This has been a very busy and enjoyable day. I’m so pleased that we did decide to travel the coast road after our brief sidestep to Ballarat (or Ballater, as Tom persists in calling it). Although it was raining slightly when we left Geelong, it soon brightened up and we’ve had sunshine pretty much the whole of the day. It’s even been warm enough for us to remove our outer layers! This is more like it!
First was a quick detour into Torquay to Surf Beach where there were quite a few surfers, but the waves were not very big. (Torquay’s street directions are all printed on sail shaped signs about 6ft tall – sorry, didn’t get a photo). So we moved on a short distance to Winkipop and Bells Beaches (Bells is where the longest running surfing competition in the world is held – but not today!) There were a lot more surfers there
and we saw some pretty good runs, although nothing spectacular, but it was the first “real” surfing we’d seen – another tick in the box!
The Great Ocean Road does indeed run right along the coast for much of the way and this first stretch from Torquay to Apollo Bay is a real treasure – quite concentrated driving so poor Tom didn’t get to see all the views, but we stopped quite often to take in the “views”. This road was originally built by 3,000 returned servicemen from WWI to give them a job and reintegrate them into “normal life”. Not far beyond Bells, we came across the Memorial Arch to the memory of those men,
and there is a sculpture of two Diggers,
which has wonderful detail
(I really must look closer at some of our sculptures back home to see what sort of detail they contain – this holiday has opened my eyes to things I’d never considered before). All along the route of the Ocean Road are plaques telling part of the story;
unfortunately, we missed some of them, but the others are very interesting. Some are still in the process of being cast and will be placed in other locations along the route.
At Lorne, where the last existing plaque is, we stopped for coffee and found a great shop selling quite outrageous clothes. Tom fancied a pair of trousers
but (luckily) we couldn’t find any in his size! The young ladies at the corner of the street obviously thought he was off his trolley!
There are great views along the road into bays and along beaches. The wind was blowing onshore and the waves got more and more spectacular the further we went. After Apollo Bay, the road goes inland for quite a distance past Cape Otway. Here is the oldest surviving Lighthouse on the Australian mainland, built in 1848. The roads are very twisting and hilly, through forest and open land and can be quite stomach churning – even I felt a little unsettled and we had to stop for a breath of fresh air. The road comes back to the coast after Princetown and then there are the Twelve Apostles, the third most visited natural site in Australia – a series of rock formations just offshore.
We arrived as the light was changing – the sun was appearing and disappearing behind the clouds and we managed to get some very atmospheric photos. The rocks and the limestone cliffs have been eroded into fantastic shapes by the wind and the sea. Still further along the coast, there are more formations – we didn’t stop at all of them, but at the Arch, the sea was boiling round the rocks as the tide came in and it was breathtaking.
I felt quite exhilarated after we’d been there. Mother Nature has no equal!
Again, the road sweeps inland and you lose the sights of the ocean, which is a real shame but as Tom says, there’s only so much spectacular scenery you can take in one day. He’s such a Philistine!! We now have other acronyms for the sights – JABB (we’ve had already); JARR – just another ruddy rock and JASS – just another so**ing scene!
We’d booked ahead to a motel in Warrnambool and arrived just after 6.00pm. We’d done a little shopping in Apollo Bay for our evening meal – to save some pennies as the cache is getting a little run down - and we’ve just enjoyed some very filling meat and salad rolls, with cherry tomatoes and a few crisps; followed by nice crisp juicy grapes – all washed down with a drop (or two) of very palatable red wine. It’s just about the end of another satisfying day, AND we get an extra hour’s sleep tonight as the clocks go back an hour – so then we’ll be 9 hours ahead of UK – until we reach the South Australia border when we lose an extra half an hour (can anyone explain why they are the only people in the world who don’t work in full hours?). Never mind the hours, we’re having difficulty keeping up with the days! The blog is a great help in keeping us on track.
And with that bit of wisdom, I shall bid you all goodnight and god bless.
First was a quick detour into Torquay to Surf Beach where there were quite a few surfers, but the waves were not very big. (Torquay’s street directions are all printed on sail shaped signs about 6ft tall – sorry, didn’t get a photo). So we moved on a short distance to Winkipop and Bells Beaches (Bells is where the longest running surfing competition in the world is held – but not today!) There were a lot more surfers there
and we saw some pretty good runs, although nothing spectacular, but it was the first “real” surfing we’d seen – another tick in the box!The Great Ocean Road does indeed run right along the coast for much of the way and this first stretch from Torquay to Apollo Bay is a real treasure – quite concentrated driving so poor Tom didn’t get to see all the views, but we stopped quite often to take in the “views”. This road was originally built by 3,000 returned servicemen from WWI to give them a job and reintegrate them into “normal life”. Not far beyond Bells, we came across the Memorial Arch to the memory of those men,
and there is a sculpture of two Diggers, which has wonderful detail (I really must look closer at some of our sculptures back home to see what sort of detail they contain – this holiday has opened my eyes to things I’d never considered before). All along the route of the Ocean Road are plaques telling part of the story; unfortunately, we missed some of them, but the others are very interesting. Some are still in the process of being cast and will be placed in other locations along the route.At Lorne, where the last existing plaque is, we stopped for coffee and found a great shop selling quite outrageous clothes. Tom fancied a pair of trousers
but (luckily) we couldn’t find any in his size! The young ladies at the corner of the street obviously thought he was off his trolley! There are great views along the road into bays and along beaches. The wind was blowing onshore and the waves got more and more spectacular the further we went. After Apollo Bay, the road goes inland for quite a distance past Cape Otway. Here is the oldest surviving Lighthouse on the Australian mainland, built in 1848. The roads are very twisting and hilly, through forest and open land and can be quite stomach churning – even I felt a little unsettled and we had to stop for a breath of fresh air. The road comes back to the coast after Princetown and then there are the Twelve Apostles, the third most visited natural site in Australia – a series of rock formations just offshore. We arrived as the light was changing – the sun was appearing and disappearing behind the clouds and we managed to get some very atmospheric photos. The rocks and the limestone cliffs have been eroded into fantastic shapes by the wind and the sea. Still further along the coast, there are more formations – we didn’t stop at all of them, but at the Arch, the sea was boiling round the rocks as the tide came in and it was breathtaking. I felt quite exhilarated after we’d been there. Mother Nature has no equal!Again, the road sweeps inland and you lose the sights of the ocean, which is a real shame but as Tom says, there’s only so much spectacular scenery you can take in one day. He’s such a Philistine!! We now have other acronyms for the sights – JABB (we’ve had already); JARR – just another ruddy rock and JASS – just another so**ing scene!
We’d booked ahead to a motel in Warrnambool and arrived just after 6.00pm. We’d done a little shopping in Apollo Bay for our evening meal – to save some pennies as the cache is getting a little run down - and we’ve just enjoyed some very filling meat and salad rolls, with cherry tomatoes and a few crisps; followed by nice crisp juicy grapes – all washed down with a drop (or two) of very palatable red wine. It’s just about the end of another satisfying day, AND we get an extra hour’s sleep tonight as the clocks go back an hour – so then we’ll be 9 hours ahead of UK – until we reach the South Australia border when we lose an extra half an hour (can anyone explain why they are the only people in the world who don’t work in full hours?). Never mind the hours, we’re having difficulty keeping up with the days! The blog is a great help in keeping us on track.
And with that bit of wisdom, I shall bid you all goodnight and god bless.
PS Just a comical addition for you to have a chuckle at. Currently on the radio, there is a competition for a listener to win a day out at a sporting event of his or her choice. Part of the advertising is a resume of David Beckham’s career and an interview with him. The interviewer asks him a simple question and he replies as only he can “I er, um, well,….” upon which she interrupts him, saying “Oh shut up David, and just take your shirt off!” It doesn’t translate very well to the written word but if you hear it, it’s so funny!
No comments:
Post a Comment