I drove from Adelaide to
Melbourne and was told I absolutely HAD to take the Great Ocean Road,
which is Australia's most famous stretch of road that winds 250 km [151 miles]
from Worrnambool to Torquay. And it totally lives up to
the hype! You pass dramatic views of the wild coastline, beautiful beaches
and seaside towns and lush rainforest. Of course you can take the highway to
shave off hours of driving but what fun would that be?! Roll
down the windows and take in the sweet aromas of beach, gum and salt water and
enjoy the ride!
There are plenty of sites to see along
the way with many overnight accommodations. Unfortunately, I was on a time
crunch so I only had one day to make it to Melbourne. I was warned not to drive
at night because the kangaroos come out and can cause serious damage to your
car. With all my stops, I made it from Mt. Gambier to Melbourne in 9 hours. If you took the highway,
it would only take 5 but wouldn't be nearly as beautiful. My first stop was the Bay of Islands Coastal Park, just one
of many lookout points along the way.
For thousand of years,
waves have relentlessly sculpted the soft rock into fascinating rock stacks,
gorges and arches
Next...the Twelve Apostles. They are
the best known rock formations in Victoria.
Today their number has whittled down to six apostles which is visible from the
viewing platforms but still worth a stop.
Then off to Melba Gully, a dense rainforest
in the Great Otway National Park. I meandered along a Madsens Track which is a
short hike of 1.5 km [about 30 minutes] following the Johanna River.
The trail starts off well marked...
Starting to get less clear...
Now where do I go?! Oh
and of course while I was on the 'trail'...alone, I heard the scariest thing!
It sounded like the Predator
and then, I swear, it laughed at me. I thought I might never be seen again. As
you can tell, I made it out alive and came to find out later it was their Kookaburra bird. Talk
about feeling silly!
Johanna River
Next stop…Cape Otway!
The 14 km [about 8.5 miles] drive down to the lighthouse passes through beautiful forest
with heaps of koalas hanging out of the trees close to the road. I didn’t climb
up the lighthouse because there was an intimidating line and it cost $17 per person so I
enjoyed the view from the hiking trail around the Cape for free!
Trail around the Cape
Sign before the trail...doesn't build much confidence, huh?
View from trail...if you look close enough you can see a naval ship passing by on the right
Lunch time!
On to Apollo Bay and dare I say, the most
beautiful place along the Great Ocean Road! It has kept the charm of an
old fishing town with beautiful rolling hills and quiet beaches. It has a good
range of accommodations and restaurants with a low key vibe. So low key, most
restaurants and cafes close down between 2 pm and 5:30 pm. Sorry no late
lunches here! The only place to grab a bite is at the local food court which
serves fish-n-chips.
Apollo Bay...probably top 5 favorite sounds!
Fishing boats
I wasn't lying
Laid-back but with a sense of humor...my kind of place!
Lunch menu for the late comers like myself...
I went with the Fisherman's Basket for 1...and I had to pay extra for ketchup or correction, I mean 'tomato sauce'. I felt like I was in Europe again.
Off again…final stop
Melbourne…
View on the way to Melbourne
No comments:
Post a Comment