I started this blog when I was studying in Australia in 2012, but I knew next to nothing about blogging. I forgot to post on it, I wasn’t very informative or descriptive and I would post about something weeks after it happened, like when I wrote about the Great Ocean Road. I’m not sure I want to show you, so if you really want to see, go and search.
But as I always tell people, my weekend on the Great Ocean Road was one of the best of my life. The Great Ocean Road is a scenic road 242km long, not far from Melbourne (where I lived) in Victoria, Australia and the weekend was a mixture of wonderful company, beautiful scenery and feeling free. So now I want to blog about it, but do it right (or at least a little bit more right…).
Often when I suggest to someone that they should check out the Great Ocean Road and they ask why, I come up with a load of names of the views: London Bridge, 12 Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge… to be honest, it does all sound like gobbledegook. You get no sense of what they are from the names – you’d even be wrong if you guessed there are actually 12 of whatever these Apostles are.
I’m going to take you through the things I saw on my specific trip on the Great Ocean Road – even a weekend isn’t enough though, so there’s definitely a lot more. I wouldn’t even say some of the places I went are essential (as lovely as they were), but I’ll point out the ones that are.
Bells Beach
If you ever watched Point Break, you’ll know about this beach (final scene). A top surfer spot, Bells Beach is home to the Rip Curl Pro Surf competition – so this was a place of mystical worship for me, as names like Kelly Slater and Stephanie Gilmore have surfed here.
‘Round the Twist’ Lighthouse
Did you ever… ever watch Round the Twist? Here’s a little reminder…
The lighthouse – Split Point Lighthouse – and area is used in the hit children’s TV show, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t stuck in my head the whole time. Luckily, even if you don’t know the show, there are some lovely views.
Great Ocean Road Sign
Essentially the sign stating it’s the Great Ocean Road! Good for a photo opportunity.
My photo op
Erskine Falls
I wish I had explored more waterfalls on the Great Ocean Road, but Erskine Falls is definitely a good one to have seen. It towers over you and it feels so remote and wild that I imagine it being a beautiful place to escape to to think. There were no other tourists when we were there either – it was sort of like our little group’s secret adventure. Remembering it like that puts a smile on my face.
Our walk to the falls
Johanna Beach
This isn’t an essential item, but it had some fun rock formations, and was a stark contrast to the calm, blue, dreamy beaches we had seen before.
London Bridge (or London Arch)
Here we get to the main parts of the Great Ocean Road. London Bridge is called so because it’s a strip of land that, you guessed it, looks like the bridge. Apparently its name now is London Arch, but I got really used to calling it London Bridge, and I’m sticking to it… The story is that when the cliff collapsed that separated it from the mainland, there was a couple left on it. And further rumours are that the guy was cheating on his wife with the fellow stranded girl… I think that’s a lie Aussies like to tell though.
Loch Ard Gorge
Loch Ard Gorge is my favourite part of the Great Ocean Road in terms of beautiful coastal scenery. I can’t explain why properly, but I think it’s to do with the secluded, simple but dramatic image of it. There’s also a cave to the side that we explored – something I never knew from the pictures I saw.
Twelve Apostles
We timed arriving here with sunset, and needless to say when sunsets are involved, it was a captivating sight.
The Twelve Apostles are limestone stacks off the Port Campbell National Park, but there are now only eight remaining.
When I looked through my photos of the sunset beside the Twelve Apostles, I had put a little smiley face next to it. I think that’s all I had to express at the time.
