The Great Ocean Road With My Parents

July 5, 2012

I was so excited to take my parents on The Great Ocean Road tour.  David and I went on this tour in January, and it is one of my favorite things that we've done in Australia.  So I was really excited that I would have the chance to see it all again!  You can see the recap from my first time on The Great Ocean Road HERE. 

As I mentioned in my last post about this tour, The Great Ocean Road is a very famous stretch of road along the southeastern coast of Australia- somewhat similar to the Pacific Coast Highway. The road is narrow and twisty, but it travels right along what I can honestly say is probably one of the most beautiful coastlines I have ever seen.  There are also lots of famous landmarks and beaches along the way.  The entire road is actually a war memorial, as it was built by soldiers returning from WWI. 

It's impossible not to take a million photos on this tour.  Everything is just so beautiful.  It's also impossible to narrow down which photos to include... so prepare yourself for a major photo overload. 

 

The first of many rainbows we saw that day

Our first stop was the little beach town of Torquay which is home to Bell's Beach.  Bell's Beach is a very famous surfing beach.  We didn't see any surfers this day though- the water was extremely rough (and cold!). 

 

Next up was Lorne where we stopped for morning tea at a park overlooking the ocean.  Such a fun little Aussie custom!

 

We made another stop just a bit later at Mount Defiance Lookout Point.  Not far from here, we stopped again for a walkabout in a little area known for having plenty of koalas (!!!!) hiding in the trees.

 

Our next stop was Apollo Bay and the nearby Mait's Rest Rainforest.  In true rainforest fashion, this is when the rain began again.  So our walk through the rainforest was a bit more of a hurried power walk.  It was still beautiful and impressive though.  The rain continued off and on throughout the rest of our trip, but always seemed to let up when we got to each view point, so I can't complain too much.  Plus, it made for a series of amazing rainbows that seemed to follow us the whole day. 
 

Can't you just imagine dinosaurs roaming through this rainforest?

At long last, we arrived in Port Campbell to see the incredible Twelve Apostles!  A lot of the photos I included are from pretty similar vantage points, but I just thought it was so interesting how much the sky changed in the 45 minutes we spent there! 

 

The path out to the 12 Apostles viewpoint

 

  

 

 

 

Also in Port Campbell is the Loch Ard Gorge.  This little cove and the ocean right outside this area are known for being extremely rough.  There is a long history of shipwrecks in this area. 

 

And finally, we made it to our last stop- The London Bridge.  This rock formation used to be connected and people were allowed to walk out to the end.  There's a story about a couple who met for a rendezvous out on the point and had the bad luck to be out there when it collapsed.  They had to be rescued by helicopter... and then explain to their spouses what they were doing out there.  Scandalous!

 

Crazy beautiful sunset action happening in the upper left corner

Can you tell we were freezing by this point?