7 March, 2012

Day 2 on the great ocean road. I had hoped to get a surf lesson here, but couldn't get a booking. We had some time up our sleeves anyway, and one of the things this area is famous for is wild koalas. So we backtracked a little to Kennet River. Some tourist literature we had said that koalas were guaranteed if we just drove up the Grey River Road, which seemed a little optimistic, but boy were we wrong. Koalas everywhere! And king parrots! One of which took quite a shining to Lulli as we drove by.

A great start to the day, as we continued west. Mait's rest gave us a lovely walk in the rainforest, and the Cape Otway lighthouse gave us some lovely wind, to remind us of home. Cape Otway road also gave us even more koalas. Far more than we could count any more. Traffic hazard levels. It reminded me a lot of driving around yellowstone, with people pulling off anywhere and everywhere, and by the time you've been there a few hours you're the sort of jaded expert who only pulls over if the animals are within two meters of the car.

And that was only the morning! We arrived at the 12 Apostles in the afternoon sunlight, went for a walk along the beach, and still had time for a nice stroll around the Bay of Martyrs after arriving in Port Campbell. The 12 Apostles really are neat, along with Loch Ard Gorge and all the other picturesque sandstone formations, but the road is nowhere near as spectacular on it's own. Up to Cape Otway, you're driving right by the sea the whole time. It's really a different trip altogether from Cape Otway onwards. Indeed, a great ocean road.