12 Apostles and the Great Ocean Road

On monday, I borrowed Ryan's car to take a three-day road trip down the Great Ocean Road to the place known as the 12 Apostles.  The 12 Apostles is a naturally-formed area of limestone cliffs and rocks that had been eroded by the sea into really interesting and scenic location.

I set off around 10:30am, just after morning rush hour.  Ryan's car is an old beat up little compact that had more than its share of 'character.'  The car was clearly old; the odometer was broken but got stuck when the car reached 250,000+ Kilometers.  The car squeeked and squeeled, had a tendency for the engine to overheat, and gave me an anxious will-the-engine-actually-start-this-time? kind of feeling when I put the key in the ignition.  But the car worked out perfectly, and was more than I could have asked for.  It made the whole experience all the more interesting.

Ryan's Car

So I hit the road, again getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road.  All my time driving around in New Zealand definitely helped though, and I was able to get the hang of it again within just a few minutes.  The weather wasn't the most cooperative and it drizzled almost the entire way.  So while I didn't get to see a sunny coastline, the fog and drizzle created another unique experience for me which was quite peaceful.  I passed through Geelong and a bit before Lorne (an oceanside town), I reached the famous Great Ocean Road.

It was supposed to be one of the most beautiful ocean drives in the world, and it certainly didn't disappoint.  The drive out was filled with interesting and beautiful ocean scenery.

I passed through Lorne and arrived at Apollo Bay, where I stayed for the night.  I did a bit of exploring, but there wasn't too much going on so I called it a night pretty early.  I awoke at around 6am so that I could make it out to 12 Apostles for sunrise.  I figured that would make everything look even more spectacular.  I hit the snooze button a couple of times so I got a later start than I meant to, but the 90km drive out to the Apostles was gorgeous as the weather turned to give me some sunshine and beautiful morning scenery

I finally reached the 12 Apostles and it too was spectacular (I seem to be running out of adjectives).  It turned out to be a good thing that I wasn't there right as the sun rose because the limestone cliffs would have shrouded some of the rock formations in shadow.  Luckily, I got there right at the perfect time and it made for some amazing scenery.

I drove around the area for a few hours, checking out a few more areas and saw more of these incredible views.

After a few hours wandering the beaches and clifftops, I drove back to Apollo Bay.  I got some lunch, headed down to the beach, and enjoyed my sandwich with a bit of sunshine and an ocean breeze.  It was very relaxing until a flock of seagulls came to start squawking for my bread.  I hate seagulls.

I got back in the car and cruised back along the road, enjoying the scenery again, until I reached Lorne, where I spent my second night.  I had passed through Lorne on my first day and it looked crowded and lively and exciting.  When I got there, however, the whole place was dead.  I went down to the beach, met a few people, and hung out for a bit.  Unfortunately, the weather quickly turned and a downpour began.  I went back to my motel to ride it out.  Although the rain only lasted 30 minutes or so, it effectively killed off whatever vibe the place had going.  The beach and the streets stayed pretty empty for most of the night.

I woke up early on my third morning, as there were reports of a huge storm coming through the area and I wanted to get back to Melbourne and off the road before it hit.  First I grabbed breakfast at a little cafe right on the beach and enjoyed what I knew would be the last few minutes of good weather before the storm.

Luckily, I arrived in Melbourne just as the worst of the storm began to come down.  It's now my last night here before I head off to Sydney.  I've had a fantastic time here in Melbourne especially thanks to my friend Ryan.  Tonight were off to see St. Kilda v. Geelong in an Aussie League Football game, so I'm very excited.  It's a really crazy sport if you've never seen it.  I'm sure there are clips on the internet you can watch.

I'll post about the footy game sometime soon, maybe when I've arrived in Sydney and have a few minutes to write.