Lorne Waterfalls and Torquay
February 16, 2024
A good morning after a beautiful sunset.
I was determined today that at some point I would find a better solution for my window covers, one I can have better privacy while chilling in my car at night in campgrounds, and two to ideally make it blackout enough to stealth camp even better if needed. But first lets do some stuff.
A fairly local day, I woke up and decided not to go back down to Beauchamp Falls to take more photos with my camera (although I 50% regret that now, just because I wish I had one or two on my camera) because most of the people that arrived late at night were going down for a walk in the morning to check it out and that meant I wouldn’t have the falls to myself to take photos like I did the day before, definitely not alone to go for a cool dip. That’s okay I’ll jump in another waterfall pond along the trip.
After another improved breakfast, I started the drive for the day of exploring. Since I made my way back east in Victoria I was fairly close to Lorne, so thought I would go check some of the waterfalls out in the area. I punched one into google maps, and let me tell you there were lots of NARROW winding gravel one way roads that I thankfully didn’t encounter anyone on. I were basically going 40km/h most of the way at that point. It even told me I reached my destination at one point, but I most definitely didn’t. So I drove a few minutes more and found a half decent place to park. Note to self, don’t use directions from google maps if you clicked on a “point of interest” on the map. Just because it is a point of interest doesn’t mean google takes you to the nearest parking area, just the closest you can get to the point of interest. :/ so if I am ever needing directions for a hike of any size, use all trails since it almost always brings you to the parking area for the trail head.
I did find the trail head, I walked 1km to find a teeny waterfall, it was nice and a good way to stretch my legs, but on my walk back I decided to detour to find another waterfall in the area, not realizing it was an additional 3km away until I was near it, and I was doing this walk (more like a hike at this point) in my birkenstocks… oopsies. So my 2km morning walk turned into 8km hike in sandals, with no sports mode. It all worked out and I only got a small blister under my foot.
After the waterfalls I drove into Lorne, without google maps, because again it was being weird and wanted me to do a big detour back on the narrow windy gravel road for 45min, instead of continuing on the road I was on for like 10 min lol. I stopped in Lorne to fill up my water jug, make lunch, look up potential places to sleep and decide my next move. I didn’t feel like staying in Lorne so I decided to go check out Torquay and hang there for the afternoon, go to find supplies for the window coverings, and hopefully swim in the ocean. And I did all that. I found some black poster board and tape, walked around Torquay quickly, went into some stores; got a blanket from a thrift shop, checked out the OG Ghanda store, bought a new bikini from Roxy (treat yourself) because I finally got the rest of my final pay and went for a wonderful swim in the ocean which helped me get rid of some of my stink lol. I need to find better ways to clean myself on the road. I half showered using the outdoor showers to rinse yourself off once you come out of the ocean, and then quickly shampooed my hair in a public toilet sink. Good enough for me!
The campground I found for the night was fairly close by and I was able to get a decent spot. A nice wooded area with toilets, clearly marked stalls, and lots of space for others. Once parked I started my crafting and making some window coverings. With the boards I bought, I got the two rear windows done, I used the other window reflectors I had to piece together a few more for more rear windows, and then I ran out of tape. But I got the bulk of my sleeping area done and figured out how to install and remove them easily. The back and front window I swapped reflectors, and they almost fit perfect. So now I only have the two front windows to do, but need to get more tape before embarking on that one.
Otherwise, another good day and productive evening!