Our Trip along the Great Ocean Road

We went on a drive along the Great Ocean Road back in September. It was still cool weather so we figured we'd just take the drive and see the scenery instead of trying to swim at the beach. 

It was stunningly beautiful. Stunning. I've never seen beauty like this. And I just kept being amazing at every turn. You know those old movies with Cary Grant where he drives a fancy car along a wind-y road along the coast? It was just like that. For the most part, we were driving right along the coast so we could see water most of the time. I kept feeling guilty that Allen was driving and I was in the back going, "Wow! Oh my! That's amazing!" I kept offering to drive for awhile but he seemed happy to keep at it. He likes driving. 

This was at Anglesea.

In this moment I became the old grandma. Holding my purse. Whatever. But the rocks are beautiful. And there isn't a good place to set things down. Okay?

We stopped at a lighthouse. Across the road was a small set of shops where we had some fish and chips. I killed a spider crawling across the floor while we waited. 

This was a Lorne beach. The formations of rock were really unique. It was so interesting to see the patterns made in the magma flow. There were creatures in some of the small pools. We found an anemone in one of them. 

The trees. I'm a sucker for trees. And the trees here in Australia have my heart. Every single day I gaze at them and just LOVE them. They have so much character. And I take pictures. And the pictures don't really capture it. But this one gives some perspective on size. 

This was Apollo Bay. We had the beach to ourselves. It was peaceful and quiet compared to Lorne. But it still had waves that the kids loved to play in. 

Tree. Love.

We stayed at a lovely "apartment." 

When we left the next morning to see more of the Great Ocean Road, I just HAD to stop at this lookout point. In the distance you can see the Ocean, and in the foreground is the green landscape. There are plenty of ranches in this area. We saw lots of cattle and sheep grazing. It really is just so beautiful. It blows me away that this is HOME for some lucky people. 

We stopped at a sign for a rainforest walk. It was so magical. I felt like I had just stepped into the Fern Gully movie. I've never seen plants and greenery like this. I admit I was a little nervous about encountering some creatures or insects that might ruin my day, but the forest drew me in.

Seriously, doesn't this look like she should be wearing a medieval dress? Or maybe fairy wings?

Moss was covering these exposed tree roots. 

This is one massive tree.

Here we finally made it to Twelve Apostles rock formations. They have helicopter tours for about $180 per person. We didn't do it, but Henry was happy to sit and watch a helicopter take off about every 5 minutes while he had some lunch. 

I assume there used to be twelve large rocks. We counted about 8. They are deteriorating. But still, it was breathtaking. The mist is so powerful. When you are on the beach you don't notice it, but you can see it at a distance. 

This was one of those lookout points along the drive that I just had to stop and get a picture of. 

Picture doesn't do justice. I was struck by the vibrance of the greens. They seemed electric. But not really in this picture. 

We stopped at Lorne again on the way back. These Yellow Crested Cockatoos were very entertaining. There were over 25 of them. 

This tree tells such a story with its trunk. These are harsh conditions on the coast, but it finds a way to not survive. And still be amazing. 

This trip was so incredible. I felt SO guilty for doing it while Leo was a camp and missed it all. But Jessica is coming in December so we'll go again and take him along. Apollo Bay was our favorite place and we loved that apartment we stayed in so we know exactly what to do next time. And we'll also go visit the Otway Treetop Walk next time.