Been an action-packed two days of tours that need to be recorded. Before I went to bed on the 10th, I get chatting to a Romanian guy who was Sydney-bound. Romanian!
Up for the Great Ocean Road Sunset tour on the 11th. I'm first to be picked up, so take the seat next to the driver, Andy. Decent bloke, very easy to talk to.
Bus fills up with pick-ups. Dutch, Scottish, English. A Swiss girl, Vanessa. An Aussie couple from Sydney - Wayne and Carolyn. A Korean girl, who's living in NYC producing after-effects for fashion photography. Out first stop is Bell's Beach, where we huddle in the bus with cups of tea, sheltering from the rain and ferocious wind.
The weather in Melbourne, despite it being summer, is very variable. Rather like home - wind and rain and sun, coming and going. I'm told it's to be warmer from tomorrow. Our lunch stop in Lorne managed to be in sunshine. Chatted to Vanessa and Dutch Ifo while watching the surfers. The drive along the GOR is windy and picturesque. See a snake coiled up at the side of the road - first and only wild sighting!
On the way to Cape Otway lighthouse, we pass through a eucalyptus forest, which is heavily populated by koalas. They are in nearly every tree, sleeping or eating. So many of them! Next we climb the lighthouse. When in operation, a single 1,000 watt bulb is all that is used. Lenses then focus this light. There's also an Aboriginal hut nearby - the first I've known of. Apparently only northern tribes were nomadic. They're also the didgeridoo players. Food was abundant enough at the coast that tribes could build houses and stay in one spot. The roof is coiled so the smoke can escape. Dave, the ranger at the hut, says that a native American who once visited used a similar design in his teepee, but coiled in the opposite direction. Much like the toilets flushing, in the southern hemisphere, the smoke flows in the opposite way.
Then the highlight of the trip - the 12 Apostles. Huge stacks of rock standing just off the coast. Only seven remain, or at least are visible. The crashing waves have demolished the rest. Loch Ard Gorge has a similar geography, named for a ship wrecked just outside it. Andy relates the tale of the two survivors, Tom and Eva. Tom rescued Eva, but she declined to marry him, instead returning to England. Dinner of pizza and beer, then down Gibson's Steps to watch sunset at the foot (feet?) of the Apostles. Group mucked about for photos. Spectacular crepusuclar rays escaped the clouds, and brilliant reflections in the surf. Then long drive home in the dark, chatting to Andy.
Up for the Great Ocean Road Sunset tour on the 11th. I'm first to be picked up, so take the seat next to the driver, Andy. Decent bloke, very easy to talk to.
Bus fills up with pick-ups. Dutch, Scottish, English. A Swiss girl, Vanessa. An Aussie couple from Sydney - Wayne and Carolyn. A Korean girl, who's living in NYC producing after-effects for fashion photography. Out first stop is Bell's Beach, where we huddle in the bus with cups of tea, sheltering from the rain and ferocious wind.
The weather in Melbourne, despite it being summer, is very variable. Rather like home - wind and rain and sun, coming and going. I'm told it's to be warmer from tomorrow. Our lunch stop in Lorne managed to be in sunshine. Chatted to Vanessa and Dutch Ifo while watching the surfers. The drive along the GOR is windy and picturesque. See a snake coiled up at the side of the road - first and only wild sighting!
On the way to Cape Otway lighthouse, we pass through a eucalyptus forest, which is heavily populated by koalas. They are in nearly every tree, sleeping or eating. So many of them! Next we climb the lighthouse. When in operation, a single 1,000 watt bulb is all that is used. Lenses then focus this light. There's also an Aboriginal hut nearby - the first I've known of. Apparently only northern tribes were nomadic. They're also the didgeridoo players. Food was abundant enough at the coast that tribes could build houses and stay in one spot. The roof is coiled so the smoke can escape. Dave, the ranger at the hut, says that a native American who once visited used a similar design in his teepee, but coiled in the opposite direction. Much like the toilets flushing, in the southern hemisphere, the smoke flows in the opposite way.
Then the highlight of the trip - the 12 Apostles. Huge stacks of rock standing just off the coast. Only seven remain, or at least are visible. The crashing waves have demolished the rest. Loch Ard Gorge has a similar geography, named for a ship wrecked just outside it. Andy relates the tale of the two survivors, Tom and Eva. Tom rescued Eva, but she declined to marry him, instead returning to England. Dinner of pizza and beer, then down Gibson's Steps to watch sunset at the foot (feet?) of the Apostles. Group mucked about for photos. Spectacular crepusuclar rays escaped the clouds, and brilliant reflections in the surf. Then long drive home in the dark, chatting to Andy.
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| Loch Ard Gorge |
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