Where We Be
Great Ocean Road & Wilsons Promontory
|
Just west of Melbourne the Great Ocean Road
winds along Australia's southern coast, offering
excellent scenery along the way. The Twelve
Apostles is the most famous sight but there are
many other pulloffs with dramatic coastal views,
not to mention beaches galore and seaside
towns to explore. You could easily spend a
week here sightseeing in a leisurely way, but
we only had a day or so, so ours was more of a
highlights tour. The Twelve Apostles was our
westernmost point before we headed eastward
towards Apollo Bay, where we spent the night.
Our biggest reason for visiting the Melbourne
area was the chance to explore Wilsons Prom
(as it's known for short). This large peninsula
southeast of Melbourne is a wildlife paradise
filled with all the Aussie animals you could hope
to see -- kangaroo, wallaby, wombat, koala, emu,
and an astonishing variety of bird life including
parrots and cockatoos. During our two days
here we saw loads of animals, especially on the
Prom Wildlife Walk. We kept busy exploring all
the trails, beaches, and scenic drives the park
has to offer and stayed in a lovely "condo unit"
at Tidal River, the main campground in the park.
At the Gibson Steps (about 3 hours from Melbourne), we hiked down a steep
set of stairs to the beach and got our first glimpse of one of the Apostles
|
The tide was rolling in and the sand had the texture and color of brown sugar
|
Back at the top, we hiked a short stretch of the Great Ocean Walk.
This iconic long-distance hiking trail stretches for some 150 miles!
|
We drove another mile or so to the Twelve Apostles.
It's just a short walk to this famous lookout point.
|
We continued walking to Castle Rock (shown above) for excellent views of all of the Apostles
|
Six more Apostles are visible to the west (four others are no longer standing).
Hugging the cliff face is the trail heading back to the main lookout point.
|
Two of the Apostles are off on their own to the east.
(These are the ones you can see from Gibson Steps.)
|
Four of the Apostles fell
due to all the wave action here
|
You'll definitely be sharing this lookout with
dozens (if not hundreds) of new friends
|
As we drove east we pulled over more than once to savor the views.
This lookout point at Castle Cove was one of our favorites.
|
Eventually we reached Otway Rainforest and found the popular trailhead known as Maits Rest
|
The half-mile loop meanders around the roots of ancient
rainforest trees. The fern-filled hike was totally worth the stop
|
The scenery changed yet again as we neared Apollo Bay, our stop for the night
|
We checked into our Beachcomber Motel and bought our food for the week at a local grocery store
|
Near sunset we strolled along the Apollo Bay Coastal Walk
|
Looking back at town from the far end of the beach
|
We drove up Grey River Road, a gravel track, and didn't
see any koalas -- but we did spot four wild kangaroos
|
We looked long and hard for koalas deep in the woods but never saw any -- until, that is,
we drove all the way back down the road and spotted one right next to the Koala Kafe!
|
Australia has a whole lot of coastline -- and the Twelve Apostles
along the Great Ocean Road is one of the most beautiful spots
|
Wilsons Prom is a haven for all sorts of adorable Aussie animals,
but we think wombats are especially cute, like ewoks from Star Wars
|
We couldn't resist one more stop at Picnic Bay to watch the sun set over Whisky Beach
|
During the drive home we stopped at Darby Creek and had a look at the river --
and more kangaroos. You can see the autumn colors on the distant hillside.
|
Our "condo unit" at Wilsons Prom was one of our favorite lodgings of the whole trip.
All those windows meant we could watch wildlife and birds right from the couch.
|
Next morning at sunrise we drove half an hour along the Great Ocean Road to Kennett River
with the hope of seeing a koala in the wild. Kennett River is known for its koala population.
|
Apollo Bay is a coastal town that consistently makes the list of Australia's best small towns
|
The units weren't cheap at ~$150 US per night but they were located
right inside the park and you could walk out your door to hiking trails
|
The two women in the distance are standing close to the emus. As you can see,
the sun finally popped out for us so our Prom Wildlife Walk was a big success.
|
In the big field in front of the parking lot we also got to see two emus up close
|
This wombat couldn't have cared less about us as he
busily munched grass, passing within inches of us
|
But the star attractions for us were the wombats. Wilsons Prom is known
for its large population of wombats -- and you can get surprisingly close.
|
These kangaroos were tagged for research purposes but fun to see nonetheless
|
Next we decided to visit Prom Wildlife Walk to the north. This turned out to
be a great decision as there were lots of animals out and about near sunset.
|
And Whisky Bay Beach looks equally inviting to the right
|
Picnic Bay Beach looks awfully inviting to the left of the overlook
|
Our next stop was the surprisingly pretty Picnic Bay. A short,
somewhat steep hike brought us to the overlook shown up ahead.
|
Walking back to the car we saw this cute little fella and enjoyed these multicolored ferns (it's autumn here)
|
As you can see the weather didn't exactly cooperate, but we made the best of it
|
In the afternoon we drove to Squeaky Beach with its squeaky sand and turquoise waters
|
We startled a few wallabies during our hike and only saw one other
family the whole time. We finished up back at Tidal River Footbridge.
|
Next morning, despite rainy weather, we got up early and hiked the Lilly Pilly Circuit
(10 km or ~6 miles). Behind the "U" in the river you can just see our "condo unit."
|
Wilsons Prom is the southernmost point in mainland Australia
|
On our way back through camp we spotted these mature
Crimson Rosellas drinking from a hose at a fish cleaning station
|
Near sunset we strolled along the Loo-Errn Track
|
So what animals did we see from our windows?
Wallabies, first and foremost, lots of wallabies!
|
And numerous juvenile Crimson Rosella parrots
|
We enjoyed the peaceful views at Tidal River Footbridge
|
Walking a little further, we reached Norman Beach near Tidal River campground
|
Norman Beach offers a wide expanse of sand and gentle surf to swim in
|
The campground has a general store offering groceries and cooked meals
|
Early on we spotted a mob of kangaroos, including
this potentially aggressive male taller than me!
|
The first three days of our week-long road trip out of Melbourne took us west to the Twelve Apostles
then back east to Apollo Bay and Kennett River before heading southeast to Wilsons Promontory
|
