Work in progress...In Taiwan now =D
~Great Ocean Road~
Now, this is a stretch of coast that would do any physical geography textbook proud. Limestone cliffs formed by crashing waves; fern trees growing in temperate rainforests; and scoria remnants on dormant volcanic plains. Words and pictures are inadequate to describe these dramatic and unique landscapes, but nevertheless, I shall try my best.
05.06.2011
We
arrived to a cold winter morning in Melbourne city, took a while to adjust to the sudden chill, and were soon off in our rental car. Missing a turn, we ended cutting through Melbourne city, before arriving on the Princes Highway. Bypassed Geelong, and had our first stop in the late morning.
At
Anglesea, we ate at a nice cosy café, went to a cutely painted toilet and spoke to friendly locals who gave us directions to see the kangeroos in the golf course. Was liking the Victorian coast already =D
We then took several stops along the coast between
Anglesea and Airey’s Inlet. Nice fluffy clouds in the sky and strong Antarctic winds from the South gave rise to an inexplicable urge to take photographs at all angles…not a good thing if you only want to choose one to put on this blog. Apparently, the surf season in on during winter due to the huge waves generated by the winds.
Dropped by the Split Point Lighthouse and had a glimpse at Eagle rock.
The sky wasn’t cooperating much with lighting, so I took some black and white for a more dramatic effect. Climbed over a barrier too to take a riskier, I mean more interesting shot. Not recommended at all. While I was standing on the cliff, I could see, hear and feel the powerful swash breaking against the huge caves at the bottom of the cliff. The raw strength of the water gave me chills and I froze for a moment. It took some time before I managed to will my jelly legs back to safety.
With some help from yet more locals (and of course my trusty map) we managed to survive the ever winding roads meandering along the coast to Kenneth River. Why did we stop there despite the foreboding grey clouds gathering above our head? To see another famous Australian icon of course---
The sleeping koalas! We had to drive along a small dirt road up the hill for about 500m before we spotted a furball clinging on the tree branches. Squealing entailed about how cute they were, and we were soon obsessed with playing ‘spot the koala’. It was only after a drizzle set in that we finally set off for our lodging at Apollo Bay.
06.06.2011
We stayed at The International at Apollo Bay. And I must say…heated rooms are probably the best invention in the world!
To make the most out of the short winter daylight, we set out at dawn towards the Cape Otway lighthouse. Spotted a black wallaby hopping across the road, and a huge perfect rainbow that was too large to fit in the camera.
The entrance fee was a little steep, but being at the top of the lighthouse would literally blow you away. We had to make sure we had no loose gloves, hats or screws when we arrived at the top.
Amongst the chilly howl of the wind, it was a nice experience to watch (from almost absolute safety) the fearsome waves crashing against the shore. No wonder they built a lighthouse here!
Further along our way, we were forced to
stop our car by not a red light, nor a police inspection, but…a herd of sheep. Yeaps. A herd of sheep. It was funny sight though…the sheepdog slacking on the tractor, while the farmer simply grunting out a monosyllable (which I can no longer recall) at periodic times…and the sheep would just mehhh along.
Next stop was Gibson’s steps, and our
first glimpse at the twelve apostles. Quite a nice view, not exceptional, but pleasant all the same. For adrenaline junkies though, you should go down the steps, and see if you can make it to the other side of the cliff, where there lies another beach inlet. No, you shouldn’t underestimate this task….or you’ll end up like the few of us, who unwittingly sauntered down the beach, only to get trapped by the waves, and ending up in knee deep seawater. Escaping onto the rocks did help a little, but the splash was impossible to prevent.
For a less exciting experience, you could head down to
The Twelve Apostles viewing platform. Rather strategically placed boardwalk there I must say, as we could see at least 6 of them. We were having erratic weather…5min of bright sunshine, and then 5min of gloomy drizzle…repeat that for the whole afternoon, and you have an idea of how fickle Weather can be.
We managed to find our lodging in Port Campbell, and then after digging for more information, set out to The Arch and
The Grotto. For people rushing along the coast in a tight schedule, these two minor landmarks could be given a miss. But I especially liked The Grotto, as the waves splashing through the circular hole was exhilarating. Even after 2 days, the power of the waves had not failed to impress me.
That day, we went to the London Bridge twice…
once in the afternoon, and another at dusk. The waves spilling under the London Bridge was a magnificent sight. As it was on such a large scale, the water gushing out from the hole created its own private tsunamis. I’ll bet that if it wasn’t so dangerous due to the nearby cliffs,
it would have been a surfer’s paradise. Sunset was rather pretty, but the real fun began after that. After huddling in the cold from the winds and sea spray, our patience finally paid off. Kwang spotted them first. 6 minute figures waddling across the rocks scattered on the beach below the cliffs. The penguins had arrived! It was already rather dark, so we could only see their silhouettes as they scuttled from the terrifying waves and into the safety of the notches in the cliff.
07.06.2011
Everyone seemed in a grumpy mood that morning, and the gloomy weather did not seem to help much.
Not to mention more wind and drizzle. It even destroyed Mumsy’s precious umbrella! The Bay of Matyrs and the Bay of Islands did not look very spectacular in such negativity, but I liked the atmosphere of gloom. In such a harsh environment, where the relentless waves kept pounding on the coasts, a sense of melancholy seemed to be expected. No matter what, the cliffs will lose. I somehow felt myself siding the limestone rocks. Maybe it was from the viewing perspective as I stood on the cliff, or maybe they seemed more interesting from a geologic viewpoint; but it felt like I was mourning the inevitableness of loss the cliffs would endure.
Weakening. Collapse. Disintegration.
I always felt that without sadness, we would never appreciate happiness.
That belief was reinforced when the sun started to shine brightly when we were freezing at Logan’s point trying to spot whales in Warrnambool. Needless to say, we saw zilch of the rare mammals, but the solar rays were working their magic, leaving me in a rather good mood.
Whizzed past Port Fairy, and soon ended up at
Cape Bridgewater. Could not find our lodge owner, so we headed up to the cliffs to find the seals. From the map, it didn’t seem like a long way to the seal colony, but oh…I was wrong. It was an uphill hike all the way to the ‘highest coastal cliff’ in Victoria, and we didn’t even get a certificate for that!
Lol jokes aside, I enjoyed the extra training, and the seals were rather entertaining to watch…frolicking in the choppy sea and all. 2hours of exercise plus a nice sunset to walk into…excellent way to end the day (=
08.06.2011
Had a
nice early start again, and took a walk to see the blowhole (couldn’t really figure out which was it, as the waves were splashing EVERYWHERE) and the petrified forest. The petrified forest was made of hollowed tree trunks that had been preserved into stone. Rather interesting features. This was also the furthest point we travelled along the coast, and it was time for the U-turn!
On
the way back, the lighting seemed nice, so we stopped by the Bay of Islands once more. We also dropped by Lord Ach Gorge and spent about 2 hours walking around and taking lots of photographs.
The waves here seemed especially strong, with the sea spraying above the cliffs, making it seem like it was drizzling with vapourized salt. It was probably because of that that my trusty camera decided to relinquish it’s title of trustiness. The viewfinder fogged up and got me rather worried. It’s fine now, but the pictures for the next 24hours or so were rather blur )=
Managed to locate Wolamboo cottage after missing the turn, and our friendly host, ___, offered to guide us through Melba Gully to see the glowworms. Apparently, it was the perfect conditions to see the glowworms…the intermittent drizzles in the past days had made it damp, and the moon was not shining yet. After 10min of walking in the dark, ___stopped us and asked us to look to the side. And there they were! Green little dots decorating the mossy peat walls. There were more of them deeper into the nature reserve (near a waterfall). I felt that they looked like stars projected onto our mortal world, and somehow it induced a grin on me whenever I looked at them.
09.06.2011
In the morning, we did a
little detour to Triplet Falls. All that drizzle had accumulated into a beautiful display of water works. The tree ferns lining the walk made it feel rather prehistoric. We were no longer travelling along the coast, but had zoomed past Lavers Hill, and headed North towards Colac. Agenda? To see the youngest dormant volcanic plain in Victoria.
It was rather easy to find with the clear directions from the information center. Reminded me a lot of Lake Myvatn in Iceland. I’m guessing that their process of formation was rather similar. Nevertheless, Red Rock (easy to guess why it was named that way) was a nice viewpoint to see the hills, pastures and lakes in a 360 degree panaroma. Did some amateur bouldering there too hehee…couldn’t help myself.
On the way back to Melbourne, we stopped by Lake Colac for a while, and were rewarded with close-ups of pelicans.
They exhibited rather interesting behavior. There was a group of them swimming around in a bunch together. When one of them caught a fish, the rest would scuttle around the poor guy, and start fighting for the fish! I thought only the seagulls in Finding Nemo did that…hmm
Even though we spent 5 days on the Great Ocean Road and the surrounding region, it was still not enough. There were other places like Wreck Beach that we had to miss due to time constraint. Nevertheless, I am rather content on the many amazing sights I was treated to on this part of the trip.
a.k.a Tha Golden waterfall. In my opinion, the water looked like any other waterfall-with white gushing water, foam and mists haha. But it was the grandest one we saw in Mainstrem-touristy-Iceland. While browsing some photography books in Reykjavík, and there were some really awesome waterfalls…too bad they are located in the secluded regions…currently on my to-do list.
Some interesting rock formations. To physical geographers, this would be a sybolic place to visit. It’s not everyday that you get to see clearly the Mid Atlantic ridge above sea level!
They seem like remnants of meteorite showers, but in fact, they were created by terrestrial factors instead. Hot lava had flowed into the lake and mixed with it. Steam explosions occurred, causing explosions that form these craters. A word of warning to those visiting this area...an infinite numer of midges live in these areas (hence the name Mývatn meaning Midge). They are harmless, but the swarming columns and loud buzzing is enough to make me a little nervous. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT walk with your mouth open in these areas unless you are desperate for some insect nutrition.
About 1000m in diameter, this crater is one of the largest in the world.We took a hike up. Not especially long nor steep, but the loose volcanic rocks made it somewhat of a challenge. Nevertheless, we were up there in about 20min, and were treated to an awesome 360degree panaromic view.
Looking South: the array of dark coloured rocks is Dimmurbogir
Had some time, so we walked around the Dimmubogir park. It was really hot and we were getting a little dehydrated from all that walking around.
so we took a hike Elda Lava River. It had solidified from the previous eruption in 1729. According to the locals, the lava river was heading straight for Reykjahlíð, and the survivors hid in the church and prayed. Miraculously, the lava river split into two right before the church, sparing the lives of the survivors!
