<< Bay of Islands and Bay of Martyrs

10/02/14 - More of the Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road has a number of fantastic eroded limestone features. We stopped at most, but not all of them. There were just too many. We had to stop at the Twelve Apostles, and so did everyone else. There was a huge car park here, full of cars, and a visitor center full of souvenirs and junk food. It was hard not to get into the spirit of things. We took the underpass to the ocean and joined the throng.

The scenery did not disappoint, but after the Bay of Martyrs and Bay of Islands, we knew what to expect. We wandered the walkways and checked out the various viewpoints. The stone formations were beautiful as were the sea and sky.

It was impossible to get down to the water from here, but just a few kilometers down the road were the Gibson Steps. The descent looked daunting, but the steps were well designed. The beach was broad and the rock formations fascinating. We took pictures of a young couple posed on a rock. They spoke Mandarin, which has replaced Japanese as the second language of tourism in Australia, but we used the universal sign language of tourists everywhere and hope we added a bit to their vacation.

The road turned inland. There were a number of turn offs which lead to the Great Ocean Walk, a hiking trail along the coast, but we really didn't have time for the side trails. We did check out the Otway lighthouse, but there were only limited options for exploring here. We did see a koala in a tree by the roadside and we spotted an echidna in the parking lot, so we weren't disappointed.









Keywords: australia