- Phillip Island
- Torquay to Apollo Bay
- The Twelve Apostles and more
The Great Ocean Road runs along the south-western coast of Victoria. Famous for its cliff hugging road and beautiful coastline. We’d taken the morning ferry from Sorrento to Queenscliff so had all afternoon to wind our way to Apollo Bay – our destination for the night. The official start to the Great Ocean Road is Torquay – world renowned surfing area. Nearby Bells Beach holds the the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach surfing competition – formerly known as the Bells Classic among other names. First held in 1962. Stopped at the Torquay Tourist Centre and collected lots of info for the journey. Heaps to see – mostly achieved while sitting in the car – “oohing” and “aahing” as we drove along. We did stop off at Urquhart Bluff and Split Point Lighthouse – pretense of stretching our legs. But little exercise after that!
Now one of the many highlights was the sighting of two pairs of Southern Right Whales – both chilling out in calmer waters – snuggled in, sheltered by cliffs. Unfortunately the only accessible vantage points were from lookouts sitting on cliff tops and my camera is pretty limited when it comes to zoom. But I did my best and will include a photo – you may still need a magnifying glass to see the whale fin but there you go!! We stopped at Lorne for a late lunch – lovely village set on the side of a hill – grassed picnic area on the beachfront. Nearly lost our lunch – some white cockatoos decided to join us and we had to defend our bread rolls with gusto! Determined they stood their ground – yelling and waving our arms made no difference. Their look said it all – “yeah do your best, we’re not moving”! But all ended well – greener pastures called and they left on mass to annoy someone else! Lunch resumed, cuppas were poured, and we continued on our way.
Very beautiful drive from Lorne to Apollo Bay – lots of spectacular views of the coastline – many photos taken. Arrived at Apollo Bay and booked a room at the Brewhouse Pub – great value. Lovely little town, beautiful walk along the local beach, interesting main street. Great meal in the pub dining room and an early night!!
More to come
Love Di and Reg
This entry was posted in Australia- Apollo Bay
- Brewhouse Pub
- Great Ocean Road
- Lorne
- Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach
- Split Point Lighthouse
- surfing
- Torquay
- whales
- white cockatoos