Great Ocean Road.
Another visit to the Blue Lake for more photos of the incredible blue water, then on to the Lady Nelson Discovery/Information Centre where we spent an hour or so. We then drove to Caves Garden Sinkhole in the centre of Mt Gambier. This is a huge old sinkhole which has been beautified by the local councl and due to the heavy overnight rain had two magnificent waterfalls cascading down into the landscaped hole. A series of steps and landings enables visitors to descend to the bottom of the sinkhole which is about 40 metres across and 20 metres deep. We then drove to the outskirts of town to the Umpherson Hanging Gardens which is also in a sinkhole. This one has been beautfully landscaped by a series of owners over the last 100 years. The giant hanging ivy drops about 25 metres into the delightful gardens where there are BBQ and picnic facilities. Access is via a series of timber walkways and viewing platforms.
As it was still raining we continued on, crossing into Victoria then on to Warrnambool via Heywood. After a quick reccy of Warrnambool in the heavy rain we pushed on to Peterborough and checked into our motel around 4:30pm. As there is still a lot of daylight remaining we decided to drive to Port Campbell and beyond to view Loch Ard Gorge and London Bridge. This turned out to be a great decision as despite the continuing rain we saw these two wonders of nature at their wildest best. The wind was horrific, barely able to stand still to take a photo, but this had the impact of whipping up the seas into a raging tempest which really magnified the spectacle of the rock formations. Despite this and the driving sleet rain we were able to get some great shots. Back into Port Campbell for dinner at a licensed tavern.
Monday morning dawned fine and clear as we continued back through Port Campbell to The Twelve Apostles. The visitor viewing area has been drastically changed since our last visit. There is a huge visitor centre on the northern side of the GOR with a pedestrian underpass across to a revegitated area wher new walkways and viewing platforms have been constructed. More photos in very pleasant conditions, then continued on to Lavers Hill where we detoured away from the GOR to visit the Otway Fly Tree Top Walk. This is a spectacular walk of about 1 hour among the giants of the rainforest high up in the Otway Ranges. The platform walk rises 25 metres above ground level and to 47 metres for those who dare to climb the spiral stairs to the lookout tower, which Chris did. As Gail and I had done this 18 months ago we elected to relax in the visitor centre while Jim & Chris did the walk. Upon their return we had our picnic lunch which Gail had prepared in the picnic area of the visitor !
centre. On departure from "The Fly" we drove via the Otway Ranges State Forest gravel road and rejoined the GOR at Apollo Bay some 46km later. Then on to Wye River, our overnight stop at the Big4 Holiday Park where we have a 2 bedroom cabin. We were fortunate to spot a number of koala's in the trees as we approached Kennett River then again later within the caravan park. A BBQ for dinner cooked in the camp kitchen, then a walk down to the beach rounded out yet another great day.
The Happy Wanderers.
As it was still raining we continued on, crossing into Victoria then on to Warrnambool via Heywood. After a quick reccy of Warrnambool in the heavy rain we pushed on to Peterborough and checked into our motel around 4:30pm. As there is still a lot of daylight remaining we decided to drive to Port Campbell and beyond to view Loch Ard Gorge and London Bridge. This turned out to be a great decision as despite the continuing rain we saw these two wonders of nature at their wildest best. The wind was horrific, barely able to stand still to take a photo, but this had the impact of whipping up the seas into a raging tempest which really magnified the spectacle of the rock formations. Despite this and the driving sleet rain we were able to get some great shots. Back into Port Campbell for dinner at a licensed tavern.
Monday morning dawned fine and clear as we continued back through Port Campbell to The Twelve Apostles. The visitor viewing area has been drastically changed since our last visit. There is a huge visitor centre on the northern side of the GOR with a pedestrian underpass across to a revegitated area wher new walkways and viewing platforms have been constructed. More photos in very pleasant conditions, then continued on to Lavers Hill where we detoured away from the GOR to visit the Otway Fly Tree Top Walk. This is a spectacular walk of about 1 hour among the giants of the rainforest high up in the Otway Ranges. The platform walk rises 25 metres above ground level and to 47 metres for those who dare to climb the spiral stairs to the lookout tower, which Chris did. As Gail and I had done this 18 months ago we elected to relax in the visitor centre while Jim & Chris did the walk. Upon their return we had our picnic lunch which Gail had prepared in the picnic area of the visitor !
centre. On departure from "The Fly" we drove via the Otway Ranges State Forest gravel road and rejoined the GOR at Apollo Bay some 46km later. Then on to Wye River, our overnight stop at the Big4 Holiday Park where we have a 2 bedroom cabin. We were fortunate to spot a number of koala's in the trees as we approached Kennett River then again later within the caravan park. A BBQ for dinner cooked in the camp kitchen, then a walk down to the beach rounded out yet another great day.
The Happy Wanderers.
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posted by KevinH | 1:03 PM
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