The Great Ocean Road.
Trip Start
Sep 29, 2008
1
28
41
Trip End
Aug 2009
Port Fairy,
Victoria,
Australia
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
We collect what will become the fastest car on the road, our own Hyundai Getz in red and head out of Melbourne. We arrive at Torquay, the start of The Great Ocean Road.
Now two things.
The first. Everywhere in Australia is named in two ways. Either by the Englishman who founded it, usually after themselves. Or by a dyslexic drunk! How else can you explain places like Wagga Wagga, Woolloomooloo or the Bungle Bungles?
Secondly. The Great Ocean Road is a great driving route. Just look at the name! The. Great. Ocean. Road.
Does exactly what it says on the tin!
Our very fast hire car!
From Torquay the road clings to the coastline like its very life depended on it. Around every turn is a vista of golden beaches with emerald seas crashing against them. The Otway Ranges of mountains meets the ocean, creating some of the most breath taking views imaginable. We stop for lunch at the world famous surfing Bells Beach. The huge surf is home to a hundred surfers, all weaving their magic on the waves. The thing that is a shock is that there are no shops, kiosks or bars anywhere near Bells Beach. It is beautifully untouched.
Back onto the road we head inland, to Erskine Falls, what is described as a waterfall of immense proportions. Due to the dry weather it is nothing but a trickle when we get there.
The thing that made the detour worth it was seeing our first koalas. These lazy fur balls were amazingly awake. One of them even walks from one tree to another in front of us.
We get to our overnight stop at Apollo Bay, and check into the Seaview Motel. It does indeed have a sea view.
The next day we hit the road and make our first stop at the Cape Otway lighthouse, the oldest in Australia, built in 1848.
We then have lunch at one of the ionic spots of Australia
The Twelve Apostles.
. The Twelve Apostles, of which only six remain, are limestone stacks that have resisted the elements to form the perfect tourist photo opportunity. There have had another fifty odd pictures taken of them now. We then see the rest of this rugged coastline, from Loch Ard Gorge, the scene of a ship wreck in 1878 where there were only two survivors, to London Bridge. London Bridge has indeed fallen down, it is now no longer a bridge as more of a gap!
We stop for the night in Port Fairy, a sea side town set on the Moyne River. We stay in the YHA hostel, which will become our hostel chain of choice.
Another day on the road and we officially leave The Great Ocean Road.
We head inland to The City of Craters, Mount Gambier. This place is built on a volcano and is famous for its Blue Lake. For a short time every year the waters of this lake turn a dark shade of blue, something that no photo can capture. No one knows why or how.
We stay the night in Robe, at the wonderful Lakeside Manor House. Another YHA. This one set in a classic English stately home. The rooms and décor are fantastic. We feel like we are in an Agatha Christie novel.
That night we treat ourselves to a pizza in town
Guess who?
. The local speciality is for a pizza with hairs. The short and curly variety. Because the staff are so friendly we don't make a fuss, just get another pizza! It is a trait we find across the country. Native Australian workers are always so friendly and talkative. From the bus drivers to the waitresses, everyone seems happy in their work. Our last day driving the south coast and it's an early start. We have a ferry to catch and it's a few hours drive away. The journey takes in our first kangaroo, who stops at the roadside to watch us watching him. We then see our first 'Big Thing', an Australian peculiarity of having replicas built of almost anything. In Kingston SE we see the 'Big Shrimp', a giant of the crustacean world.
We get to Cape Jervis and our ferry to Kangaroo Island.
PS. How do we know we had the fastest car on the road?
We have got over $500 in speeding fines to prove it!
