16 May 2019
I was looking forward to more fun on the second day of our drive along the Great Ocean Road. We planned to stop over at Loch Ard Gorge, 12 Apostles, Gibson Steps, Otway Lighthouse, Apollo Bay, Kennett River and spent the night at Lorne.
We had instant cup noodles for breakfast in our room at the Port Campbell Motor Inn before we hit the road again. We also filled up our car at Port Campbell. I regretted not doing it in Warrnambool as the petrol price was slightly higher at Port Campbell.
The Loch Ard Gorge, Razorback and Mutton Bird Island
The first place we visited was The Loch Ard Gorge, located just 8 km from Port Campbell. This is a place full of history, geology and nature. Information boards told the story of a ship wreck and two survivors.
There are actually 3 easy themed walks that we could do on trails that start from the car park.
One of the trails included steps leading down to the beach in Loch Ard Gorge. The beach in this “secret lagoon” was one of my favourite places along the Great Ocean Road. We spent some time doing a little photo-shoot on this beach.
After visiting the beach, we took the trail to the Loch Ard Wreck Lookout.
View of Loch Ard Gorge and beach on the trail to the Loch Ard Wreck Lookout.
We read about how this part of the coast is known as “Shipwreck Coast” due to the treacherous cliffs and large waves that caused many ships to be wrecked.
In 1878, a clipper ship called the Loch Ard was sunk off the cliffs of Mutton Bird Island, located just outside the mouth of the gorge.
Of the 54 people on board the ship, only two survived. The first survivor was Tom Pierce, a ship apprentice. He drifted for hours under an upturned lifeboat after the ship sunk. A change of luck and tide caused him to be swept, badly bruised and battered, into the gorge. He made it safely to the beach in the gorge.
He then saw Eva Carmicheal, a 18 year old passenger, who was clinging to a spar. Tom struggled for an hour to bring Eva to shore. Thereafter, this gorge was named the Loch Ard Gorge.
There was a geology themed trail that led to the Tom and Eva Lookout, where we could see two limestone stacks named after the two survivors.
The same trail to the Tom and Eva Lookout ends at the Razorback Lookout.
At the Razorback Lookout.
The Razorback is the name given to a long and slim limestone stack that stands in a cove that is constantly subjected to the forces of wind and waves.
After returning by the same trail to the Loch Ard Gorge car park, we took a short drive to another car park near the Mutton Bird Island. From there, a short trail led to the lookout point where we could get close up views of Mutton Bird Island.
The mutton bird is also called the short-tailed shearwater. The island is home to 12,000 to 50,000 mutton birds but we saw not a single bird.
We were a month too late. These migratory birds would roost on the island only from October to April. By now, they were on their way to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska!
We also learnt how the mutton birds kept the same burrow and partner and would return every year to Mutton Bird Island to breed. A single egg is laid in November and will hatch between 10th and 20th January. The parents will feed the baby for 6 weeks till it reaches almost 1 kg and heavier than the parent bird.
All the adults will leave the island in early April for their yearly migration north. The babies are all left behind, unable to fly and without food. The fat reserves in their bodies ensure they continue to grow rapidly and they will learn to fly by end April. They will then fly solo northwards to join their parents. A remarkable 15,000 km journey, guided only by instinct. Many will perish. Nature’s way of selecting only the strongest, smartest and luckiest for the next generation.
View of the entrance to Loch Ard Gorge from Mutton Bird Island Lookout point.
Overall, we spent more than an hour in the Loch Ard Gorge area. There were only a few other visitors in the morning. We had a very relaxing time walking the trails, enjoying the sights and learning a bit about mutton birds. The volume of tourists in this area peaks around 3 PM when the tour buses from Melbourne arrive so it was good we came in the morning.
Return to the 12 Apostles
The 12 Apostles is a short drive from Loch Ard Gorge. We had already visited this site the previous day in the hours before sunset.
It is good to return in the morning as the lighting condition for photography was different. There were also less people in the morning.
12 Apostles in the morning sun. Where are the crowds?
We did not stay very long at the 12 Apostles. The Gibson Steps is located very close to the 12 Apostles. There was a sign at the 12 Apostles Visitor Centre providing information on a 2.1 km return walking trail from the 12 Apostles car park to the Gibson Steps. We checked Google Map and confirmed that there is a small car park at Gibson Steps. We took a 2-minutes drive instead of hiking.
Gibson Steps
An 86-step staircase led down the cliff face from the car park to the beach below. As we walked the steps down, we could touch and feel the powdery limestone cliff.
This is a place where we could walk on the soft sand, see the surf hitting the beach and listen to the roar of the ocean.
Koala Spotting at Cape Otway and Kennett River
We had seen a lot of wild kangaroos in Grampians and we hope to see some wild koalas as well. We read that wild koalas could often be seen on the road (C157) leading to the Cape Otway Lightstation and that was where we went next.
From Gibson Steps, it was a 76 km drive to Cape Otway. Unfortunately, we did not spot any koalas on the 10-minutes drive along the narrow and winding road leading to the Otway Lightstation in Cape Otway.
We decided not to tour the lightstation (entry fee of AUD 19.50 per person) and have lunch at Apollo Bay instead. It was another 35 minutes of driving to the town.
Apollo Bay is a coastal town that offers both swimming and surf beaches as well as a good selection of restaurants and cafes along the esplanade. We chose to eat at the Scallop Pie Bakery. We had lunch of chunky beef pie and scallop mornay pie with a pot of tea.
From Apollo Bay, it was another 23 km to Kennett River. I had read that this is one of the best places to see wild koalas in Australia. The drive from Apollo Bay to Kennett River was scenic with constant view of the ocean.
Typical view of the drive between Apollo Bay and Kennett River.
We parked outside the Kafe Koala and General Store and take a walk up to Grey River Road. There were many colourful King parrots, white cockatoos and other birds on a feeding frenzy around some tourists who had bought bird seeds from the cafe.
We did not feed any birds. But I had fun taking photos of the birds who were lured by the food but yet quite camera shy (especially the red king parrots).
Photographing a flock of wild cockatoos and sparrows.
The parrots would stand on your head and arms, just to get some bird seeds.
We next took a stroll up Grey River Road, keeping our eyes peeled for signs of any koalas up on the eucalyptus trees lining both sides of the road. Even though there is a large population of wild koalas living in this area, it was not easy to spot them in the dense leaves of the tall trees. Most of the time, they were motionless or sleeping.
A lady who was staying in the caravan park next to the road called out to us and pointed us to a tree with a sleeping koala. Once we spotted the first koala, spotting the next became easier.
Cute sleeping koala.
We walked further up the Grey River Road and spotted one more koala. This koala was initially sleeping. It woke up and did what most animal would do after a long sleep. It peed.
Warning: Do not stand directly beneath a koala when it just woke up.
It then started to feed on the leaves, in slow motion.
More visitors were walking up the road and we pointed out this koala to the new arrivals.
We had a great time at Kennett River. Koalas spotted, mission accomplished.
We continued on our scenic coastal drive to Lorne. This stretch of the Great Ocean Road was quite fun to drive. The winding road hugs the shoreline. With cliffs on our left and views of the ocean on our right, the 22 km drive to Lorne seemed so short.
Dinner at Lorne
Like Apollo Bay, Lorne is also a seaside town that offers swimming beaches as well as a good selection of restaurants and cafes along the esplanade.
We had dinner at Marks Restaurant. We both ordered the chargrilled eye fillet steak on mash and peppercorn sauce and Shiraz to go with the steak.
After a day of driving, we really enjoyed a relaxing evening at this cosy restaurant with warm, friendly service and excellent food.
Where we stayed in Lorne
We stayed at the Chatby Lane Lorne. This luxurious condo hotel offers studio rooms with a spa bath. We even had cockatoos visiting us at the terrace in front of our room.
No comments:
Post a Comment