Our first stop was Bell's Beech, at the very beginning of the great ocean road. Bell's Beech is known for being one of the best surfer beeches in Australia, if not the world. As such, the town around it grew trying to sell corresponding equipment. However, surf boards did not sell as they'd hope... so, as a result of the cold water from the southern ocean local businesses began to sell wetsuits. Formerly wetsuits had been designed for diving, so a newly marketed suit for surfing made for a big hit. Before long the town also developed the loose fitting, fast drying board shorts. It is now the home of a huge Easter surf tournament and has been for near 40 years.
Here we stopped for a bit, had some views and pictures, while we were provided with tea, coffee and cookies (biscuits). We were up on a cliff that looked down over perfectly smooth beech. On either end of the beech from where we could see there were groups of surfers riding the advertised swells. We could look east and see a cliff rise off the beech and the sun's glare reflecting off the ocean for as far as we could see. As we looked southwest we saw a similar sight (minus the sun's glare), put panning inwards showed slight hills, with the Great Ocean Road winding through.
Next stop was in the town of Aireys, and Fairhaven Beech. While the town is over 100, there exist only 3 buildings that are over 30. This a a result of a series of some of the most severe brush fires known. These few buildings include Split Rock Lighthouse, apparently used in an Aussie/British television show and the house of Mad Max, which Mel Gibson had at one point owned. The other building is a house on a hill that looks absolutely ridiculous with what sorts of views it must have. We stopped on the beech for a quick chance to feel the hot sand between our toes and get a view of Memorial Arch (an official? entrance to the road...).
While i'm not certain of where our nest stop was, it was a bit of a walk outside. First we traversed up a bit of a hill, where we were flanked by eucaliptis (spl?) trees. And in said trees we found ourselves some koalas. Now... if I ever though cats were lazy... koalas sleep 19-20 hours a day, and the rest of the time they sleep, eat, or find a new place to sleep or eat. On the way down I spotted a parrot like bird and tried to follow it a bit off the road. Sadly I could never get a good picture of it. But then our guide pulled out some seed and while holding some I had 1-2 climbing on my arms/shoulder at a time. They were lovely reds and greens and I could had a swell day just hanging out with them for hours.
We proceeded to a noon lunch in a town called Apollo Bay I believe. We are at a local motel/restaurant where I had fish and chips with a salad. The meal was included in the price of the tour so I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the portions. After eating we headed down to the beech for a brief walk before boarding the bus again. Walking in the water was a pleasant relief from the oppressive heat. So, beech walk done... we got back on the bus for the afternoon.
Next stop, a rainforest, and a cool walk without the sun. Now, when we were in New Zealand we saw those trees with ridiculous girth, but here we saw some forest ash, which can get up too 50 to 100 meters tall. They were also rather numerous giving the forest a very "awing" feeling. We also saw a few trees that are known for frowning on the remains of fallen trees. As a result, when the fallen trees decay, these are left standing with massive root caverns that people can easily stand in. The walk continued in a 20 minute loop until we arrived back at the bus.
For our next locale the weather changed for the worse (only a bit), but set quite a mood. The clouds rolled in and the wind picked up as we reached the 12 Apostles. I'll describe them together but we then went to the Razorback and Loch Arb (I think). Imagine yourself walking out to the coast, but as you approach there is no beach opening up before you. Instead, the land falls away into a 30-40 meter sheer cliff, eaten away by the ocean. Your face is occasionally dashed with water drops, either from the grey clouds above or the crashing waves below. As you walk out along the cliffs and look to either side, giant rock spires and towers rise from the shallows, reaching heights equal to your own. Those spires made the Apostles, while the Razorback was a massive ridge, sheer cliff on both sides that shoots out away from the mainland. From where we stood we could see teals and blues in the water beneath the white of crashing waves. Then the golden sand and rock rising up the cliffs turning into lush greens of plants along the plateau. It was so nice!!!
Now as we arrived at our last stop the weather returned to sunny and warm. And for our last stop... we all pause to recall a certain London Bridge. Now... what did the do again? It fell down of course. I never really understood that song until now. The London Bridge is a rock formation, and in 1990, the part that was a literal bridge, spanning to an island did indeed collapse. I thought it was cool to finally see the origin of that song.
For dinner we stopper for some chinese food on the way home. I am waiting now to receive it so I cannot describe it but I expect...chinese food. We should get back to Martha's between 8 and 9 and I expect a fairly quiet evening...
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