...and yes, it deserves its name as Great!
I left my shady hostel at 7:20am and embarked on one of the most beautiful drives I've ever experienced. You drive down the curvy but spectacular coast known as the Great Ocean Drive, with long strecthes beaches, stunning cliffs and natural formations. I got a tip from an older gentleman before getting on the bus: sit on the left side. He was absolutely right!
The weather was terrible. How can this be? 39 degrees one day, and a high of 24 the next. The visibility of the sites I visited could have been a lot better. But it wasn't just the cloudy weather, but also, there are several bush fires around Melbourne right now. The smoke blows down, and you can smell it quite distinctly.
So here's where I've been:
Torquay: Australia's surfing capital. We stopped for our "morning tea" there and then went to Bells Beach, featured in Point Break (remember Keanu Reeves?). But there were no waves that day at all - is this really a surfing reserve?
The best part of the trip was Otway National Park, and seeing the Twelve Apostles: tall rock stacks in the middle of the ocean. They can be seen because of mainland erosion. Only 7 of the stacks can be seen from the tourist viewpoints, unless....
YOU TAKE A HELICOPTER RIDE!
Hey mom! I'm in a helicopter!!!! This was by far the best part of the day....it was a thrill and my eyes couldn't believe the views!
Twelve Apostles
From the air....
Lord Ard Gorge
The Gorge view from the helicopter - one of the most most ship wrecks in Australia's history happened here...I'll tell the story in person
I wish the pictures captured how stunning this really was.....but I guess that's why people travel thousands of kilometers to see it for themselves.
London Bridge - another rock formation which collapsed (part of it as you see it above) in 1990. Two people were stranded on the other side and had to be rescued by helicopter. When reporters tried to interview them, they were camera shy. Turns out they were married...to other people!!!
2 comments:
First of all, I'm SOOOO jealous! Second, weren't you supposed to be meeting up with your small blonde sidekick that isn't me? She didn't ditch you already, did she? 17 days until we meet up. Can't wait.
JP
Ha ha ha...love that last bit. Maybe they were just stranger, caught up in a once in a lifetime event, innocent as can be....
Great pics! When are you going to try you hand at surfing?
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