We arrived in Melbourne a few days early due to the bush fires… (a terrible disaster, btw, we've been reading a lot about it in the papers... but on the other hand the amount of support we have seen from all the communities to support the bushfire fund has really been heartwarming to see).
So, we took off after one night in Melbourne for the Great Ocean Road (GOR). Stretching from Geelong to Warrnambool, it's an incredible section of coastline that was built to commemorate WWII soldiers (LOOK THIS UP). Although it's known to get really busy during the holidays (Christmas to Australia Day… Jan 26th), we were fortunate to get there after the busy season, but still during nice weather.
"How we going?" is a common Aussie greeting… and for this section our answer was "fast!" …as we had left our camping gear with Kevin and Robin in Melbourne, so we were travelling two panniers lighter, and loving it.
We were hoping to catch the train from Melbourne out to Warrnambool, but due to the bush fires, the trains were not in service, and scheduled to resume service in a few days. So taking our chances, we set off into the headwind, departing from Geelong, where Neil Mann (one of Kim's mom's colleagues) put us up for the night.
We ran into more cycle tourists on this section, as the route is a popular route for cyclists… this is Roman, who rode from Perth across the Nullarbor, and is on his way up to Brisbane. If you can read Czech, here is his blog… (www.adventureroman.blogspot.com).
The first section that we rode is known as the "Surf Coast", the coast is less dramatic, but the beaches are nice, and the surf is big… hence the name. The world surfing championships take place down here, and there are some small communities that would be heaven for surfers…
The "official" start of the GOR... used to be a toll road.
at the Lorne hostel... a great place for some bird watching...
We had heard some horror stories of riding the GOR, with lots of traffic, no shoulder, etc… but we thought it was a very nice ride… with reasonable shoulders in the beginning, gradually getting smaller, but with traffic also getting thinner as well… the last day we got passed by maybe 10 cars for the 60 km stretch (although it was really early in the morning…).
This area of Australia is one of the wettest areas on the continent, and there are some rainforests inland. There are huge gum trees, beech trees, and a few of the short self-guided rainforest walks are quite enjoyable… OH, and the carnivorous snails like it here as well. They almost got us (they're quite fast), but due to Kim's ninja skills, we barely escaped.
The coastline here is also known as the "shipwreck coast" (lots of names for this coast…) as there have been numerous ship wrecks due to high winds, rough coastline, and shallow reefs. So there are numerous historic lighthouses, including the Cape Otway Lighthouse… we made the 24 km side trip out to the self-proclaimed, "highlight of the Great Ocean Road" … which was ok, but definitely NOT the highlight.
Kim even managed to fall asleep in the first 30 seconds of a short video about the shipwrecks… I'll return to this topic later… but Kim can sleep anywhere…other than the bed at night…
Oh, but we did see a few Koalas on the ride out… they're always cute and nice to see… it's as if you were riding around, then all the sudden you see a sleeping Mingus in the trees… that occasionally poops on you (a hint to future koala viewers… don't look straight up at them…)
The road doesn't hug the coast for the whole ride… but it veers inland up to Laver's Hill, skirting around the Otway Ranges, where we stayed one night at the pub… the only night of the five nights that we didn't sleep next to the ocean. Once you return to the coast near Port Campbell, the real highlights of the GOR await you… as do the tourist busses…
but there is too much to see in such a short length of coastline that you can find plenty of privacy on an amazing cove, beach, or inlet if you are willing to walk just a short way.
12 apostles…
I'm wondering if we would have seen some leashed cats if this sign wasn't here…
Our own beach…
With a cave
Kim showing how some of these features are formed…
The geology here is very dramatic, with arches, columns, and islands around every corner. Any one kilometer of this stretch would be an attraction elsewhere… put 30+ km all together in one place, and you have the "shipwreck coast". The 12 apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, the Grotto, Worm Bay, and countless other features along this coastline are definitely worth spending some time. Many of these beaches have a strong current and don't have any lifeguards, so swimming isn't recommended, but there are some sheltered coves and inlets that are relatively safe. This area would be great to explore and I've vowed to come back and sea kayak along the coast… once I become a little more proficient. Just imagine kayaking until you find yourself in a cove that you can only access from the sea, all to yourself after a long day of kayaking through some arches, exploring sea caves, and maybe top it off with some sushi that you just spearfished…
One of many arches…
The grotto
Near Peterborough, where we stayed in a caravan! … just crossed the street, and voila! Amazing coastline… we saw a spearfisherman coming out of the sea with a bag full of fish.
The next morning we had to get up early as we had heard that the last train back to Melbourne from Warrnambool departed at 11:45. But this turned out to be the flattest day so far, and we cruised it averaging 25 km/hr. After meeting a local cyclist on the road (who invited us back to his place to stay…) we went to the train station and found out that they were running buses… only one train a day, the early one. So now we didn't have a ride back to Melbourne, and our place to stay for the night rode off… oh well… we ended up staying at a nice backpackers near the beach. Oh, and we went to a restaurant called Bojangles for V-day, and Kim can't stop talking about how good the food was.
We're back at Kevin and Robin's… spent a day at the Melbourne Zoo… which we all agreed was one of the better zoo's we've visited… monkey's are amazing… and so was the little girl watching them.
Off to Tassie tomorrow.
Woohoo…
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