Apollo Bay, Victoria

It is not far after we leave Portland that we turn our vehicle east along the Great Ocean Drive that officially starts at Allansford and ends at Torquay - a distance of 243kms.  The first section of the Great Ocean Drive, heading east, does not follow the coastline and it is a winding hilly road through forest. Philip really has to concentrate on this road as it is not very wide and we pull over often to let vehicles pass by us.  It is almost a relief when we reach the 12 Apostles where there is a huge carpark, with caravan bays, for us to stop and stretch our legs.  

The tourist setup at the Apostles is fantastic.  From the carpark you walk through a cafeteria/gift shop and then follow a path that takes us under the highway to reach viewing platforms on the ocean side.  There are a lot of people here and everyone is vying for a position to get a photograph.  We pretty much leave them to it and just get a couple of quick photos.  There is not many of the apostles left now - I think 10 of the original 12 - but you can see the beginnings of new apostles, particularly the one under the new viewing platform (still under construction).  You can only see a few of the Apostles from where we stand and you would need to take a chopper flight if you wanted to see them all.  We are tempted but there are many people waiting for the chopper so we decide to do it another day :-)

Back in the car and it is still another 80k to Apollo Bay but we just take our time and are rewarded with a sunny day by the time we reach Apollo Bay.  We are staying the Pisces Big4 Caravan Park that sits high above the ocean and our site has amazing views from the windows of our van.  This is the first time on this trip that we have an ensuite site but it was the only site they had available.  Philip loves it.  Once we have had a late lunch and a rest we take a walk into town - around 2km.  We walk along the beach for part of the way and comment to each other that it is the first beach walk that we have had since leaving Palm Cove on the 5th July - almost 5 months ago!

I have drawn a circle around our van.  Magnificent uninterrupted views!

This morning we woke to another bleak day so we drove to the lookout above Apollo Bay and then walked the very steep path to the top of the hill.  The views were certainly worth it.

Philip then found a road on the map called Wild Dog Road, that would take us high into the hinterland behind Apollo Bay and then circle back along one of the main roads to Apollo Bay.  That's us!  We love exploring roads without traffic and there was certainly no cars on this road that was merely a track in places.  However, right along this road, houses are tucked in every nook and cranny and we comment that you would need to be a recluse to live here.  But it is also productive farming land as we see sheep and cattle in places where the land has been cleared.

It was a very enjoyable morning but we are pleased to be back in our van to get away from the wind and cold.  Tomorrow we are hoping for better weather for our visit to Cape Otway.