Great Ocean Road

Day 1 – Clarkeson Eat Your heart Out!

Waking up with a pair of hangovers it was not the best way to head out on one of the allegedly most stunning drives in Australia.  Nether the less we went and it was a pretty long drive of around a couple of hours until we picked up the start of the Great Ocean Road in Torquay.

Once again we were listening to one of our talking books as we drove along, wondering after ½ an hour where the coast was, were we on the correct road??

Eventually the road hit the coast and we were treated to some fabulous scenery with wave swept beaches and plunging cliff’s at every corner we took.  Occasionally stopping at lay-by’s along the way,  so we could take some nice pictures,  we arrived in Apollo bay after a couple of hours where we stopped for a drink.

Checking our guide we found that the 12 Apostle’s (famous picture site) was another 100km up the coast, so after supping up we jumped back in the car and continued along the road admiring the stunning views along the way.

After another hour or two we arrived at the information centre for the 12 Apostle’s and although it was windy and wet we got out of the car and followed the signs for this attraction.

Even though the weather was inclement when we finally got to one of the viewing platforms the sight of this natural wonder was breath-taking.  In fact the weather most probably made the view more interesting with the sea and waves crashing into the rocks below.

The 12 Apostle’s are column’s of sandstone that are free standing in the bay below at the mercy of the tides.  Unfortunately though, there are only about 6 Apostle’s still left as over the years a few of them have eroded and collapsed into the sea.

We walked around taking some great photo’s for a while, well for as long as we could take the wind and cold for, before we headed back to the comfort of the car.  I must say this is a highlight of the Great Ocean Road and should not be missed whilst they still stand.

Back in the car we considered where we were going to stay for the night, we checked the local hotels and found them to be very expensive.  So we checked the weather for the next day to see whether it would be worth returning to visit this when the sun was shining.  Unfortunately it was forecast for the same weather so we decided to head back to Apollo Bay for the night.

Shell had found quite a nice but slightly above budget hotel, but when we went to book it we found we could apply a bonus we had built up through loyalty points on hotel’s.com which meant that we only had to pay £5 for it….result!!

After another 1 ½ drive we checked into the hotel and were very impressed as it was a really nice big room with a Jacuzzi in the bathroom.  Possibly one of the best rooms we have had since Bali and only £5!!!

In the early evening we headed out to a bar/restaurant for something to eat and as it was a bit cold we both went for a winter warmer of pie and mash.  It didn’t look too great when it turned up but it was more tasty than it looked.

We both finished up our bottle of wine pretty quickly as I think we both wanted to get back to our nice room to have a nice Jacuzzi before snuggling down in our large bed to watch TV for the rest of the night.

Day 2 – Road back to Melbourne

Making the most of our room we checked out at the last possible moment before we head back out on the Great Ocean Road.

Just as we made our way out of Apollo bay we saw a number of people at the side of the road. We pulled over and noticed that they were watching a Koala in a nearby tree. We got out and took a couple of photo’s as we thought it might be our last sighting of a Koala for a while!

We took our time driving slowly back stopping at some of the bays and taking in the view before returning to Torquay where we found a viewpoint over the ocean where we could watch the surfers out in the bay.

As it was getting around lunchtime we thought we would find somewhere nice to have lunch.  We walked around town but could not find what we wanted. After checking the internet we found a bistro listed in a bay just down the road.  We drove down there and after a while eventually found the restaurant. Although it was not busy at that time of day we did get some nice food, lamb for Shell and Beef Cheeks for Me, both which were pretty good.

It was just after 2 and we did not want to get back to Donna’s too early (as she was working) so we thought we would go back to the viewpoint at Torquay and chill out for a while.  We parked up and listened to the talking book whilst we watched the surfers and were also to see a few dolphins out in the bay. 

I think we must of relaxed a bit much as both of us took turns in dozing before we thought it was time to make a move.  We headed back to the main town and grabbed a nice coffee and very nice muffin before heading back to Melbourne.

We arrived back at Donna’s around 6.00 and spent the evening having a few drinks, chatting and watching TV before having an early night as we were all due to get up early to catch a flight to Ayers Rock the next day.