GREAT OCEAN ROAD

The tour continues this time into Victoria, where we are going to see the Great Ocean Road. The great ocean road actually starts nowhere near the sea, en route you are greeted with green fields and dairy cows. The tour guide asks if anyone has seen the sea, all I can see is green fields. Before you know it you go round a corner and are greeted with views of a rugged handsome coastline. In England the closest comparison to the great ocean road is Cornwall. While travelling down the coast I often drifted back to England. Just reiterate it the views are stunning, timeless and magical. Not a man made creation in sight (apart from the 100 million dollar visitor centre), everything you see here is crafted by Mother Nature and the unforgiving power of the sea. The swell is so strong here that numerous ships have become a cropper, earning the coast the name, shipwreck coast.

Every picture taken here is a postcard moment the only way you could possibly take a bad picture is if you pointed the camera at the floor or used a RICOH. To enhance the view and in order to get a totally different perspective, you can take a helicopter ride, for a very reasonable $60. The land takes on a whole new dimension and seeing the battered coastline from up in the sky is breathtaking. This was my 3rd helicopter ride in Australia and if I get the chance to ride one again, I will take that opportunity. While making this journey the sun was infrequently present. I think this was a blessing in disguise, as the lack of sunlight solidifies a moody landscape. Any great writer or poets could have used this setting as an inspiration for their masterpiece.

At the end of the road there is a fitting tribute to the men who paid with their lives to give tourists (people) the opportunity to experience the stunning views. It was constructed by returning WW1 soldiers; the Australian government saw it as a way to provide them with work. Just one last fact the 12 apostles were originally called the 12 piggies; it was renamed for tourist reasons.

Yours in travelling
MRW 16/12/07
Sydney, Pitt Street

---

---