The Great Ocean Road: Rainforest, Koalas, Twelve Apostles

Wed. June 1 2011:

Melbourne: Southern Cross Station

After taking the city-loop train from Parliment to Southern Cross Statin and paying my $20.00 Airport Transfer to Avalon Airport (AVV), a smaller regional airport, where I was going to pick up Emily and where we were picking up our return flight to Brisbane, I had two hours to wait and decided to explore the area.  The trams were running frequently and I had to keep remembering to look right first when crossing in front of them.  Signs at the stops say they are the equivalent of 20 rhinoceroses--so make sure you look before you cross.

Not Double D's, but a nice find!

I found a nice church just down the road from the Southern Cross station, that used to be a refuge for the seafaring sailer.

Like father like Daughter...

    At 12:00 I arrived back at the station ready to board the bus and I noticed Emily had texted me that she missed her 11:45 JetStar flight.   The busses and trains had run later than she had hoped.  Wonderful.  I called and she said the next JetStar flight was leaving at 6:45 and getting in close to 9:00. (We had a 3 hour drive south after that).   I asked her to look at a Virgin Blue flight, which was leaving at 12:55.  She managed to book it.. but it was arriving at the main Melbourne airport (Tullamarine) one hour north of Avalon.    What to do?  I had already bought my ticket to Avalon, plus I didn't want to pay the one-way drop off fee for the rent-a-car so I headed south on the bus to Avalon. 

What a difference Avalon (AVV) was from Tullamarine (MEL).  It was in the middle of a field with sheep grazing near-by.  

I booked a "small" Hyundai Getz from Eurocar and decided to buy the insurance this time and also rented a GPS.  They say "no worries" in Australia, but this time I was not pressing my luck.

I had two hours to practice my driving away from the city.  I made my way back north along beautiful farmlands to the other airport (MEL) I was thrilled that the roads there stayed West of the city.   The GPS truly helped, telling me to turn left and right where I needed to.  SO worth it.

Arriving at Tullamarine I parked the car and made my way to the airport.  In Australia you do NOT need a boarding pass to go through security so I went to the gate where Emily was arriving and waited for her.   After a brief rendezvous with the airport sculptures, we made our way South to Great ocean drive.  A 3 hour trip.

The Great Ocean Drive.

If I didn't know how to drive on the left before--wow, did the Great Ocean Drive force me to learn--fast!!   It was twists and truns for 70 kilometers until we reached Apollo Bay.  I was actually glad it was night (remember it is winter--it gets dark at 5:00) so I didn't have to see the cliffs I was driving by.   We arrived at Chris's Beacon Point Villas on Skenes Creek Road near Apollo Bay by 7:30 and were met by the most wonderful receptionist, who also doubled as our waitress.   She said she was worried as we hadn't arrived and she had tried to call us but the phone number was wrong.    But it all worked out.  What a wonderful place to stay. We had a beautiful view of the Apollo Bay area from our room and as it was winter we got some good rates.

The red small Hyundai Getz--wonderful for left hand turns through rain forests!

Thursday, June 2

The Great Ocean Road:

The next day our adventure began. We got up early, eating the breakfast left for us in the refrigerator and enjoyed the view.  I made some coffee in the French Press and we started on our way.

Shelly Beach

First stop was Shelly Beech.  A trip down a dirt road through the rain forest brought us to the beginning of the trail.  The rain forest smelled like Jasmine... and was sparkling in the morning light.

We travelled north.  Lots of sheep, cows, and rolling hillsides.

Maits Rest

   On the advice of a local couple we met in the parking lot at Shelly Beach we stopped here.  The board walks were a treat.  This was another rain forest walk...The couple had told us it was a "gentle walk". 

Blanket Bay

We went to look for wild Koala's on the road to Blanket Bay, another dirt road on the way to the Otway Lighthouse.  Yes, we found some!!  We were thrilled!

Twelve Apostles.

   We took hundres of pictures of the twelve apostles and the surrounding areas.  Here are a few.   The less well-known stops (like the Lock and Gorge, London Bridge, and the Grotto) ended up being our favorites.  The lighting from the north was amazing.  Emily and I discovered that the late afternoon autumn light is the best for photos--Karen and I had already discovered that six months ago on our trip to the National parks--it is also true in Australia!

Australians have a knack for being really clear!

Bird Island

London Bridge

Going back the way we came we arrived back at Apollo Bay at 7:30.  A wonderful day.  No Kangaroos yet, though--but that soon would change.

Friday, June 3

On Friday, we got up to a rainy morning but decided that waterfalls would be just fine in the rain.  WE found our way to Beach Forest road--a dirt road through the rain forest--and made our way to the falls.



Beach Forest Road



Just after we started up the road a dark Wallaby (Kangaroo) hopped in front of us out of the forest.  He looked quickly at us and hopped back in..  No photos, nevertheless, we were psyched.  We had gotten to see both Koala's and Kangaroos in the wild...

We ran across some redwoods planted in 1938

Waterfalls and Rain Forests

The waterfalls were amazing.  If we thought the board walks at Maits Walk were cool, the walks to the falls were breath taking.  Triplet Falls had many elaborate walk ways and platforms, plus we were the only ones there as it was a rainy day in late fall, which made the experience almost surreal.

Snail on the way to Triplet Falls

We drove through the rain forest back to Apollo Bay and then made our way back up the coast.

Kennet River: Koalas and Parrots

Near Kennet River we not only saw more Koala's but experienced some amazing birds. The parrots would come by and jump on your arm, shoulder and head--and this was in the wild just off the side of the road near the Koala Cove Cafe.  It was SO fun.

A Koala eating

Finally we made our way back to the Avalon airport, where I went to return the rent-a-car.  No one was at the desk.  I called the Eurocar person (they had left their number at the desk) and he told to drop my key in the slot as he was in Melbourne.  I asked about the GPS device.  He told me to just shove it under the counter and he would find it.  "No worries".  I did just that.   Later at Cairns I asked the person at the desk how I would know she checked in the car before the 24 hour period without a receipt (which she wasn't able to give me). "You won't.  You'll have to trust me!" she said. And again, I did.  There is something really nice about meeting sincere people when traveling abroad. 

We arrived at Brisbane at 11:40 pm and took the shuttle to the hotel (the trains stopped running at 8:00).

Today we stay in Brisbane--(time to do Laundry! )before we take a flight tonight to Cairns. 

--Mike