Great Ocean Road
Trip Start
Jul 07, 2004
1
127
147
Trip End
Dec 24, 2006
Robe, Australia
Monday, October 30, 2006
OH yeah by the way, Ive just unlocked my Yahoo photos, so some should be coming your way shortly...but ones from Malaysia...I;ll try to send some from Indonesia and OZ.
Ok back to the story.
The 6 of us headed out of the city in the direction of Apollo Bay (our sleeping destination)...a tiny town situated in a bay (gee, that was clever) amongst the wild jagged twisty snakey up and downy coastline leading to Adelaide. The Great Ocean Road runs parallel to the most magnificent coastline in the world, and was created by World War II vets who came back and wanted to give something back to the Australian people. On the way to out we stopped at the world famous Bell's Beach...where some of the best surf competitions take place. Well the water was cold, so I only managed to submerge the tips of my toes before they went blue...instantly. No I didnt go swimming...but the beach and the surf was impressive, so I enjoyed it from the cliff's edge.
Unfortunately, the beautiful weather we had the first day, completely vanished, and instead huge black clouds hovered above...with the added sprinkle of gusty winds. Oh and the best part...the first thing scheduled for that morning, was a walk through the rain forest of Otway Ranges...well it was pouring, and I was in no mood. Yes, I know, you will say, but its a rainforest, it should rain. And that is true...but not when its like 10C and raining...thats not fun. I think Jen will agree to that one...we've had our fair share of soggy clothes and freezing winds in Costa Rica. But unfortunately, I had no choice, and off I went...on a stroll in the rainforest. By the end of the 20min walk I was comletely soaked...and the worst was that I was already wearing my warmest clothes...and we still had a whole day ahead of us....sigh.
By now I was feeling miserable, but like a good sport, I contined on jumping in and out of the bus for each scheduled viewpoint. We went through the stunning rock formations also known as the 12 Apostles...although there are only 9 left now...the other ones coroded away and fell into the sea. The wind picked up now, and Im not even joking, I had to hold on to the rainling, otherwise it would blow me over the edge. Oh what fun. But the scenery was worth it...that was my mantra for the next few days. We all know how much I just love sight seeing when its miserable outside. But I will stay positive, and stress how beautiful is the coastline. And strangely, the weird effects of the dark sky above painting the sea a deep gray colour and the howling winds creating massive waves made everything look supernatural. Yes, Ive got millions of photos...I bought a 1gig card just for this sort of stuff. So prepare yourselves people...when Im back (whenever that will be), we'll have a slide show.
Since the coastline is insanely wild, it is scattered with hundreds of shipwreks who tried to make their way from Europe to this new found land of gold. Unfortunately you cannot see the wreks, but the locations are impressive. Seeing what this sea can do, I admire the men who attempted these waters. So off we went to the Loch Ard Gorge, then on to London Bridge (which comes with a funny story: aparently a few years ago, a couple from Melbourne, who was cheating on their spouses, decided to call in sick to work to come out for a day trip. While walking across the arch better known as London Bridge, the brittle unstable stone gave way, and the whole thing collapsed under their feet. They were unharmed, but the media went crazy...and you can imagine the surprise of the employers and the sposes when they watched the 7 o'clock news....ha ha...that will teach you to lie.)...andyways, so the London Bridge fell down...sorry, couldnt resist. Next on the itiniary was a superb grotto, Bay of Martyrs, which has a gruesome story about the white man massacaring the aboriginal people, the Bay of Islands, and Logan's Beach (where unfortunately we just missed the whales passing through by about 3 weeks. This cold rainy day was finished with yet another walk...this time in the Tower Hill National Park. I was so not in the mood...but Im glad I got my ass out of the car, as when I was wondering around the park, I heard a branch snap just about 2 meters away from me...I turned suddenly (startled of course), and saw a cute mama koala with a baby attached to her back, jumping from tree to tree. I walked over, we both stared at each other for a while, but I think she must have gotten bored of my sight, as she scurried up the tree and started munching on some eucalyptus leaves. Now, I want to be a koala...they have such simple lives...sleep and eat all day...and they are so cute...everyone loves them.
Our overnight stop was at Port Fairy...apparently a cute little town, but as it was really cold, windy, and wet...none of us wanted to leave the hostel...so instead, we vegged in front of the fireplace aimlessly watching television.
2 more action packed days to go...so off we went to try to see some seals. But unfortunatley my heart was broken when they said the waves were too high and the boat wasnt going out. Sign...and this is what I was most looking forward to...well I guess I will have to try in NZ. Fingers crossed. So instead, we did another walk along the coast line...into the petrified forest. Hmmm, was Harry here?
Off to catch a glimpse of a blue lake...and I mean it was blue...so cool...like a beautiful turquoise....and then see some sink holes turned into city gardens.
I spent that night in the poshest, stunning, historic hostel. They turned an old mannor houses into a superb hostel...with 12foot ceiling rooms with french bay windows and fireplaces, a massive kitchen, an ultra modern TV room, and to top it off...the old library was left intackt with mohogany floor to ceiling bookshelves, plush leather couches...and a roaring fireplace. The only thing missing was an old man with a pipe. So I grabbed my book and snuggled underneath my very own douvet in front of the fire. Ahhh....life is good.
The last day was yet again action packed and continued to delight my sense of sight with stops off to climb massive sand dunes, visit more jagged beaches, watching whales (well not exactly...more like granite rock formations resembling beached whales), spotting pelicans, sipping wines, tasting some bush tukker in the Aboriginal Culture Centre on the Coorong National Park...and best of all sampling my very first Kangaroo. Yes, I know they are cute, but so are rabbits, and I eat them. Oh and yes, for all those curious ones...it does taste yummy...and no it doesnt taste like chicken. Its more like sweeter and super lean beef.
We arrived in Adelaide in the late afternoon...and I set out to check out a few wine tours. Afterall, I am now in the Barrosa region.
