We have arrived in Orbost......after 76 km on the road in beautiful Victorian sunshine.......(see it can happen Jo!)
Serious doubts have been thrown on the accuracy of Carolyn's notes on road conditions that she made on her reconnaissance drive down the Princes Hwy 7 weeks ago.....for today, the notes just read - "tough first half, then rolling hills"......these inspiring words kept Carolyn going for the first 45km with some expectation of easing of the climbs, but after scaling (slowly) Mount Raymond around the 60 km mark, it did seem that the rolling hills had just rolled away completely and questions were being asked as to where Carolyn had actually been when she penned those words......
Nevertheless, with the wonderful blue sky and some warmth (in stark contrast to Friday's entry into Victoria) Carolyn was so quick that she caught PJ and Jo unawares in an Orbost cafe just about to take their first sip of a coffee....none of the usual cheering and handing out of food....as they requested Carolyn to take a few more laps around Orbost so they could finish their coffee in peace!
We were met in Orbost by Susan Grout who has been our person on the ground across Gippsland orgainsing all manner of things....who welcomed us and handed over the key to our accomm for the night. The rest of the day consisted of a late picnic lunch in the sunshine, a quick walk around the town - including an intriguing visit to the sensory garden......ask us about that one later!.....a phone link up with Doncaster Church of Christ and then a superb chicken curry courtesy of PJ. After a few organisational phone calls and emails to the team in Melbourne organising the Freedom Celebration concert, Carolyn managed to sleep through most of the DVD action video that was chosen for the evening's entertainment.
Tomorrow to Lakes Entrance and finally an end to the hill section of the Tour.......645 km down and 393 km to go!!!!!
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