Port Campbell, Great Ocean Road, Twelve Apostles

I left Geelong fairly early - learned a valuable lesson. Settle the hotel bill BEFORE the next morning - you're limited to how early you can get away if you have to hang around to pay!

Once I hit torquay, the Great Ocean Road started. I stopped briefly at Bells Beach. I had to. Its famous. Well, sort of.

The Great Ocean Road deserves its name, certainly. An airy and lofty winding road hugs the side of the clifs for a couple hundred kilometres, with a stunning ocean view around every corner, and most of the time rainforest on the other side. Perfect sunroof weather made it all the sweeter.

I stopped in Apollo Bay for Breakfast about 10am at a place called Kaos Kafe which was excellent. They even had Chai tea (loose leaf tea!).

I had read about the various helicopter tours of the twelve apostles and was keen to try it. The one I wanted to go with was in Port Campbell, so I actually drove straight past the twelve without stopping.

The helicopter ride itself was great - certainly something one should experience (my first ride in one). The view was also excellent, but the coverage and time left a lot to be desired. I came away feeling somewhat pickpocketed... I did end up with a tail mounted video of the whole ride though - its short enough to download over the internet, here.

I headed into Port Cambell, arranged a campsite for the night, enquired as to the availability of scuba dives on the morrow (I'll have to call back in the morning) and had a delightfull fresh seafood lunch, including the local crayfish.

I finished the afternoon with a visit to the twelve apostles and walked around the various sights. I think I might have built it up in my mind to much - it was disapointing... The best vantage to see the rock stacks was 'closed for my safety' - which I'm getting dreadfully tired of hearing :).

Thu 19 Feb 2004 | /Trips/Australia/South_Australia | permalink

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