The Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road

 The Great Ocean Road hugs the coastline from Torquay to Apollo Bay where it climbs the hills to transverse Cape Otway. There it briefly rejoins the coast at Glenaire before again climbing to Lavers Hill and again returning to the coast. It was a very enjoyable and varied route passing through National Parks and forests as well as providing brilliantly coloured sea vistas. We stopped briefly at Lorne and found it to be a laid back holiday town with the seafront lined with cafes, restaurants and holiday apartments. There we obtained very useful maps and other items from the Information Centre in the centre of the town. Our lunch stop was at Otway Junction where we found another delightful cafe with a small historical museum onsite.

Gibsons Steps

Travelling east to west, Gibsons Steps lookout was our first sighting of the limestone cliffs that are a feature of the landscape since crossing the Otway. The name apparently came from a settler Hugh Gibson, who maintained the steps - 86 of them - which were originally carved out of the cliffs. Nowadays they are a sturdy staircase going down to a beach so dangerous that signs warning against swimming or standing under the cliffs are prominently displayed. 

Limestone sea stack

There are two sea stacks known as Gog and Magog! I have no idea who got the naming rights! They are not considered to be part of the Twelve Apostles which are a very short distance down the road.

The limestone cliffs were especially pretty with a range of green hues and flowers. 

The Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road

These world famous limestone sea stacks - some call them the 13th Wonder of the World - shone brilliantly in the bright sun. They were originally called the Sow and Piglets with the Sow located near Loch Ard Gorge and the smaller ones here being her piglets. They were renamed as the Twelve Apostles purely for marketing and tourism purposes despite the fact that there were, at that time, only nine of them. In 2005 one succumbed to the pounding of the sea and blast of the winds and fell into the sea leaving the current eight to fascinate the many tourists from all over the world who travel this famous road. Of course erosion never ceases and eventually new stacks will be formed, probably just where we stand today, breathing in their beauty and gaining a healthy respect for the power of the elements.

The Twelve Apostles

The wind and sea erosion has created wonderful patterns and textures and I am well pleased that my ancient Fuji zoom was able to capture the detail for my continued enjoyment.

London Bridge, Great Ocean Road

A short distance down the road we stopped at London Bridge. This bridge used to have two natural arches until 1990 when the one closest one collapsed leaving two tourists stranded.

London Bridge prior to 1990

 [ I'd like to credit the photographer but unfortunately no source was given.]

The Arch

Few people stop at the Bay of Islands and I enjoyed having the place to myself as I listened to the faint crashing of waves below, my eyes feasting on the contrasting, vibrant colours of the limestone, water and vegetation.

Bay of Islands, Great Ocean Road

How disappointed I was that I didn't have the stitch mode of my G12 to capture this intriguing and beautiful place.

Bay of Islands

I was told that about two centimetres each year is eroded from the base of the sea stacks in this area. This one looks thin at both bottom and top!

Bay of Islands

In the absence of stitch, the picture above is the best I could do to record my memories of this awesome place.

The sights along our world famous road had more than met my expectations! Happily we continued on our way to Hopkins River, near Warrnambool which was to be as far as we were going along this memorable coast.