The Great Ocean Road – Day 2 – Hopper Oz Adventure

What a day of phenomenal sites! It’s going to be hard to select the pictures for today’s blog.

We didn’t get a very restful sleep due to the lack of bedding and the significant temperature drop. As a result, we were up shortly after 6 a.m. and on the road by 8 a.m. Considering the number of tour buses we saw/followed yesterday out of Melbourne, we felt getting on the road early would be beneficial.

There was a brief shower before we left and the day looked dark and dreary as we drove through the Otway National Park and its rainforest. Due to the eculyptus trees, there was a wonderful scent in the car. As we exited the park, we were able to see the coastline again and the cloud cover was breaking up. The countryside varied from forest to grassland where we saw lots of cattle grazing.

Our first stop was the 12 Apostles although there only every was 9 and now they are down to 8. With the sun shining, we got unbelieveable photos of the Apostles.

Our next stop was Loch Ard Gorge so named after a shipwreck that occured there in 1858. There were only 2 survivors and 52 casualties. We were able to right down to the water and check out the caves.

After Loch Ard Gorge, we stopped at the Arch. The power of the waves that created it was on full display.

We stopped in Port Campbell for lunch at The Forage. We have been finding the food a bit pricey but in this case, it may have been due the use of organanic products. In addition, there isn’t any large city around so all food has to come quite a distance. The soup and sour dough bread was tasty and help take off some of the chill as it was quite windy on the costline.

After lunch we stopped at the Bay of Matyrs, the London Bridge and the Bay of Islands. Interesting story about the London Bridge. It use to be connected to the mainland but in 1990 that section collapsed. Two people had just crossed over the section and had to be rescued.

After the Bay of Islands, we headed to Warrnambool where we filled in gas before heading to our hotel in Halls Gap. LOTS of pasture, cows, and some sheep and not much else for 64 kms. Then the next 64 kms was in the Gampian National Park where there was nothing but trees. We keep seeing signs to watch for kangaroo but the only one we think we saw was roadkill.

The manager at the hotel has recommended a number of sites to see while at Halls Gap that sound interesting. We plan on checking out a couple this evening after dinner. I am also hoping to see some of the wildlife that comes around the hotel.

While we were eating dinner, there were at least 4 white cockatoos flying in the area. I didn’t have mt camera or I would have been able to get a photo of one who settled in a tree near our table. After dinner, I took a walk around the hotel property and came across 8 kangaroos grazing behind the hotel. When I returned to our room to tell Michael, there was at least another 6 dining in the front lawn. In all my previous trips, I have only seen 1 kangaroo in the wild. Tonight alone, I must have seen 60+.