch, Blowhole, Thunder Cave, Sherwood River and The Grottos. These natural wonders were formed by the (you guessed it) the great ocean. As a result of milllions of years of eating away at the land by waves, Antoine, George and I (and tour buses full of people) could gape and drool at such wonderous beauty. I can now understand why my father specialised in rocks for his masters in Engineering!! To make this leg of the road extra special, we got up close and personal with an Echinda crossing the footpath of one of the sights. He was huge, and not afraid of us. Even stopping once in a while to pose for some shots. Such a star :)

From there, it was an onward journey to Melbourne. More to come soon! xxx

Notre passage vers l etat de l australie du sud a ete marque par l interdiction de transporter des fruits et legumes d un etat a l autre. En vitesse, nous avons du manger une pomme et une carotte pour ne ppas avoir une nouvelle amende. Au final, pas de control.

Nous approchions d Adelaide, et le retour a la civilisation se faisait sentir petit a petit. Nous avons suivi la cote tout le long, et les points de vues sur les falaises ou les plages desertes ne manquaient pas. Chaque environement est different, avec des temps en temps de lourdes vagues venant des entraillles de l ocean et s ecrasant sur la cote, et quelques kilometres plus loin, une baie tranquille abritee des violences de la pleine mer, ou l eau claire laisse apercevoir poissons, crabes et coquillages. Nos pauses pique-nique et camping sont toujours dans des paysages magnifiques.

A Adelaide, nous sommes restes dans un vrai camping, avec piscine, terrain de basket et tennis. L occasion pour Jen, George et moi de faire quelques dunks et de passer quelques aces. Le soir, nos efforts ont ete recompenses par un steak de kangaroo et une brochette de crocodile que nous avons fait griller au barbeque, et une biere fraiche,, la premiere depuis notre depart de Perth... La ville  n etait pas super interessante, et nous avons surtout profite du marche couvert et de la connexion internet pour actualiser le blog. C etait notre premiere journee sans conduire... Reposant !

      Life, better in flip-flops!

Le lendemain, nous avons repris le volant, direction Melbourne, avec en point d orgue la Great Ocean Road (grande route de l ocean). Avant cela, nous avons fait escale au Mont Gambier, qui porte son nom par sa localisation geographique sur un volcan. Le volcan n est plus actif depuis bien longtemps et n est pas tres grand, mais le lac en son sommet, le point de vue et le differentes attractions naturelles dans la ville en valent le detour. Il y a plusieurs grottes a visiter, bien connues dans la region, mais qui ne nous interessaient pas forcement. Donc nous sommes directement alles voir 2 crevasses au milieu de la ville. La premiere, Sinkhole, est due aux emissions de gaz sous-terrain pendant plusieurs milliers d annees, qui a creuse petit a petit un grotte juste en dessous de la surface terrestre. Au bout d un moment, la surface a cede (le plafond de la grotte, c est a dire le sol pour nous) et s est effondree laissant place a une crevasse. Aujourd hui, le Sinkhole est amenage en un jardin public, tres fleuri, et agreable a visiter.

La deuxieme crevasse, je ne sais plus trop par quel mecanisme elle a ete produite... Probablement par la compisition de la roche, tres friable (il fut un temps ou cette partie de l Australie etait sous l ocean, et lorsque les eaux se sont retirees, le sable a durci et s est transforme en roche).

L attraction majeure de la ville Mont Gambier etait son volcan. Nous sommes donc alles faire le tour des deux lacs, aux eaux d un bleu vif et limpide, en appreciant l amenagement en jardin publics, les panneaux explicatifs et les points de vue sur la region alentour. Le soir, nous sommes allles camper au pied d un autre volcan non loin de la, qui nous a valu un beau coucher de soleil et une nouvelle ascenssion au sommet.

Nous avons quitte l Australie du sud le lendemain, pour entrer dans l Etat de Victoria. C est la que nous avons emprunte la route portant le nom Great Ocean Road. Il faut y passer un peu de temps pour pouvoir tout faire... La G.O.R vous emmene le long de la cote pour vous faire decouvrir differents points de vue sur les roches sculptees par le temps et la puissance de l Ocean du Sud. Je ne vais pas detailler chacun de nos stops (parce qu au final, ce sont des roches et encore des roches), et je vous laisse regarder les photos. Sachez en tout cas que cette partie de la G.O.R necessite une bonne journee et est fortement conseillee, en voiture ou en tour organise.

Ce n est pas fini, apres un petit passage dans les hauteurs du Cape Otway, la route revient sur la cote pour vous faire apprecier des baies magnifiques, propres et bordees de villas luxueuses. Autant la premiere moitie n etait pas habitee, autant cette partie, situee a quelques kilometres de Melbourne, est tres developpee pour une population aisee et touristique. La route vous emmene de cape en baie, de rochers en plages de sable blanc, pour le plaisir des yeux et pour des souvenirs inoubliables.

A partit de la, Melbourne nous ouvrait ses portes, donnant l acces a son quartier d affaires et ses buildings modernes. Mais vous en saurez plus dans le prochain article. Notre arrivee a Melbourne marquait aussi la fin de notre voyage avec George, qui avait decide de prendre un avion pour la Tasmanie.

On a essaye pour vous... la plongee sous-marine sur Gili T

After all the adversity and hard traveling, we finally made it to the Gili Islands. The first time we are properly at a beach with soft sand and bright sun. The reason why we persisted to get there no matter what was so that we could pass our PADI Open Water Diver Certificate. This certificate would allow us to go scuba diving down to 18m anywhere in the world. It is the baby course of the scuba diving world, but to us, this was the most eye-opening experience ever.

We enrolled into one of the many diving schools along the Gili Trawangan beach front and began the course straight away. It cost us US$350 each, which includes theory, pool practices, and 4 dives in the sea with the instructor (throwing in a t-shirt as well). The theory taught us the basics of how scuba diving works with chapters beginning with bouyancy and equalising, to compass reading and first aid. The pool practices (as with all comparisons between theory and practice), really got the ball rolling as we learnt how to actually breathe underwater! The feelings and sensations were surreal when we slowly started to trust our regulators (mouth piece for breathing) and convince our brain that we were not in danger. And that was only the beginning!

We had our first real dive on the second day. We sailed out with our instructor and crew, and we reached the spot, we did our 'buddy checks'. As buddies, Antoine and I were responsible for each other's safety as well as our own.  We were to double check the equipment, know each other's sign signals in the water and be reactive when the other needed help. Not that I wouldn't go to his aid immediately anyway, but that was the definition of 'buddies'.

Satisfied visitor of the big and beautiful sea!
Sourire stressee d une debutante en plongee, juste avant le grand saut

So what went on in the dive? Personally, I found it mind-boggling. The first impact into the real sea sent me on a real adrenaline high. All my senses were tingling. First there was the sound. All you could hear were the bubbles you blow out and the mechanical inhale you make. No sound of waves, of seagulls, of chatter. Just your breath. Then there was the sight. To see myself and Antoine totally immersed in water, wearing suits and goggles and tanks, just added to the disbelief. I was aware of everything, from the tiny particles floating in the water, to the darkness of the water below me. When our master signaled for us to descend, I grabbed my BCD (buoyancy control device) and let the air out. That was when I started to really feel what being underwater was like. 'Wet' isn't even the right word. Just a sense of lightness. Everything was happening in slow motion, nobody was in a hurry, not even the marine life when they saw us. As long as we kept our distance, all the fish, the crustacians, the turtles went on with their normal routines.

Of the four dives, the most memorable one would be the dive to the ship wreck. It didn't look like a ship anymore, but more like a beautifully sculpted reef sitting on the flat sea bed. We made a round of the ship, swimming by stone fish, spaghetti worms, nemo, lion fish, eels and giant sea turtles. The biggest difference between snorkling and scuba diving is that when you're scuba diving, you are swimming with the marine life, not just observing them from above. The creatures were much more relaxed deeper in the sea – they were aware of you, but would not dart away when you swim by.

At the very end we had to complete a final paper exam. Antoine and I felt like students again, chewing on our pencil ends, and peeking at each other's paper for the answers. But all that aside, it was very fair and we passed (with flying colours obviously). And a couple of signatures and stamps later, we became official PADI Open Water Divers!

Having completed our course, we had 3 days of relaxation before our flight to Australia. Naturally, we spent it completing our tans, enjoying some snorkling off the beaches, and taking advantage of the ultra cheap drinks in the bars. We were lucky enough to meet some really fun people from Holland, England and Ireland who were all happy to celebrate with us. HK$10 for a double vodka mixer? Yes Please! We also tried the local specialty – Vodka Joss. Upon ordering it, you get a shot of local brewed vodka and a packet... The packet contained a  sort of powdered 'red bull' which tastes very sweet and foams as soon as it comes in contact with water. I'm not sure why, but I had about 4 of them in one night, which resulted in the night going by very quickly (“5am already?!”) and the next morning still buzzing with caffeine. On one night we learnt the British game of “Flip the Cup” which consists of 2 teams relaying beer drinking. The trick is, after a player finishes his cup (about 3 fingers full), he needs to turn his cup upside down on the edge of the table and flip the cup back on its bottom before the next player can start. Very fiddley after a couple of rounds.

We were very sad to leave the Gili Island. We had made some good friends, and got to know some of the locals. But we had a lot to look forward to – exploring the great Oz! It also won't be long before we get to Brisbane and get our feet wet in the Great Barrier Reef to try out our new skill!

Apres notre interminable trajet pour rejoindre Bali, ou nous ne sommes finalement pas restes, nous avons rejoind Gili T, la plus grande du trio d iles.

Sur place, pas de voitures, pas d eau courante, electricite uniquement par generateur, et pourtant une destination totalement didiee au tourisme. On y vient pour sa plage interminable de sable blanc, pour ses coraux tres accessibles, pour ses bars, et pour ne penser a rien d autre que de profiter de moments de detente.

Notre motivation principale pour aller sur l ile etait de passer notre brevet de plongee, qui nous permettra par la suite d aller faire un tour sur la Grande Barriere de Corail en Australie. Le brevet est repute etre moins cher dans la region, et les plongees nous ont ete decrites comme le monde de Nemo. Nous avons donc consacre nos 4 premiers jours entierement a la plongee. D abord, il faut visionner 5 videos pour bien maitriser la theorie, le tout etant sanctionner par un test final que nous avons brillament majore ! Ensuite, un petit tour en piscine pour decouvrir les equipements et nous familiariser avec le respiration sous-marine. Nous maitre de plongee, Kyle, nous fait faire quelques excercices pour juger nos aptitudes (exceptoinnelles a n en pas douter...) et pour nous donner les reflexes a avoir.

Et finallement, le moment de notre premiere plongee en plein mer est arrive ! Sur notre bateau en bois, nous avons enfile les equipements avec la meme precision qu autour de la piscine : wet suit (je ne connais pas le nom en francais, ceinture de plomb pour nous eviter de fotter, BCD pour nous faire fotter, sur lequel sont deja attaches tous nos tuyaux (celui pour gonfler ou degonfler le BCD, celui pour respirer, celui de secours pour respirer, et celui pour les jauges) la bombonne d air, les palmes, masque et tuba. Ainsi equipes, nous nous asseyons sur le bord du bateau, prets a basculer en arriere comme dans le Grand Bleu. Derniere verification d usage, le coeur qui bat un peu fort, et soudain c est le grand splash, encore mieux qu au parc Asterix !

Apres quelques mots echanges a la surface avec Kyle, nous entammons la descente. Un peu chaotique pour moi puisque je ne coulais pas et Kyle a du me rejouter du plomb dans les poches. Finalement tout se passe bien, on est a 12 metres en dessous de la surface, “en apesenteur” puisqu en gonflant un peu le BCD notre poids nous permet de rester au meme niveau. Autour de nous, tout n est pas aussi transparent et fantastique qu on l esperait puisqu il y a beaucoup de courant et la visibilite est mediocre. Malgre tout, la sensation de respirer sous l eau est exceptionnelle, et nous avons eu l occasion de voir une tortue, quelques coraux et plusieurs poissons etranges. Voir Jen et Kyle nager avec leurs bouteilles d air, les bulles s echapent au-dessus de leur tete, me rappelait au bons souvenirs du commandant Cousteau et de ses documentaires sub-aquatiques.

Nos trois autres plongees (notre apprentissage comprennait 4 plongees au total), nous ont permis de voir des poissons clowns (orange et blanc comme dans Nemo), des murenes, plein de tortues, et une multitude de poissons que je ne saurai nommer. L eau etait beauoup plus claire, les coraux magnifiques et colores, et nous sommes descendus jusqu a 18 metres, le maximum autorise. Nous avons passe une de nos plongee autour d une epave de 50 metres de long, et une autre sous un gros orage ou on pouvait voir les eclairs, et a notre sortie, la pluie, le vent et le bruit des eclairs rendait le tout assez effrayant...

Au final, nous avons vecu une experience innoubliable, et nous avons obtenu le droit de plonger en bouteille pour le reste de notre vie. Bientot la Grande Barriere !!

Le reste de notre sejour sur Gili T s est termine en soirees arrosees et parties de Uno dechainees sur la plage en journee avec un groupe de neerlandais rencontres sur place. Nous sommes retourner faire un tour au dessus des coraux plusieurs fois, mais sans bouteille d air. Equipes d un masque et tuba, nous avons pris en photos tortues et poissons que vous pouvez voir dans l album Java and Gili T.

Nous sommes actuellement en Australie, et vous aurez bientot un article sur nos premieres aventures !

Sans la bouteille d air, mais en free dive dans les coraux
Antoine indicating with his fins for oncoming sea traffic