The day started as most do, with breakfast and the breaking down of tents. It had rained in the night, but everything was mostly dry now. First stop of the morning was Gibson Steps (Nothing to do with Mel, as far as I know), where we walked down to the beach and frolicked for a long while and took a bunch of group pictures.
From there, we drove not too far away to the limestone rock formations known as the 12 Apostles, the most popular stop on the Great Ocean Road, and apparently the third most visited site in Australia (I’ll go out on a limb and guess the Opera House and Uluru round out the top three). A few of the apostles have collapsed into the sea, one as recently as July 2005.
Next up was Loch Ard Gorge, which was named after the Loch Ard Clipper Ship, which ran aground at Muttonbird Island and became just one of the thousands of ships that have been swallowed up by the ocean south of Australia.
I’d been contemplating it myself, and it wouldn’t happen if there weren’t at least two people doing it, so when the Diggler needed someone else to join him I decided to tag along. It was a helicopter ride over the area we’d just covered by bus. I was interested more in experiencing a helicopter flight itself, and the weather had cleared up enough to make it all the more alluring. In the end, Ruth decided to join us as well, so we got weighed (I’ve lost a kilo in the past week, although they were rounding the numbers, so it might have been less), given a quick rundown on what not to do (mostly stay away from the fast moving blades)., then got strapped in. As luck would have it, I got the front seat, although the three of us, plus our pilot, all had a spectacular view. It was a short trip, but definitely something I was glad I’d done in the end.
Writing this all down, it’s really kind of overwhelming how much we saw – but it never really seemed rushed. We hadn’t even had lunch yet. Next up was the Great Ocean Road’s version of Nature’s Window in Western Australia. Just a hole in the rock that lets you look out on the ocean. Pretty nice. Lunch was next. Sandwiches, as usual.
We visited another casualty of erosion, London Bridge, which used to be one long bridge, but collapsed on my mom’s birthday in 1990, leaving two tourists stranded on the outer section, but no doubt making for a wonderful story to tell their grandchildren.
We visited the Bay of Martyrs and Bay of Islands, next. Tower Hill was the last stop of the night. It’s a dormant volcano, with lots of wildlife. Spotted some kangaroos, and got up close and personal with some emus as well. Much of the area used to be a lake, but Victoria has suffered a long period of drought, so any signs of it were gone.
We set up camp at a lovely campground called The Asses Ears Lodge, nestled in the Grampians, which is where we’ll be doing much of our exploring tomorrow. I was in need of a shower, but there were none to be had. Ruth cajoled me into going for a swim with her in the pool. I was reluctant, as it was a pretty cool day (by Australian standards, at least), but the water wasn’t so bad. It was definitely a little brisk when I got out, though. We had kangaroo tacos for dinner, took in some of the koalas around the campground, and played some cards in the evening.
