I must admit, I was not terribly excited about doing the much-talked-about Great Ocean Road. But WOW, it IS a beautiful drive. From driving around roads carved into the sides of the cliffs dropping down into the ocean, to driving through green, rolling hills and farms, and even some rainforest - this road has it all. So buckle up your seat belts and come for a drive with us...
The Great Ocean Road begins at the surf shop town of Torquay. Not far down the road is our first stop - infamous Bells Beach. We were unfortunately 2 days late to see the Rip Curl Pro in action. This is where all the top surfers in the world compete as part of their world tour... and it was near dead flat - no waves.
Further down the road at Anglesea Beach, we feasted on some rather disgusting fish 'n chips with the largest calamari I have ever seen...
From Anglesea we found a free camp for the night up in the hills in the Great Otway National Park.
Back on the road again, we found a winner for the most 'out-there' house design... I was busy watching the ocean on the left and Geoff's eyes were glued to the houses on the right.
"Three thousand Australian returned soldiers and sailors of the First World War built the Great Ocean Road. Australia's casualty rate of more than 64% was higher than that of any other nation engaged. The loss had immense repercussions for the returned men and finding employment for them was a crucial factor in their rehabilitation to civilian life. The Great Ocean Road offered the chance to work again in the open, share mateship and contribute to a young Australia".
The stunning drive along the cliff edges, that the WW1 veterens had hand chiselled around 100 years ago, from Lorne to Apollo Bay...
That night we found a great free camp on the Aire River.
We couldn't believe such a beautiful spot was free!
You can just see our camp at the end of the bridge...
Our camper trailer with the added ensuite set up off the side - a hot shower tonight!
We would have liked to stay a few days here, but some bad weather heading our way pushed us on as we wanted to see the rest of the Great Ocean Road at its best...
The drive back to the main road from the Aire River was stunning too...
I was keen as mustard to get to the 12 Apostles, but Geoff decided we would stop at Mait's Rest and walk 1.5km to see a big, ol' tree. I was not impressed and voiced that quite clearly, but eventually, submissively followed. Would you believe the stupid ol' tree had FALLEN DOWN! This was all that was left of it... Geoff asks "WHY!?"
Gibson Stairs weaves its way down the cliff face onto the beach where 2 of the 12 Apostles stand...
The 12 Apostles (or what's left of them - only 9 remain standing)...
Looking back down onto the beach we had walked where the first 2 Apostles are...
And on the other side... just lovely.
Just near the Apostles is Loch Ard Gorge... just as stunning and holds one of the most beautiful beaches in Australia (in our opinion)...
Since it was such a perfect day, and you only live once, we spontaneously decided to jump on a helicopter and see the 12 Apostles and London Bridge from the air.
Hang onto your toupee!
We'd opted for the low flying option in this smaller helicopter...
We were both so pumped as we've never been in a helicopter before...
...and it was AWESOME!!!!
NB. Pilots don't like being called 'drivers'. My bad.
After a very scenic day, we found a 'free' camp up a dirt road near the 12 Apostles...
The next morning we continued exploring, which again involved a lot of walking...
London Bridge. It used to join the land to the left but after a couple walked over it in 1992 it collapsed behind them! They were stranded for 3 hours or so our helicopter pilot informed us.
From the helicopter, the pilot had also pointed out a makeshift staircase some fishermen had made down a cliff. It is not signposted and there is no track to it but Geoff was super keen to find it and have a look... and that we did...
I guess boys don't take notice of 'potential death' type signs!
The Bay of Isles.
Australia's craziest boat ramp (once again, in our humble opinion). It was ridiculously steep!
The Great Ocean Road officially finishes in Warrnambool, which is where we are staying at the moment. The rain has caught up with us now and is meant to hang around a few days. How blessed we were to see the Great Ocean Road at its best! We hope you enjoyed the ride.
