Meet in the Sandwich

Travelling along the two wonderful coast roads – the Great Ocean drive from Melbourne to Warrnambool and the Sapphire Coast and other sections from Melbourne to Sydney  - I noticed that there was a sandwich effect. In the former the middle is filled with farmland, in the latter by pensioners. The bread on the outside is made of resorts catering for city people heading out for the weekend.

It’s the bits in the middle that are interesting for they reflect an earlier time. For instance, In Lorne or Jervis Bay, located in the bread zone, you get waiter service in restaurants.

Waitress service for the discerning traveller

Whereas in meaty Apollo Bay or Mallacoota you go to the counter and order. It kind of reflects days gone past, for these restaurants are big. They seem to cover acres and are able to take 100’s at a sitting. One waitress in Narooma said that they even have to turn customers away in the summer months, Maybe not so often once we all discovered cheap flights to South East Asia, as in Spain from the UK.

Or catering for the multitude

Who can be demanding

And know what they like

But I am only surmising. What I do know is that it makes these places quaint and interesting, the sort of place I may like to retire to. And don’t assume that relative isolation means they do not have all the facilities essential to us oldies. There may not be a local hospital but if you have a heart attack then they Medivac you out by air to the nearest major city. And the dentist comes once every few weeks to do a mass check up. 

You see, I researched this just in case. In between hand it is just peace and quiet, and beautiful scenery. Plus you get to meet really interesting people in the restaurant while waiting to place your order.

Retire to splendid isolation