Over 8 days Mum, Dad, Grandma, Reid and I travelled from Melbourne down the Great Ocean Road, through to the Grampians and back to Melbourne.
Now the weather is renowned for being unpredictable in Melbourne, but after holidaying in here in May 2004 with beautiful weather my Mum and Dad had no qualms returning to Melbourne at the same time this year. It is a big ask of someone from far south Dunedin to travel in Australia in the height of summer with the risk that the mercury could top 30 degrees. Unfortunately, we were lucky if the temperature reached 15 degrees during the entire trip, and it did rain on most days.
That said if the weather had been beautiful and calm we would never have had some of the fantastic experiences we did. The highlight of the trip would have to be watching the tide come in at Loch Ard Gorge (particularly at Thunder Cave) – along the coast of the Great Ocean Road. The Loch Ard sunk just off the coast of Port Campbell and was Australia’s worst maritime disaster, 54 of the 52 people on board the ship drowned. The coastline around the 12 Apostles is very fragile and is said to erode at a rate of 2cm per year, I think we would have seen a good proportion of this erosion occurring on the day we were there. The sea swells were huge and massive waves were crashing against the cliff face. My best guess is that the cliffs would be at least 50 meters tall, and very regularly a wave would crash into the cliff sending a wall of water well over the height of the cliff. In some of the bays the water was becoming brown as waves washed away layers of the cliff, on one occasion a wave sent water over the cliff top and as water then ran off a stream of brown sludge poured back down into the sea.
Just briefly, other highlights from the trip would have to be
Seeing a koala stop traffic as it wondered out onto and eventually across the road
Feeding the cockatoos at our villa in Apollo Bay
The Otway fly (in pouring rain)
Triplet Falls
The rainforest walk at Maits Rest – which has the biggest (tall and wide) trees I have ever seen, including the Hobbit tree (if you use your imagination you can definitely see a door on the front of this tree AND the tree trunk is hollow!!!! (I peaked inside)
Cape Otway lighthouse (in gale force winds)
The 12 Apostles (where I heard an Asian tourist say “excuse me, mate” in a very board accent – try saying it out load in your best generic Asian accent – sounds hilarious)
The tide coming in at Loch Ard Gorge and eroding the cliffs before our eyes!
An emu stealing a woman’s lunch
Recovery of the Grampians National Park after the January bush fires
Lake Lonsdale – or as it is known to the locals, Lonsdale Paddocks
Walking/climbing/clambering to the top of Mt Zero and watching the rain shower pass over us (the getting wet part was less fun, but unavoidable)
Sunset at Reid Lookout
Having wildlife all around, including kangaroos in the back yard or hopping down the street in front of our villa. Although kangaroos and emus running onto the road in front of the car was quite worrying, but a highlight nonetheless . . . I guess
Other points of interest
National Rose Gardens at Werribee Mansion
The house on a stick
The Ladies of Lorne (the have names I’m sure but I didn’t write it down, so from now on will be called the Ladies of Lorne, by me anyway)
The Beehive Falls
McKenzie Falls
Wildlife of the creepy kind
View from the Balconies
And of course spending time with my family ☺ (ah, isn’t that nice) this trip was for Mum and Dad’s 30th wedding anniversary.
