Saturday, April 7, 2001

The Great Ocean Road Snapshots

On the Labour Day weekend, which is in March in Victoria, we decided to head out along the freeway to Warrnambool and come back along the Great Ocean Road. What we didn't know was that every year there is a folk festival at Port Fairy and all accommodation from Port Fairy to Port Campbell was booked.

Luckily we managed to secure a room at Cobden, a small town about 40 km east of Warrnambool. We couldn't find the motel so we stopped to look at the tourist map. According to the map there was a motel across the road, and sure enough there it was, the combined service station-caravan-motel complex.

Most of the photos below are from our second day when we drove out to the coast to pick up the Great Ocean Road.

After we secured our accommodation we used the remaining daylight to do a quick tour of Warrnambool and then the local Coles supermarket to arrange dinner. This is the coast line from Thunder Point.
On our way out to the coast we went through the town of Timboon. At Timboon owners of Dodges and Valiants had gathered for a car rally. We stopped off at Timboon Farmhouse Cheeses for some cheese tasting. Left just in time, because it was the first stop for the rally.
We joined the Great Ocean Road near Peterborough. It is not a tourist town - probably too close to Warrnambool and Port Campbell. However, from the "main" road we could access a lookout for views along the coast.

From Peterborough we headed back towards Warrnambool to look at attractions in the Bay of Islands National Park.

Tony liked this sign. "No dogs or very fat cats".
From Peterborough, we drove to Croft's Bay in the Bay of Islands National Park and then turned around and headed back along the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne.

This is the "Bay of Martyrs" in the Bay of Islands National Park.

Port Campbell National Park covers a stretch of coastline east of Peterborough. This formation is called "The Grotto". The last time I had visited the grotto was 1984. When Tony and I did the Great Ocean Road tour about 5 years ago, it was wet and the guide did not stop here for safety reasons.

While we were there, four tourists decided to climb over the wall and wander around the pool, stand on the edge of the cliff, paddle and take photos. Wouldn't even move out of the way so others could take photos.

This is "London Bridge". It has been 11 years since the first arch of the bridge collapsed. This scene is perfect for a painting - I'm not sure which would be better ...
... a water colour or ...
... an oil painting?
"The Twelve Apostles" is probably the most photographed natural feature in Victoria. A new Visitor Centre and car park have opened to cater for the large number of people who come to see the Twelve Apostles. There is a tunnel under the road and boardwalks along the cliffs. Reminds me a bit of the visitor facilities at Stonehenge in England.

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