19 Feb: The Great Ocean Road (part 1)
We started off today in Lorne, where we visited the Erskine
Falls,
boasted to
be one of
the
highest
waterfalls
of the
Otway
region.
It
may
well
be
one of
the
highest,
but during
summer
when
water
restrictions
are in
place
everywhere,
the
waterfalls
are not
much
more
than
a
trickle
of
water!
Our
plans
to
do
several
waterfall
treks,
was
thrown
out
of the
window!
Next stop Teddy's lookout above
Lorne
where
there's a
nice view
over the
surrounding
coastline,
before
continuing
the drive
along the
Great
Ocean
Road. We
stopped
off
at the
Grey River
to see
some wild
koalas,
high in
trees on
the roadside
and
continued
our drive
on to
Apollo
Bay.
There's
a
seal
colony
in
Marengo
Bay, just
south of
Apollo Bay
and we
wanted
to
try to
kayak
out
to the
seals. The
company
organising
tourist
trips
was
fully
booked for
the next
couple of
days and
didn't
accept
children
under 12
years
old... and
the next
seal
sighting
cruise
wasn't
until the
next
afternoon.
We
therefore
left
Apollo Bay
disappointed
and
went
to
Marengo
Bay to see
the seal
colony
rocks
from
the
beach.
We could
just make
out the
seals on
the
rocks
about 300
metres
from the
shore and
regretted
for the
2nd time
not
to
have
brought
our
binoculars
with us...
François
was
feeling
courageous
and
decided to
swim out
for a
peek.
There were
pretty
strong
currents
and it
took him 15
minutes to
reach the
rocks, but
the effort
was
compensated
with a
close
up
view of
the
seals.
The girls played for a couple of hours on the beach with the sand
and
seaweed.
We then
camped for
the night
in the
campsite
just
behind the
beach.
 |
 |
 |
| The Great
Ocean
Road,
built
by returning solders from WW1 |
Erskine
Falls |
Koala warning
road
sign
! |
20 Feb: The Great Ocean Road (part2)
François woke up in the middle of the night with a funny tummy,
was ill
and was
not on
form
today...
We
hesitated whether to stay
put in
Marengo
Bay or to
continue
along the
coastal
road, but
eventually
decided to
continue
along our
way. Jenny
drove the
campervan
most of
the day.
We stopped
off for
lunch and
a short
walk at
Melba
Gully through a
rainforest
to a big
300 year
old Otway
Messmate
tree,
leaving François sleeping in the
campervan.
Back on the coast in the Port Campbell national Park, there were
many
sights to
see,
beginning
with the
Gibson
Steps down to Gibson
Beach, the
Twelve
Apostles,
the Arch,
London
Bridge and
finally the
Bay of
Islands.
The
limestone
coast in
this area
has been eroded by
the
ocean leaving
beautiful
limestone
rock
formations
(stacks
and
arches).
The views
are
stunning;
it was a
shame that François'
wasn't
able to
really
enjoy the
day's
visits and
that the sky was
grey to
match his
poor
health...
We finished the day off at a campsite in the town of
Warrnambool.
You'll
have to be
patient as
we've still no Internet connection, but
we promise
to try to
find a
solution tomorrow!
 |
 |
 |
| Sophie and
"The
Big
Tree"
at Melba Gully |
The Twelve
Apostles |
The Arch |
BACK
| 
