The Fantastic Great Ocean Road

Finally getting around to this post, I've actually had a semi busy week catching up with friends and avoiding the laptop besides when on the job hunt! But I shall talk about all that later on first, and finally The Great Ocean Road!!

So we hit the road, hungover and late. We had a house rented in Warrnambool which was sooo good. It was pretty late when we got there though so not much time for sight seeing so instead we decided to head down to the beach and watch the sun set, and everyone knows I love a good sunset. We also came across some camels which was more than unusual but pretty funny to us at the time! It was lovely watching the sunset but not quite a Cowra sunset! I think they will always be the most amazing ones I've ever seen!

So on our second day the sightseeing began, first stop Portland to the shire lookout over the quarry. Then we were in desperate need of coffee and tea after the drive so we stopped at Bridgewater bay beach which was lovely. Such blue water and white sand! Fab! Just up the road from the beach was Cape Duquesne where there is a blowhole and petrified forest. The petrified forest was pretty cool, but not what I expected, at all!! The view was lovely from both but unfortunately for us the blow hole wasn't feeling very active when we were there! :(

We headed to Portland next to go to the information centre, I'd recommend doing this as you go along on the road, the people working there have great information. The lady told us about a place called Fauna park and Cape Nelson, so they were our next stops! Firstly, in fauna park we got to see a white kangaroo, it wasn't a very big park I will say with only one kangaroo and a couple of emu's but it was worth it for the white kangaroo alone and we had fun in the park's playground!

 

The next stop was one of the best of the trip! Cape Nelson lighthouse and enchanted forest. The lighthouse was so pretty and unlike Cape Otway you don't have to pay to see it! And the boys got to do their usual of going out on to the edge so they were happy, even if poor Therese wasn't!! Then it was on to the enchanted forest, amazing! It was a walk through a forest that writhes and intertwines the whole way through just giving random glimpses of the beautiful blue below. Was a very pretty walk and the view at the end made it even more worthwhile! I just want to swim in any water I see that is that blue!

So I should have warned you all, there are a lot of beaches in this post! Especially for this days section!!! Our next stop was Port Fairy, and it's lovely beach and of course some chips or ice cream! As usual I was on the ice cream team! My sweet tooth is most definitely going to be my downfall! But its the best way to appreciate a good beach! ;)

Our last stop for the day was to Killarney beach, purely for the name of course! It was also the perfect place for a spot of hurling, Conor even got his Scottish uncle to play who was pretty decent for a first timer!! Was also a nice end to a seriously busy day! Day two, done!

 

Day three, a much more chilled out day! We headed to an Irish village called Koroit which is where a lot of Irish farmers settled years ago when they came to Australia. This area of Victoria has the best soil for farming in Australia because of its weather and how close it is to the ocean. It all felt a bit too touristy though, a bit over done with the green and Irish named businesses but was nice to see all the same, even if they did spell Kilkenny wrong on their sign!
Next stop Tower Hill reserve, because we were big fans of a a bit of scenery. Was nice but in comparison to everything else we've seen it was a bit 'meh' for want of a better word!
On the way to our next stop we visited Cheese world, for the cheese connoisseurs of the group! Ha! The museum part was woeful, just full of the kind of stuff you would find anywhere in Ireland and some really random stuff too which had nothing to do with cheese making!? The shop had a nice cafe in it though and a pretty massive selection of cheese! Can't believe I've even spoken about it for as long as I just have.... Anyway, moving on... 

Another one of my favourite things from the road trip was the Bay of Islands which was pretty awesome. You have to fight the crowds a bit to get a good view but it's worth the wait! The main viewing platform was a bit more of a struggle but their is a quieter platform that no one seems to notice really which has a great view too.

Next stop was the Bay of Martyrs beach which was fun, just another beach for me to fall in love with and for Conor to mess around of course! Next stop The Grotto, which was just another wall for the boys to hop to get as close to the edge as they could! Then onto Loch Ard Gorge, although we didn't do the main part we did see the thunder caves which were pretty cool but more so we went to Sherbrook river which I think may have been my favourite part of the whole trip. It was just breath taking. The waves there are completely insane, you couldn't swim or surf there! I think it's part of the Bass Strait which is one of the most lethal bodies of water, hence having the name of the shipwreck coast. Crazy!

Next stop for this crazy day, the twelve apostles. It is a bit manic here with all the other tourists, and you kind of have to fight for space but people are pretty good when you're taking photos. It really is a shame that they are gradually disappearing. Such a cool thing to see, considering it's one of the things you think of when you think of Australia. We got to see the London Bridge on our way home too. We really did pack our days! Ha!

On the fourth day we left our lovely house in Warrnambool and headed to our motel in Lavers Hill, a bit of a downgrade from the house but we really weren't there much for the two days so it didn't matter!
We headed to Gibson steps, stopping on the way to see the Arch and another scenic lookout ( I did mention how we loved a bit of scenery!). Down on the beach at Gibson's Steps it is actually lovely. It's a nice beach and it's a little amazing looking up at the apostles as opposed to fighting for a glimpse on a platform! We were going to go to Cape Otway lighthouse, until we found out just how expensive it was so we decided instead to head to Mait's rest rainforest walk! Thought it would have been longer but it was still pretty cool! We had a bit of a photo theme too of standing inside the trees!

Next stop Apollo Bay for a bit of dinner and a look at the beach! It is a much quieter town than I expected! I was expecting some huge beach town with loads of cafes and bars but we struggled to find somewhere to eat that wasn't fish and chips!

The next day I was actually sick so stayed in bed for the day while the rest of them went and saw Otway Fly, which I am so jealous about because thats the thing I REALLY wanted to do, along with seeing some waterfalls! A little heartbroken but we may take the drive back down to see them again!
That evening I was feeling a bit better so we went down to Johanna beach for a look! It's very pretty but again the waves were a bit mad! It was packed with people camping there too. It would be a great beach to camp at too and it was free to stay there, bonus! If you are camping I would definitely recommend a night here! Was lovely to just chill out here so a while.
We headed back to Apollo Bay again for some tea and dessert at the Apollo Bay Hotel which was lovely! Always good to treat yourself! :)

So New Years Eve was our the day we headed back! So didn't want to leave, even though I was sick! We of course got a little bit more sight seeing in on the way home! We went to Split Point lighthouse, which was pretty cool and was close to the bluest water, you all know how I love blue-blue water! It was fab and just made me want to go swimming again!! Unfortunately it wasn't really a beach! 

Next stop Bells Beach, Conor's uncle really wanted to see it because it was in one of his favourite movies, Point Break. Well he discovered after it wasn't actually filmed there but on a similar beach in the US! The waves there were insane, I can see why Rip Curl use it for their competitions from time to time! Madness! Was packed with surfers too, but apparently more so on the other side!
We stopped at Torquay beach for Conor and Stephen to have a swim on the way back, it was one of the only beaches that was actually safe to swim at! This also meant that it was packed but the boys didn't mind! They were delighted to finally get to swim!

So that was our Great Ocean Road trip, all organised to perfection by Conor's sister! It was a great holiday and an even better way to finish off the year!!! I have soo many photos from the trip, all of which I want to put on this post so I'll throw some more at the end for good measure! Definitely recommend everyone to do it while they're here, but bring warm clothes, it is not warm on the coast! Ha!

Amy :) x