Chapter 12 "The Great Ocean Road"

27.08.2010

After packing my bag in the dark, half asleep and going over this in my mind a few times, making sure I didn’t forget anything on, under or about my bed, I had a quick breakfast and stood out on the corner of Spencer and Flinders at 7am this morning. Also waiting there for the Groovy Grapes Tour Bus to come pick us up on our adventure was a German couple and around the corner another, surprise surprise, fellow German traveler. Whales, our tour guide for the next 3 days, helped us load our bags into the portable luggage room being dragged behind our bus and we were off to St. Kilda to pick up the rest of the group - two girls from, wherelse, Germany and a French couple.

The first hour or so of the tour was spent on the freeway and asleep, till, at around 9am, we reached Torquay – the home of Quiksilver and Rip Curl. This little town, dubbed “surf city”, was lined with factory outlets and warehouses, which we spent walking around through as the indecisive weather changed from rain to shine every 10minutes. I cannot deny that the warehouse selling those usually so unaffordable surfer brands for very reasonable prices weren’t tempting. But thinking back on the physical strength needed to close up that suitcase of mine this morning and the long and expensive way ahead of me here in Australia helped hold me back. I could not however leave behind this black hoodie for 5$... I mean, 5$!

From Torquay we drove onwards and stopped at Bells Beach, most famous for being a venue for international professional surfing tournaments. This beach also marked the beginning of the Great Ocean Road. In 1919 Australian soldiers were put to work building what was meant to be a service road for the whaling industry. The roundabout 3000 men took 20 years to complete the task and today, the Great Ocean Road is the world’s longest war memorial drive and the most scenic route along the coasts of Australia. It is divided into four sections, the first of which is called the “Surf Section”. High cliffs and massive waves down on the beach line the stretch of road, which presented itself to us in rain, shine, blues and gray skies. Sometimes it felt as if the rain just waited for us to get out of the comfort of our warm and dry bus. At others we were greeted and presented with the most beautiful photo ops imaginable. The towns of Lorne and Apollo Bay, both former towns built for the whaling industry and today a popular holiday getaway for people coming from Melbourne, are also part of the surf section.

We stopped for lunch at a roadside café called the Koala Cove Café. Our guide told us to head down a little street and sure enough, we found two little koalas up in the eucalyptus trees, one snoozing and one eating – so basically we got to see them doing what they do most of the time. Very cute little furry animals, I must say. Next, we were given a handful of birdseed and suddenly found ourselves surrounded by colorful birds, landing on our arms, shoulders and heads. The food at the café was surprisingly good and I ate my first veggie pattie burger with delight. We left the café right after seeing three Kookaburras being fed with strips of steak. Beautiful birds, but the loud clicking of their beaks and their rapid smacking of the meat against the signs was kind of intimidating. These carnivorous birds catch small rodents, reptiles and amphibians and whack them against the ground to kill and tenderize their meal.

The next section of the GOR is called the “Rainforest Section” and although it has receded over the course of time and the development of towns along the road (and our guide said it’s not a real (tropical) rainforest to begin with), we got to take a walk through a beautiful stretch of forest. Mait Rainforest Walk is lined with juicy green ferns, a small stream which you hear all along the way and a mixture of gigantic old eucalyptus trees and thinner trees (whose names I don’t know). The eucalyptus is quite the smart tree, as is sheds it’s bark, it creates fuel for forest fires around itself. One would think that trees usually try to avoid fires, but the eucalyptus needs the hear for its seed pods to open and drop the seeds (which are then eaten by forest creatures and geographically redistributed by means of their digestive tract).

We headed into the third section, the “Sand Section” and stopped by the Gibson Steps, named after Hugh Gibson, who lived by the cliff theses steps were carved into. Today there’s a wooden staircase leading down to a beautiful sandy beach, on which the waves just don’t stop crashing in. From the top, the coastline is white with the breaking waves and the beach is contoured by a line of white foam, thick and fluffy.
Here is also where the sandstakes start. Huge formations lining the coast, like towering islands or pieces of the cliff that have broken off and drifted a few meters out to sea. In reality, they are formed with the movement of the sea, the sand and lots of time. Loch Ard Gorge, our next stop, was named after a tragic ship wreck which happened in 1878. Our guide called it the Titanic of Australia. Coming too close to the shore, the mast of a large passenger ship hit a cliff by the gorge, broke off, pierced the hull and sank the ship. Everyone onboard died, except for a young deckhand named Tom Pierce (17) who later then saved the daughter of a wealthy family Eva Carmichael (18) from the water (really does sound like the Titanic story). The story became famous through the media, that started pressuring the two survivors to get married. She declined and moved back to Ireland. He continued to work on ships and eventually got shipwrecked again and drowned. In the end, he had only asked her to marry him because he had seen through her wet night gown as he rescued her and it would have been the honorable thing to do, at the time. Their graves were right on top of the cliffs by the gorge… We walked down onto the beach where he washed up and afterwards pulled her out of the water.

Our final photo op and scenic stop for the day were the 12 Apostles, the third most visited sight in Australia. The 12 Apostles are actually more than 12 (sandstakes), of which only 9 can be seen from the viewing platform. Also, when they were discovered by a Frenchman, he had named them the Pigglets, which was later deemed inappropriate in the 1950s when the area started becoming a popular family holiday destination. The tallest one is about 47m high. Just our luck, the wooden walkway along the edge of the cliff was closed off, because something had broken off a while back. Still, at three different angles, the formations surrounded by the wild ocean and backlit by the setting sun and the doomsday clouds, the 12 Apostles were truly a spectacular sight. They reminded me a bit of the Cliffs of Mohair in Ireland, but less windy and more waves. The light was beautiful, the sight was amazing and in that moment, I was a bit sad not to be sharing it with someone.

We backtracked a bit to our hostel, the 13th Apostle, for the night in the “town” of Princetown (more like Prince-a-couple-of-houses-next-to-each-other), a cute little house we had all to ourselves. We were divided into groups, of which one was to help out with cooking and the other with washing the dishes. And I must give it to Whales the tour guide, he served us a damn good dinner.

28.08.2010

Couldn’t have had a better breakfast – yummy cereals, yoghurt, hot milky tea, toast and all the stuff you could wish for on top of it. The only thing I would have loved to change was the fact that by 7:15am, the breakfast table was to be empty and everything stored away. Before leaving the hostel, we received the most beautiful morning greeting – a full intense rainbow, getting stronger by the minute, with its end close enough to run to, just down the field. It even had a pale little brother right behind it. That, the great empty plains and the morning dew, made for a beautiful way to wake up in the middle of nowhere. Another early day for us Groovy Grapes. We left at 7:30 and paid another short visit to the 12 Apostles, to see them bathed in morning sunlight.

Our trip took us further along the Sand Section of the Great Ocean Road. We visited the London Bridge, another sandstone formation, named after the original in London because of its two arches. In 1990 however, one of these arches collapsed, so today it is an island a few meters off the coast with one arch. Whales told us the story about the collapse, saying that a couple had just crossed the first arch, when it collapsed into the sea, stranding them on the rest of it. Of course, the media rushed to the scene and broadcasted it nationwide. The only problem, aside from rescue helicopters taking their time due to the fact that it wasn’t a life threatening situation, was that the married couple was not married to each other, but had told their partner that they were on business trips in Melbourne. Lesson: Don’t wander onto sandstone formations when having an affair.

In the Bay of Martyrs and the Bay of islands, we looked at a few more of the majestic pillars emerging along the coastline. Seagulls nesting on the greener ones sometimes flew in noisy flocks above our heads. The towering islands were formed thanks to thousands of year of erosion, and as the sea levels continues to rise, they will continue to collapse and disappear into the ocean. The only reason why some are still standing is because of the granite rock in their foundation… Those last stops in the sand section were much appreciated, used for last impressions, last cliff photos and, for me, my last cigarette from Manila. I have now switched back to rolling my own smokes and will attempt to cut down up to the point of possibly even quitting. Being in the most expensive country for smokers will do that to you.

The fourth and final section, the “Farm Section”, of the Great Ocean Road had, as the name suggests, farm landscapes to offer. We drove through miles and miles of cows, fields and swampy areas. Not very exciting, but relaxing and perfect for a much needed nap. A short stop at Logan’s Beach, with the hopes of seeing whales which breed in that area around this time of year, was cut short because of rain – the light drizzly kind that soaks you without you noticing it. We did see a single body boarder amongst the massive waves, before heading back to the bus though.

In Warrnmbool we stopped at a Safeway so Whales could shop for lunch and dinner and we could stretch our legs and buy whatever alcoholic beverages or snacks we might require. I have developed a slight addiction to Tim Tams, trying hard not to OD on those chocolatey pieces of heaven… Our lunch was prepared on an electric BBQ in a little park – sausages, onions, bread rolls, salad, cheese and all the sauces you could want. I must say, the Aussie BBQ hotdog is quite delicious and after two, you are stuffed and ready for the next nap.