Bass Strait

This glorious coastline along southern Australia goes by different names: Bass Strait, Tasman Sea, Southern Ocean, or Indian Ocean - depending on the specifics of where you are or what map you use. It is both beautiful and at times treacherous to mariners.

London Arch

 

The formation formerly known as London Bridge is famous because in 1990 a sizable piece collapsed into the sea, leaving a couple stranded on the end of it. A helicopter had to be brought in to rescue them. The formation now goes by the name of London Arch.

the Razorback

The Razorback is another amazing rock that rises out of the sea, not far from Loch Ard Gorge.

Loch Ard Gorge

Loch Ard Gorge is another part of Port Campbell National Park. Perhaps due to the unusual geography of this shoreline, two people out of the entire crew of the shipwrecked Loch Ard survived when washed ashore into these inlets in 1878.

you might be in Australia when...

 

...you see this sign while hiking near the Twelve Apostles.

Twelve Apostles, part 3

 

The blogger and his wife.

Twelve Apostles, part 2

 

Twelve Apostles

For me one of the highlights of the Great Ocean Road AND the entire trip was Twelve Apostles, part of Port Campbell National Park. In brief, it is a stunning coastline that you immediately recognize as something special - the stuff of wall calenders.

a great imitation of So Mo Co

 

After the stops at Cape Otway our bus cut into the interior and I could not help but be reminded a little of south Monterey county, where I used to live and work... Of course this fits in perfectly with the Great Ocean Road / Big Sur parallels.

 

koala spotting

 

After the lightstation we drove into the interior of Great Otway National Park in search of koalas.  We spotted some, thanks to the good eyes in our group, but in some cases the reward amounted to a dark lump in a eucalyptus tree (bottom photo). In other cases you could make out its head, although in the photo below I'm not sure what's going on. The fact is that koalas spend most of their lives sleeping...

Aboriginal Talking Hut

A place, not far from the Otway Lightstation, to learn about Aboriginal culture... A very interesting round structure set back in the woods, off a nice hiking trail.

Cape Otway Lightstation

We stopped at Cape Otway for lunch. As far as lighthouses go, I thought this was a really good one, and the view was well worth the climb. It's actually Australia's oldest lighthouse, built in 1848, and is considered the nation's most important. This is because for many ships in the 19th century, the lightstation was the first sight of land and an important aid in navigating this treacherous coast that had previously been the site of many shipwrecks.

 

Great Otway National Park

Skeletons of eucalyptus trees in Great Otway National Park. A population of relocated koalas exhausted their available food supply and this was the result.

a grand old hotel...

 

...seen while passing through Lorne. Actually, if you look closely, you see that the name of the place is the Grand Pacific Hotel, and if you look that up, you learn that the place was built in 1875.

Great Ocean Road, part 2

The Great Ocean Road, doing its best imitation of Big Sur...
 

galah, closest encounter ever

 

This was on the steps at Lorne. The galah couldn't care less that I was there...