Week 498 · Anglesea · Gibson Steps · Loch Ard Gorge · Twelve Apostles
The Great
The Great Ocean Road is one of the iconic sites in Australia. The road starts about an hour from Melbourne and runs along the southern coast for about 150 miles — similar to the Pacific Coast Highway in California. We debated renting a car but booking a tour seemed easier. The entire tour was timed to arrive at the Twelve Apostles at sunset.
We ended up with a 12-hour day — 3 hours in stops, 3 hours driving in scenic areas, and 6 hours in transportation. Each biobreak or stop was defined to ensure we made it to the Twelve Apostles in time. Our busmates would not have won any timeliness awards and one of the better stops we pretty much skipped so we made the headline attraction.
The Great Ocean Road stretches 243 kilometres along the Victorian coastline between Torquay and Allansford. It was built between 1919 and 1932 by returned World War I soldiers as a memorial to those who died — it remains the world's largest war memorial. The road was carved by hand along sea cliffs by over 3,000 ex-servicemen, many of whom camped along the route as they built it. The Shipwreck Coast — the stretch near the Twelve Apostles — earned its name from the more than 700 ships that wrecked on its treacherous shores between 1836 and 1932, including the Loch Ard in 1878 at the gorge that now bears its name.
Gibson Steps — we got about 20 minutes here instead of an hour because we were running late. Our busmates would not have won any timeliness awards and one of the better stops was pretty much skipped so we could make the headline attraction. The stops that we did have were very good. We'll definitely go back — but make it a two-day trip and not run through each stop.
The main attractions were crowded — and this was considered a slow day so I am glad we went when it was less crowded. Although it rained a lot of the day, we got a good sunset at the end. We'll definitely go back when others come to visit but likely make it a two-day trip and not run through each stop.
The Matildas run came to an end — the largest TV audience in Australian history watched them lose to England. It was great to be here for the event — and pretty much everyone here was saying "Esta volviendo a casa" — or "It's coming home" in Spanish.
"We'll definitely go back when others come to visit — but make it a two-day trip and not run through each stop."