Yahoo!!! Today is the eve of Hari Raya and I finally had a break from work. It has been a tiring, tiring week for me and my body is seriously aching with all the tension of meeting deadlines and putting long hours at work. So, here I am, breathing a sigh of relief at the number of hours I can spend on, enjoying a number of activities I had in mind.
In this post, I'll continue with my blogging on my trip to the Great Ocean Road.
Photo credit to http://www.lonelyplanet.com
I went on this trip with Go West Tours because it was the most convenient option. This was the route that I took from Melbourne. Geelong is the largest city after Melbourne in Victoria and Torquay is a surf town, where Quicksilver and Rip Curl originate. There's even a surfing museum in Torquay, which unfortunately had to be given a miss since I was following a tour.
This arch marks the start of the Great Ocean Road. I didn't really understand why we had to spend a few minutes at this site when the tour bus made a stop here, but afterwards it made sense. The information boards erected at the side of the road were very helpful and it immediately dawned on me that this was an important historical site.
The arch commemorates the Victorian soldiers who had served in the First World War. Not only that, the Great Ocean Road itself, which stretched to about 243km, was built by the returning soldiers from that war and they dedicated the road to their fallen comrades. It's kind of sad and moving; this road was the longest war memorial in the world.
A small sandy path that brings visitors down to the beach. The waves was pretty high, which was perfect for surfing. Even during winter, there were still people surfing!! I do envy surfers because to me, they are really hardy and robust athletes.
Waves rolled from afar and came crashing on the rocks. I appreciate a lot of the scenic sights along the road. However, there were quite a lot of bends and windings along the road so you can get nauseous. I just closed my eyes whenever I needed to and the nausea was gone, so it was not that bad, especially when it comes from someone who has motion sickness.
I'm not sure where this was but it must be at Lorne. A peaceful place where you can enjoy the view and have a picnic on the wooden tables and benches. We had some Lamington cakes and a hot cup of cocoa at this stop. But what I like the most is the weather - the air is so cool so you can sit here all day without breaking a sweat.
Another stop along the Otway Range and look what I've found. Two amazing Kookaburras!! These birds are native to Australia.
There were parrots, ducks and koalas too in this area. The parrots were the noisiest animal I could find here. There were so many of them and one landed on my head.
We have reached the Otway National Park, home to the tallest and biggest trees in the world. The trees here can grow up to 100 m high. Bush fire was also quite common here during summer when the air is very dry and hot. You could see the effects of the fire on this tree, where only the trunk is left standing.
I'm not kidding when I said that these trees were gigantic. You can walk through the trunk without bending your head.
This rainforest was home to many creatures and plants. Even though we had walked on the trail through the forest for about thirty minutes, I was truly enchanted by what I had seen. This was a great change from the concrete jungle which I am so used to.
We're here at the 12 Apostles, which consists of a collection of beautiful limestone stacks or rocks. These apostles were wonders of nature because they were able to survive despite the erosive force of the waves and other natural elements such as the rain and wind. Currently, there's only 8 Apostles left, the ninth had collapsed in 2005.
The warning sign showed how precarious the site can be. Safety comes first at all times and there were also other signs such as to be on alert for snakes.
Here were some of the beautiful apostles I had managed to capture. It was not the best time to snap photo because I was taking photos with the sun directly in the background, so many of my photos are dark.
There are many other seascapes at Port Campbell other than the Apostles.
There were a lot of walking and climbing in this tour, so putting on a pair of track shoes is the most recommended way to go.
I think this is my best photo of the lot.
I'm not sure whether this is a flower, but it is still a beautiful vegetation that grows in abundance along the Great Ocean Road.
That's all for now. Stay updated on my trip to Phillip Island. I've got to go now. Ciao.
