Driving the Great Ocean Road
Trip Start
Dec 27, 2009
1
19
36
Trip End
Mar 10, 2011
Torquay, Victoria, Australia
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
With Alice heading off to New Zealand, Fiji and Thailand before home, and Adam heading off to Sydney with Vanessa, it was time for me to head off on the road again... My first week's plan was the Great Ocean Road... Not having done many road trips in my lifetime (yet) I was very excited, this is one of the top drives to do on the planet.
I was armed with my shiny new Toyota Corolla from Hertz which happened to be the cheapest deal I could find, and I specifically got a manual this time... I wanted a proper driving experience, not this automatic malarky! Unfortunately, it being all modern with all this great technology, it had 6 bloody gears which meant the reverse was lift up and push to top left.... I HATE that. 6th gear ain't much use to you on the Great Ocean Road either with all its twists, turns and hills.
So off I went, I manoeuvred out of Melbourne city centre without too much hassle, avoiding those dodgy tram right-hand turns and any toll roads.
The G.O.R. officially starts at the golf course just outside the town of Torquay, which was my first stop. Mum had sent me on a list of my relatives which I was to track down too! Never met them before and wasn't sure they actually existed 'til now... so it would be interesting!
I arrived around lunchtime to Torquay. I wandered along Whites Beach and took in the fresh sea air. I checked into my hostel, Bells Beach Lodge. I visited the home of Rip Curl and had a look around the other outlets... Billabong and Quicksilver etc.. I was too broke to buy anything, but this place is surfing central! The Rip Curl Pro Surfing Competition, part of the world tour, was starting that day at Bells Beach, just a couple of miles out of town. Off I went...
The juniors were out, the lads. They were seriously good for young fellas but the surf wasn't great apparently, even though I thought the waves were still pretty big, but what do I know really! Its pretty small scale, the beach isn't all that big. You park in a big field, there's not much on facilities side of things, its purely about the surfing. They do have a music fest over the wknd though.... I decided I would come back on the Friday when it all kicked off properly over the Easter bank holiday weekend when the pros would be out in force. I watched the lads for a couple of hours... Scary how close to the rocks they get. It breaks right to left here. Apparently if the surf is bad for the pros they sometimes move the whole operation down along the coast to better surf.
I pitstopped at Anglesea golf club where hundreds of Kangaroos lounge about on the fairways and greens as the golfers try and play around them.... really funny. They are completely oblivious to the fact they are causing so much hassle.
Later that evening I met up with some Lahiffs, or 'Lay-hiff's as they pronounce it here in Australia. Having looked up the phonebook in Melbourne for relatives I almost fell over seeing how many Lahiffs were in there... My relatives here were Alex and Phyllis - they had a lovely home close to the water in Jan Juc, between Torquay and Bells Beach. Their three children are my second cousins - Kylie, Chris and Jason, all married with kids (or about to get married) and all three lived close by. We had a nice chat, looking at photos of family and I told them what I could recall of the Lahiffs in Limerick. They fed me and everything, and showed me the sun setting over the beach. I said I would come back on Friday at the end of the week when I was passing back through to Melbourne airport. Phyllis also gave me details of Alex's sisters on the East coast to look up, more cousins to track down! We're everywhere apparently. They also gave me tips on what to do on the G.O.R. I went back to my backpackers that night and apologised that I couldn't stay but I had had that booked already.
Twas just me and the road for the next three days... Airleys inlet was my first stop. It was lovely, I walked out to the lighthouse there and all around. It is the 'Round-the-Twist' lighthouse if anyone watched that as a kid? Had fantastic Devonshire tea at the teahouse next door- proper tea with leaves and strainer and pot.... and 'to-die-for' scones with raspberry jam and fresh cream. They were beautiful, still hot outta the oven. Yum yum. Better than England, not that I've been to Devon yet though!
Lorne was next... another beautiful little town... lying out on the beach. Good surf down there. Nice little shops. Fish n Chips were very good although, there's NO VINEGAR! An outrage really... fish and chips should automatically have vinegar with them, but they just don't seem to do it in this country.
All the little towns I came across in the G.O.R. were perfectly done out and maintained. Like every one of them had just won the tidy-towns competition or something. They are very proud of their hometowns here. There is no littering. Its not just that its not allowed, but the locals just don't do it. The facilities you need are all there, easy to find and clean. Parking, toilets, drinking water, picnic tables, places to eat, kids playgrounds, shade, showers and changing rooms for the beach, surf shops...
I arrived in Apollo Bay in the evening. The driving was class. I was loving the freedom of having a car all to myself and the freedom of being able to stop or drive up any road I wanted randomly... I pulled over for views and snapped pics and followed signs to random places... I sung along to the radio perhaps a little too loudy but who cares. There are signs about every 50 yards here, especially on the bendy bits, which is most of it. There are two sets of signs, the normal white one which gives you the speed limit, then just before every bend there is a yellow sign with a suggested limit for each bend, some are 35, 40, 45, 50, 25, 20, 65, 55.... they do it to the nearest 5 like, ridiculous... Though occasionally it was helpful, the 20 signs were where you really do need to slow the hell down or you WILL go flying over the cliff to your death, 90 degrees or more turns were fairly common like... Twas like a rally circuit, feckin' great!
Checking into Apollo Bay backpackers I contemplated what to do for the evening... there didn't seem to be much to do in this town and it seemed a waste to stay in the hostel...
I jumped in the car and continued down the G.O.R.... I had it in my head that it would be class to see the Twelve Apostles at sunset. I hadn't realised just how far it was and was unsure the exact time the sun would set, and the drive was over mountains! Difficult driving, but cool! Free wheeling down mountains and bends... I missed sunset by about 10 minutes :( I was gutted, it was such a long drive and I was tired. But the colours were still in the sky.... the apostles were awesome, my first glimpse... sticking out of the ocean, giant, yellow, waves crashing against them below... I watched the sun disappear completely on one side and the moon rise up from the other. You could actually see it rising, or I suppose we were the ones moving as it were. The apostles were then lit up by the full moon.... it was a beautiful sight. It was chilly out there, I had my hoodie on. There wasn't much light and people were heading back to their cars before it got pitch black out there.
I wandered back to the car, facing the long drive home. The twists and turns were easier in the dark though... you could see the cars coming, plus there was NO ONE on the road anyway. I did come VERY close to hitting a ROO however, he jumped right out in front of me from the verge, a big red fella and then he decided against it and jumped back, I swerved a tiny bit, but I wasn't going that fast... still if I had hit him he would've damaged the rental and that would've cost me serious dosh, as I hadn't taken out the reduced excess option, so it was indeed a close one! He gave me a bit of a shock too!
I was glad to get to my bed that night... I slept like a log.
Next morning, I got up and did the exact same drive again, very different in the sun though. And I made plenty of stops enroute this time. Saw a couple of waterfalls, little mini hike down to them. I did a nice little walk in the rainforest at Mait's Rest, beautiful ferns overhanging a solid timber circular boardwalk. Cape Otway lighthouse was a nice little pitstop, although there wasn't a massive amount to see, it was cool to hear the stories of the ship wrecks and get into the inside of a lighthouse and feel the power of the wind... on the drive up I saw Koalas up in the trees... dangerous trying to look up so high while driving however! :/
Arriving at the twelve apostles this time the sun was out and it was beautiful... I took a LOT of pictures, trying to get that one to blow up and put on the wall when I get home. There's lots of different viewing points along the coast to pull in and see them. I went down to the beaches, I saw 'London Bridge' and the blow holes, Loch Ard. This place is a geography teachers dream! I'm not sure where they pulled the figure 12 out of.... I think there was twelve at one stage but a couple have fallen into the water now, and I'd say a couple of more are lining up for the same fate. It is pretty powerful erosion to create them in the first place after all.
I caught the sun starting to go down at the Bay of Martyrs ( a mini version of the Apostles) Beautiful beaches there, with the gigantic rock formations out at sea in the distance and seaweed strewn all over the beach, not a soul around.... I messed around with the camera for ages and lay out on the beach.
That night I stayed at Port Fairy, seemingly a very Irish place. I passed 'Killarney' on the way into the town. The little town itself was quite cute, Irish names here and there, nice little cafes and that. I checked into the YHA hostel and pretty much conked out for the night after a feed of noodles. The German in my room was pretty quiet....
I took a very quick drive and stroll around the next day... nice little fishing village... I didn't really have the time to explore the Irishness of the place further though.... All of a sudden it was Friday.... I was due back in Torquay that evening, I had promised to get back for Chris Lahiff's Good Friday Fish BBQ, it was several hours of a drive back, and I wanted to catch some of the surfing competition too, which should have been in full swing by now. I hit the highway, a faster way back, inland....
An hour or two in, as I was zooming along in my 6th gear, trying to stay awake, out of the corner of my eye I saw blue lights flashing in my mirror... 'FUUUCK!!' It was the cops, in a black unmarked car, I didn't know how long he had even been there for... I found a safe spot and pulled over. I was shitting it. This was the first time I'd been pulled over in my life. I turned off the radio, rolled down the window and waited for my fate... The only thought going through my head was speeding, I must have been speeding, I must have missed an 80kph sign, SHIIITE! I didn't think I was speeding, I always keep it just below the 100 and cruise along and generally don't speed... honestly like! Shit shit shit... I was sickened, I had heard the fines were enormous here.... ... he approached the window. The conversation went a little something like this:
Hello Sir
G'day.... eh you were talking on your mobile phone?
(in complete shock and confusion) No Sir I wasn't, honestly I wasn't!
Can I see your phone please?
*pulled phone out of my pocket and showed it to him*
I thought he was gonna look at my last calls log or something but he didn't.
Is this a rental car?
Yes (feeling this was somehow a knock against me)
Can I see your license?
*fumbled around for the krappy piece of pink paper in my wallet in my bag which is my license and handed it to him*
Ok, I'm just gonna check this out
*Officier goes back to his car and bangs in my reg and license into his computer*
Thoughts running through my head: What the f**k? I wasn't on the phone, I don't do that ever, how can he fine me for that? Thank god the phone wasn't sitting on the seat. Oh shit maybe I was speeding too or did something else, oh please don't fine me, please don't fine me.
*Officer comes up to the window again*
Ok Miss I'm going to take your word for it this time (in a very unconvinced manner)
Ok thank you Sir, I was just listening to the radio. Wasn't on the phone.
*He hands back my license* Alright
Thanks
*He heads back to his car*
As I was driving off I saw him spin around back to his hideout waiting for his next victim. B*sturd, pulling over anybody randomly, scaring the krap outta people, on a gung-ho mission! This was the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, they were out to get people.
Though I was completely innocent, I realised I was lucky to get away without a fine, or even points on my license. I most certainly was not on the phone. On later thoughts on what had happened to me, I realised why he pulled me over, what he had seen... I had been singing (quite enthusastically) to the radio to stay awake... I had done a lot of driving the last few days and I was feeling it now. I fit the description of the typical offender for being on the phone while driving.... a lone young female. He saw me talking away to myself and thought I was on the phone. Thing is, if my phone had been on the seat beside me and not in my pocket, which it often is, he never would never have believed me and I would've got a giant fine.
I was actually a bit shaken up for the rest of the drive back to Torquay... Pissed off too, typical me being pulled over and completely innocent. But it could've been worse, I could've missed an 80 zone, which is pretty easy to do. The limit changes so bloody often here.
So that was my run in with the law in Australia.... hopefully I'll keep it at that for the duration of my stay here! But people beware! They are out to get you here! If you do anything out of order on the roads they WILL catch you... Enforcement here is WAY ahead of Ireland and England.... I'll never get used to it.
Back to Bells Beach - the surfing was finishing up for the day ... the women were still out. I watched one of the heats, Sofia Mulanovich vs Claire Bevilacqua. Mulanovich was seriously good, she ended up coming runner up to Steph Gilmore ( considered the best woman surfer on the planet) .... despite the waves being not so good, they certainly made the most of them, riding them out to the very end.... Right on the rocks... Scary but very impressive.
I gotta learn how to surf while I'm here in Australia, its the culture after all!
Chris collected me from the hostel for the BBQ at his place, insisting I didn't drive and have a few drinks. So I brought a bottle of wine in tow. It was lovely to chill out with the locals. I met his 3 young girls, also my cousins I guess! They've a lovely house too. He cooked up a smashing BBQ, fish of course for Good Friday, and loads of salad n potatoes, yum yum.
I had half a bottle of wine and chatted away for the night.... lovely outdoor culture they have! I went out with Jason and a couple of his Norwegian friends that night in Jan Juc. A few too many Jager-bombs were had... Jason was about to get married in Norway and the whole family were headed over. Phyllis came to collect me and dropped me back to the hostel that night, at all hours of the morning. I felt pretty bad :/ she didn't seem to mind though.
I continued on at the hostel, the place was packed to the rafters, the cheapest place in town to stay, its was full for the surfing comp which is very popular with the backpackers. I hung out with about 7/8 guys in the garden out the back 'til I was absolutely wrecked and had to go to bed. I was also the only girl in my room.... surfer dudes everywhere! :) I wasn't complaining. Its a pity I couldn't stay for more surfing and the music festival, but I was out of there early the next morning, I had more relatives to meet and a plane to catch!
Heading back to Melbourne - I had directions to Michael and Alida Lahiff's home in the suburb of Niddrie, which happened to be close enough to the airport. Lovely spot and lovely home. This was Alex's brother, so again their kids were my second cousins. They were very interested in Limerick and had met Mum and Dad a few years back. They took me out for a smashing breakfast in a nearby cafe which set me up for the day... too good to me again.
I had to head off to the airport to catch my plane to Sydney after a while... They gave me directions to the airport.
I gave back car... drove it carefully for four days and there wasn't a scratch or a scuff on it, so I wasn't taking any shit. Turns out the Aussie guy who greeted me from Hertz was married to a Limerick woman... he gave me my receipt and didn't even give the car a check over.... He was just dying for a chat with a Limerick woman! Fine by me...
No more car :( the bag was back on my back, I checked in for my Virgin Blue flight, and waited for my first internal flight in Oz, of which there would be many.
I had loved the Great Ocean Road, I would happily do it again tomorrow, even though I gave it 3 to 4 days, you could easily drive about for a week. Its a lovely place to chill out and relax... Nature at its finest, small towns at their very best and friendly locals. Again, I have a feeling I'll be back here.... Plus I now have relatives on the road :)
