The Great Ocean Road...

(Kristen's one day self-guided tour of the Great Ocean Rd. - similar to the drive up Big Sur)

5:30am wake up - I used to get up this early every day?!?!? How?!?!? Why?!?!?

Navigating back country roads while dark - Not that it is necessarily a difficult task, but when you have no idea where you are and are trying to remember to drive on the left side, it can be very interesting - especially driving on gravel roads through towns like Koo Wee Rup...

Radio Stations - I wasn't able to find Jeff & Jer, and the stations I did find weren't anything like it. I almost swerved off the road when I heard the guy say S*&t on there and then they played the Gold Digger song and did not omit the "N" word. And, tonight, the Australian soccer team is playing Qatar and the station had a whole segment on chants for the soccer match that totally put down Qatar people. You would never hear anything like that on American radio because the person would be fired the next day. I guess the sensors here are different than the ones in the US.

Road Signs - As I was about to fade off at 6:45am, out of no where I see a sign at the end of a driveway that said "Horse Poo - $1". The funny thing though is that I saw two others that were the same and another that said "Chicken Poo - $2". I guess chickens are worth more, but I'm not sure why. And then a sign that said "Drive on the left in Australia" - in fact, I saw about 50 of those signs all day.

Ferry ride - I made the decision to take the southern route in the morning so as to miss all the commuter traffice driving through the city. The ferry left Sorrento VIC and went across the southern most end of Port Phillip to Queenscliff VIC. It was pretty cool since I've never done something like that on my own. I was a little scared getting the car on the ferry since I was still trying to get used to the other side of the road.

Rain - Yup, it started raining when I got off the ferry - actually I think it was raining on the ferry, but I was inside.

Queenscliff to Torquay - The first stop on the Great Ocean Rd. was the town of Torquay, which is the surfing capital of Australia. The Surf Museum and headquarters for Quicksilver and RipCurl are located in the this city. It is definitely a surfer's town and even with the rain, it was fun to walk around and check things out and get a hot chocolate (I needed a pick me up). I also headed down to the beach and stuck my feet in the water - you know, to say I've been in the water down there! Even though it was cold out, the water was actually still a very nice temperature. If it wasn't raining, I would have gone for a swim. I didn't stay much longer, but of course as soon as I started to leave, it got sunny.

Torquay to Aireys Inlet - I took a quick detour from my route to check out the lighthouse on Airley Inlet. It was a nice little walk - especially after being in the car for a while. (Again, it started out cloudy here and was sunny as soon as I was getting ready to leave.) I wasn't able to go up in the lighthouse though because you have to book it in advance, so I just walked around and checked out the sights.

Airesy Inlet to Lorne - By this time, I had had enough of the car, so I walked the Cliff Walk in Lorne - another seaside escape along the Great Ocean Road. It started with the Swinging Bridge and yes, the bridge swung a little when you walked on it. The path was about a 4km walk out to the pier and back to where I started. There is a beach down there and a bunch of kids were learning how to surf, so it was fun to watch them. (Yup, rained at the beginning and sunny when I left - I must have been chasing the storm or something.)

Lorne to Apollo Bay - Great windy roads!!! The Corolla Ascent I was driving handled the turns beautifully, but again made me think of Vinny taking his motorcycle around this road. If it wasn't raining, it would have been a lot of fun on a bike. Apollo Bay is a small fishing town and since it was still drizzling, I decided to just drive through and only make a quick stop at the local wharf. The locals were friendly or wait, maybe they were laughing at the crazy tourist girl all by herself! :)

Apollo Bay to Cape Otways - More windy roads!!! This is where the Great Ocean Rd. goes from the coastal drive to a rainforest. It was sooooo green and the trees were huge. The best part though - as I am driving along, I see someone pulled over taking pictures up in a tree. I stop and what do you know, wild Koalas up in the trees! Just sleeping there, on the side of the road. As I continued on, I saw 4 more and then an adult and child (or whatever they are called) on a branch together. I was going to do the Otway Tree Top Walk, but since it all of a sudden became super foggy and I couldn't see anything more than 10 feet in front of me, I decided not to waste the time and money on something I wouldn't be able to enjoy anyway. So instead, I braved the twisty-turney roads in the dense fog and continued on.

Cape Otways to The Twelve Apostles - This was to be the first of the rock formations off the coast (and one of the 7 wonders of the world), but as I got closer and closer, I wasn't even sure if I was going to be able to see them. All I could think was this fog better clear up because if I can't see the 12 Apostles I will be devastated - they were the main reason I wanted to take this day trip. So I got to the pullout for them and made the trek out to the lookout areas. As I got closer, I got a glimpse of the most amazing things I have ever seen. I don't know how to describe it and maybe I can't - maybe it is something you have to experience on your own. I tried to enjoy it as much as possible but with the rain, fog and heavy winds, it was difficult. The beauty of it though was well worth it.

On to Port Campbell - From there, I stopped at many lookout points to see all the rock formations along the coast. First it was The Archway and The Razorback, next was Loch and Gorge. Further down, I stopped for London Bridge and The Grotto. I will upload my pictures as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the weather was still foggy and raining, so the pictures aren't as good as some of the others I have seen where it is sunny. I still think the limestone formations are amazing - no matter what the weather is like.

Rainbows and Farms - After that, I decided it was time to head home. I was getting tired and had seen everything I wanted to see. It was still raining on and off as I was driving back, but every once in awhile, the clouds would part and I would see rainbows off in the distance. I also saw a lot of new places since I took a different way home and my oh my there are a ton of farms in this area. I don't think I've seen so many cows in one day (look Pat, DOWS!!!).

800km (approx. 500 miles), 15 hours, $12AUD in tolls, $50 in gas - After all that mileage and time, I made it back to Fiona's house. What a long day, but well worth it because the memories are priceless.