Great Ocean Road-Trip
Trip Start
Mar 14, 2006
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275
374
Trip End
Mar 15, 2007
Melbourne, Australia
Monday, December 11, 2006
The morning didn't get much better on finding no trams before 7am having to leg it down to the pick-up point for the day's trip down the Great Ocean Road, still grumbling about having to resort to the tour option without my own set of wheels. Or a car.
The bus driver appeared amazingly cheery for this time of the morning especially after only just getting back to work after an operation for skin cancer (also dubbed Australia's national cancer) making sure to our small group there was a bottle of sun tan cream up front for anyone who needed it.
Having scored the front passenger seat of the mini-bus things started off well even with having to endure the driver's 'music to match the scenery' starting off with It's a Beautiful Day followed by Heading West. Think Wake Up it's a Beautiful Morning would have been better though.
Our first stop was the famous top surfing beach of Bell's Beach known for it's big surf and with the water being an almost mirror like calm today.
With a haze from the bush fires in (Burn Baby Burn) northern Victoria obscuring the view a little I could still pick out the lighthouse from the kids TV show I used to watch "Going round the twist" disappointed its catchy theme tune was not on the driver's play list.
Some kind of triathlon was underway in Lorne where we stopped for a drink with the sea almost covered in kayaks making it almost seem like you could hop down the coast with out getting your feet wet.
Continuing along the Winding Road we stopped at an area known as a place to spot wild Koalas with quite a few of the furry bundles asleep in the trees. Please Don't Call me a Koala Bear.
Lunch at Apollo Bay was followed by a stop at Mait's Rest Rainforest for a short walk not taken long to realize why it's name sake came here to relax.
With all its cringe worthy music and despite the fact the combined age of most of the rest on the bus was greater than the age of Australia itself I couldn't help but really like the trip. Maybe it was something I ate for breakfast or the lack of it but I'd certaingly rate it as one of the best tours I've been on so far. Guess playing The Proclaimers swayed me a little at the start.
The highlight of the Great Ocean Road the 12 Apostles was up next a group stacks separated from the coast by sea erosion although a bit of an anti-climax since there are only 8 of them now. Bloody false advertising.
Lord Ard Gorge was a bit further down the road and just as impressive with the area named after the ship that was wrecked here with only 2 survivors. Celine Dion now playing - and suddenly feeling an overwhelming urge to leap out of a moving vehicle.
Having now got London's Bridge is falling Down stuck in my head that was the last stop with the rock formation which once resembled the bridge having now collapse a few years ago stranding a couple having a secret affair at the time (Love on the Rocks) with a TV helicopter news crew coming to interview them. Wonder how he ever explained that one?
Driving back through western Victoria through the dairy farmlands the driver did get one song spot on as I was almost asleep in my seat.
Show me the way to go home.
