Another about face with the weather, woke up to a cool morning but full sun soon changed that. We start one of the big parts of the trip The Great Ocean Road. Called into the tourist info at Torquay, got some great info that made things easier. First stop was Bells Beach home of the Rip Curl Pro, the longest running surf competition in the world. As we ventured further west we came across the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery at Bellbrae. We both had an ice-cream and they were extra yummy. Stopped at the Memorial Arched which spans the road, it was built as a tribute to the soldiers from the first world war who were engaged in the construction of the Great Ocean Road. We eventually made it to Apollo Bay Recreation Reserve booked in for two nights and this will our base camp for the first leg of our tour.
Friday morning the weather gods were still on our side the sun was out and the wind had dropped, it was perfect weather for our excursion to the Apollo Bay Light Station. The station has quite a history. After hundreds of shipwrecks the lighthouse was built and begun operation in 1848, a telegraph station was added in 1859. It wasn't until 1857 that the lighthouse keepers cottage was built. In 1942 a radar station was built, the first one in Victoria as there was both German and Japanese enemy activity off the coast during World War II. The light house is no longer in use and was decommissioned in 1994 and has been replaced with a much smaller although brighter solar powered beacon.
On the way back we stopped at a place called Mait's Rest Rain Forest Walk. Not long after we started walking we were transported to another world. Huge trees and massive tree ferns were everywhere. It was an easy track with dirt trails and boardwalks over creeks and other small waterways. Some of the trees are Mountain Ash, they start life as a seed the size of a grain of sand and can grow over 100 metres tall making them the tallest flowering plant in the world. I got to stand inside of a tree, how cool is that! Some of the landscape during this part of trip is simply breathtaking.
Friday morning the weather gods were still on our side the sun was out and the wind had dropped, it was perfect weather for our excursion to the Apollo Bay Light Station. The station has quite a history. After hundreds of shipwrecks the lighthouse was built and begun operation in 1848, a telegraph station was added in 1859. It wasn't until 1857 that the lighthouse keepers cottage was built. In 1942 a radar station was built, the first one in Victoria as there was both German and Japanese enemy activity off the coast during World War II. The light house is no longer in use and was decommissioned in 1994 and has been replaced with a much smaller although brighter solar powered beacon.
On the way back we stopped at a place called Mait's Rest Rain Forest Walk. Not long after we started walking we were transported to another world. Huge trees and massive tree ferns were everywhere. It was an easy track with dirt trails and boardwalks over creeks and other small waterways. Some of the trees are Mountain Ash, they start life as a seed the size of a grain of sand and can grow over 100 metres tall making them the tallest flowering plant in the world. I got to stand inside of a tree, how cool is that! Some of the landscape during this part of trip is simply breathtaking.
 |
| Camp Ground |
Comments
Post a Comment