Great Ocean Rd Tour: Sights, hikes, koalas & roos

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Trip Start Mar 23, 2009 Previous
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  Adelaide, Victoria, Australia
Saturday, April 18, 2009

I had decided to join a 3 day tour to get from Melbourne to Adelaide, as it seemed the best way to see the sights along the famous Great Ocean Road without renting a car, and still make my way around Australia. Pick up from my hostel in Melbourne was 6:30 a.m., and I joined a small tour with Will, our tour guide, and 20 others. It was a quiet start for the first couple hours as we left the city and everyone tried to get the last bit of stolen sleep. But when we stopped for tea at 9 a.m., things started to loosen up and we all started to get to know each other. Since we would be on a bus and shared accommodations for the next 3 days, that was probably a good idea!

The Great Ocean Road is a dramatic stretch of winding and coast-hugging highway. Along the way are several popular surfing towns and picture opportunities. Our day was a bit cloudy, but good enough to appreciate the gorgeous views. 

Our group was a mixture of mostly solo travelers from Europe, with just a few Americans (me and one couple) and a Canadian. The age group was mixed too, but mostly mid 20's to mid 30's.  We did have one thing in common - no one had yet seen a koala or kangaroo in the wild since arriving in Australia. Our tour guide, Will, was happy to oblige and we stopped at a spot full of koalas in the 'wild' (and a few tourist's buses on the same mission). We were also able to glimpse them up in the trees along the highway. Just like you would imagine, they were either sleeping or eating eucalyptus leaves - classic!

It took most of the afternoon to work our way down the Ocean Road, and we arrived at the most famous spot and the highlight of this portion of the trip - The Twelve Apostles. They are giant remnants of the limestone coastline due to years of erosion from surf and rain. Since the coastline is constantly changing, it is likely these formations won't exist in the future - one fell about 5 years ago - so it was great to capture them in person.

We wrapped up the day by stopping at a small hostel in an even smaller town, both of which our group pretty much took over. And I am happy to report that I had my karaoke fix when we invaded the local pub :)

The next morning we went back down to the Ocean Road to see several of the other famous sites, such as London Bridge and the Bay of Martyrs. We detoured back to the 12 Apostles so those of us who wanted to, could see them by helicopter. I'm loving the aerial views and of course signed up for the 7 minute flight - it was definitely worth it.

We then hit the road and headed inland. We stopped at Ottoway National Forest for an hour walk through this South Australian rainforest. It was pretty authentic, since we also had a nice drizzle going on, but we all enjoyed the views from the 25 meter Tree Top walk and the green, lush foliage.

The last stop of Day 2 was an afternoon hike in another national forest, this time much further inland at the Grampians National Park. It was like going to another climate, by the time we reached this area it was arid, warm and sunny. We hiked to the summit of one of the mountains - although the 3 people from Switzerland thought "mountain" was being generous. It was a fun climb and we all enjoyed the views from the top.
We stayed the night at a lodge owned by the tour company, and on our way back from the hike, found plenty of kangaroos grazing in the area. Kangaroo and koala sightings - check!

To start Day 3, Will had us all up and out by 7 a.m. - we had a lot to see and do before the drive to Adelaide. We stopped for morning views of the Grampian mountain range, walked MacKenzie Falls, and wrapped up another hike to the top of another local peak, Hollow Mountain. The Swiss may have Alps, but I'm from Florida and it seemed like a pretty high climb to me! We all had a blast reaching the summit, and enjoyed the long morning at the top overlooking the area.

The rest of the day included stops along the way as we made our way out of Victoria and in to South Australia. We arrived in Adelaide about 7 p.m. Most of my new friends from the tour were staying at the same hostel or near mine, so we got together for dinner and drinks. After 3 days on a bus and dorms, we had formed some fast friendships. This works out great, as I can now visit friends in England, Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy - and stay for free! (next Epiphany Tour....) And of course I would love to host anyone who makes it the States.

I had one full day in Adelaide, and had decided to check out the famous Barossa Valley. I was behind on my wine tours since I was sick in Melbourne, and was looking forward to checking out this area, known for their shiraz. My friends from the Ocean Road tour weren't able to join my day trip, since I had booked this from Melbourne. But no worries, I met some great new friends from Ireland, Quebec and Holland during the day. We toured 4 wineries and had a barbecue lunch, including grilled kangaroo. It was tasty - a lot like a venison steak.

I met  up with my Ocean Road Tour friends when I got back from the wine tour and we went out for another fun-filled dinner in Adelaide's China Town. I was leaving the next afternoon, so I was glad to see a bit more of the town. I didn't have time to check out Adelaide's beaches, but spent my last morning walking the town and then making my way to the airport - I was off to Perth!

Till then,
Stephanie

Post your own travel photos for friends and family Pictures

Heading on to the Great Ocean Road	Great Ocean Rd	View along Great Ocean Rd	Koala
12 Apostles	Me and 3 of the Apostles	12 Apostles from above	Bay of Martyrs
London Bridge	Ottoway National Forest	Walk through the rainforest	Something like YMCA
Day 2 Hike	I'm totally zen	Morning view, Grampians	MacKenzie Falls
Hollow Mtn, Day 3 Hike	Photo op	View from Day 2 hike, Grampian Mtns	View from the top, Hollow Mt
Will's "Too Easy" Crew	Roo!	Barossa Valley vinerard	Jacob's Creek winery

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