The Twelve Apostles along the Great Ocean Road in Australia

During the winter school break when I was at the Yeshivah studying in Melbourne, many of the overseas boys went skiing. I decided that I had not traveled from Canada to Australia to go skiing. Australia is not known for its great skiing.

I decided instead to take some time bicycling along the Great Ocean Road and some of the surrounding National Parks. It was my first long bicycle trip.

Some of my memories:

1. I had with me a meimar (a Chassidic discourse) from the Rabbi Yossef Yitzchock Schneerson. I remember being cuddled in my sleeping bag at night, studying for a few hours by flashlight.

2. The tent fell off my bicycle halfway through the trip.  The tent poles were still attached to the bike. I noticed within 20 minutes of having left my campsite. I covered the route a few times searching for the tent but never found it. One car passed me during that time along the dirt road and my guess is that they picked it up.

3. Seeing whales along the shore.

4. Shocking Israeli travelers. I’d be at a lookout and someone would start a conversation with me. Halfway through I’d take off the bicycle helmet, revealing underneath a kippah. It always surprised them to see a religious guy traveling by bicycle with tefillin, a siddur, and keeping kosher.

5. I rode into one seaside town late in the afternoon. I was looking out at the ocean, and heard someone shout “Hey, you want a schnitzel?” I turned around and found a few of the older students standing over a BBQ. It was a random chance at meeting them, and I was delighted for the kosher hot BBQ’d schnitzel.

If you do visit Australia it’s worth a trip along the Great Ocean Road. There are many lookout spots along the way that make for a lovely place to have a kosher picnic.