Advertisement
Published: December 8th 2009
Wonderland Range
Some info on the area.Our second day of the tour started early to take advantage of the cool weather. We hiked up the Wonderland Range taking in the scenery of rocky slopes and running streams. Once at the top we could now see down into the valley where we had just stayed the night before. The view was amazing, and we could see for miles around.
We got back to the carpark (what parking lots seem to be called in Australia) and went back down to the valley to check out the cultural center. There was plenty of history about the native aboriginals in this area, and descriptions of what happened to the population here in Victoria. The majority were unfortunately killed or moved when settlers arrived, extinguishing much of the culture that used to dominate this part of the land.
After some lunch, we finally made it to what we had all signed up for, the Great Ocean Road! We first checked out the Bay of Islands. This area was named after all the rockstacks that were found right off the coast. These rockstacks are in fact leftover pieces of the mainland, which have been separated as the rock erodes. Over time,
Hike
As previously mentioned, we do a lot of climbing. many of these stacks will collapse as well. We also saw the London Arch. It used to be called London Bridge when it was attached to the mainland (consisting of two arches), but once the arch that connected it fell, it was renamed. Back before that though, tourists could walk across to the tip of the bridge, and supposedly the day it fell, people were actually left stranded out there (and emergency crews eventually had to airlift them out)! We don’t know if it’s true or not, but it sounds pretty believable. We then headed to that night’s hostel to unpack and enjoy some dinner.
After dinner, we went to the Twelve Apostles. This is one of Australia’s most well known natural attractions. Much like the other rockstacks, these used to be part of the mainland, and over time have become like little islands. It’s amazing to see so many of them in such close proximity of each other. And like most people, what was the first thing we did when we got there? Count them! And much to our surprise, we could only find about 7 of them! Why’s that? Well, not all of them can be seen
Cool Chamber
This pic just exudes coolness. from the main lookout, so that knocks a few off the list. But another huge factor is that eventually, they fall. In fact, two stacks fell in 2009! I don’t know how many are officially left, but I guess one day there won’t be a single one standing. Crazy.
Kevin
Advertisement
Tot: 0.148s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 15; qc: 65; dbt: 0.0988s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
