I'm way behind on my globe-trotting post. I've been travelling so much that I cannot catch up with blogging about it..
When we, Lydia, Jon & I were in Melbourne..erm.. some months back, we decided to take a tour down the Great Ocean Road. After all, its not that far away from Melbourne and we had a voucher that gave us a buy 1 free 1 deal... We started our journey early in the morning. Look at all our fresh out of bed look... except Lydia :)
Our bus was quite spacious. Since there was 3 of us, we decided to set right at the back of the bus so that no one gets left out. But the seats were on the right side of the bus. Thus our view was the inland instead of the ocean. The Japanese couple seating on the left, beside Jon, slept pretty much throughout the whole entire trip. SUCH A WASTE!!!
The Great Ocean Road was initiated in the year 1918 after the World War 1, with the intention of funding work for the returned soldier. 3000 men, 14 years later, the Great Ocean Road was completed. We passed by the port city of Geelong on the way to the start of the Great Ocean Road.
One first point on the Great Ocean Road was the town of Torquay, made famous by Rip Curl.
First stop. Bells Beach. Didn't see much beach. Just a cliff over-looking the ocean. But I spotted some surfers heading down. We were served Billy Tea prepared in a billycan and Lemington by our very talented bus driver cum tour guide cum waiter. The weather turned bad right after our tea and we had to hurry back into the bus..
We passed by Anglesea, where the Point Addis Marine National Park was and headed down towards Urquhart Bluff. Spotted : beautiful beaches and surfers.
We left and headed down towards Aireys Inlet where the famous Split Point Lighthouse stood. Sadly, I did not manged to take a picture of it. However, I did captured this really unique... and scary house. Imagine having a party up there...*gasps*
Lorne, the No.1 seaside town in Victoria accommodates close to 15,000 people during the summer.. Can't be seen in this picture but its just around the next bend.
Cumberland River, a camping ground and holiday park, near Lorne.
Lets play a game. Who can spot the koala?
Did you know that koalas are like one of the laziest animal on earth? They sleep 18 hours a day and moves only to look for food and maybe a new place to sleep. And that will take them at least 4 minutes. Koalas live about 10-12 years in the wild.
We continue down towards Cape Patton. Cape Patton is a lookout point with a scenic and photographic view of the Great Ocean Road. We arrived there early and was able to take really good pictures before the crowd started appearing.
We arrived in Apollo Bay just in time for lunch. We were given lunch coupons as lunch was included in the tour. Our pick of cafes, Nauti-Gals. And the food, absolutely delish... Just thinking about it makes me feel hungry for it again. Maybe the wind, sun and walking makes it taste much better. One funny thing about the Great Ocean Road is the weather. At every bend of the road, the weather changes. One minutes its dark and cloudy, next it will be hot and sunny, then hot with a slight rain, then cold with a strong wind.. Thank God we were prepared with sweaters and scarves :) After lunch, we walked around the town before heading back to the bus..
Picture credited to Jonathan Lim.
Leaving Apollo Bay, we passed by the Great Otway National Park and headed straight for Port Campbell National Park where the Twelve Apostle is. And The Twelve Apostles?.... is amazing and beautiful. Can you imagine how the waves and the pounding of water for many many years brought about this formation? I can just sit there and watch the waves do their thing and hear their roar over the chatters of tourist. So calming...
Picture credited to Jonathan Lim.
Picture credited to Jonathan Lim.
Picture credited to Jonathan Lim.
This is how the Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles look like. Thanks to Jon who decided to pay extra to go up in a helicopter. Can you spot me? I am right there, a grey speck :)
Picture credited to Jonathan Lim.
Picture credited to Jonathan Lim.
Next, we stopped at Gibson Steps named after these steps.. We could walked down to the ocean. Yay!!! First, we had to walk down 86 steps, which was a piece of cake... the climbing back up is another matter. Its funny how we are at a beach, with sun shining on our faces, but we are wrapped in jacket and scarf. Its cold!! really...
Picture credited to Jonathan Lim.
Picture credited to Jonathan Lim.
After leaving Gibson Steps, we went to our final destination, the Loch & Gorge. There we saw the Loch & Gorge, The Razorback, Shipwreck Cove and The Blowhole. There is actually a sad story behind this whole place. Click on my image "Two Survivors" to read the story. Time constraint didn't allow us the opportunity to explore the whole area and we had to walked really fast to be able to view just that 4 places. But well, we ended up back on the bus, perspiring but with lots of pictures to remember.
The tour ended with a short toilet break at the Port Campbell town, a small-sleepy town, before the long drive back to Melbourne via Princes Highway. It is a faster way back but without the view of the Great Ocean Road. We slept the whole way back and arrived in Melbourne around 5pm. What I can conclude from this tour is that its been an interesting experience for me. We had a great tour guide who kept feeding us with information, we had time to stop and explore and take pictures, the wind was super, we had great food and the company was great. I hope that one day, I will have the opportunity to come back and take a slow drive down again just to explore the beaches and soak in the rustic charm of the small rustic seaside town. :) and even to travel to Warrnambool and Port Fairy *don't that name sound so romantic*
One last picture... I am so missing this. Spotted in Port Campbell Town. Check out the flavours available : Magnum Gold, Almond, White, Classic, Caramel Ego, Peppermint, Big Choc Bikkie. There is even Magnum Sandwich. The newly promoted in Malaysia Magnum Truffle cannot beat this. Its not fair!!! Can we have these selection in Malaysia too?
Ok, I bluffed. Here's another picture of me.. enjoying my Magnum Gold. I couldn't decide between Caramel Ego and Magnum Gold but since Magnum God is limited edition, and it comes with honeycomb & vanilla, I decided to pick it. Damage done : I believe it was AUD4 or was it AUD8 + a couple of calories. Worth every single dollar!!
Now, would any Magnum fans wanna join me in a protest/ petition to bring this to Malaysia?
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