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Published: December 4th 2007
Great Southern Ocean
First time to put toes into southern most and very cold ocean along Great Ocean RoadHi friends and family. This entry is about our trip along the Great Ocean Road up to Port Campbell, where we stayed in a wonderful B&B, Shearwater Haven, just outside the town. Birders, put this place on your list.There's a superb garden with both imported and indigenous plants that attract a great variety of birds, including one wren (I think) that was like a flying sapphire. Our hosts gave us lots of insider tips on the best hikes and the best times to view the (almost) 12 Apostles, the spectacular rock formations that are a key tourist site here. I say "almost 12" because some of them have collapsed into the ocean. Our hosts' theory is that their loss may be attributable to seismic disturbance from off-shore gas drilling. Sounds plausible. Those remaining are pretty imposing. Was wondeful to watch the play of light on them at different times of the day. Our hosts also gave identified some good hikes and tips on what to do if we encountered venomous "snaikes," as the Australians say. We'd already had a prep talk on this in Sydney at the wildlife centre. Seems Australia is going for the gold in the number of such
A few Apostles
Late afternoon shot of 12 Apostles poisonous snaikes it has. Headed out, suitably warned to stamp your feet a lot so the snaikes pick up the vibrations and move off. Sure enough, there on our first path was a posted warning of snaikes ahead. Stomped wildly all along the route and were rewarded with great vistas and no bites. Next day visted a local Timboun vineyard whose very unpretentious owner, Dot, poured some exceedingly generous tastings of excellent chardonnay, shiraz and pinot noir. She said people make wine making out to be a lot harder than it is just to feel important. Gotta love that no-nonsense, down-to-earth spirit of Australians. Also sampled the local cheeses and ice cream - all first rate. The countryside that supports all these local goodies is beautiful - lush, rolling hills dotted with old fallen volcanoes and crater lakes. We went hiking in a volcano that has been turned into a wild-life refuge called Tower Hill. One of the rangers, a member of the group of Aboriginees that inhabited the area, warned us to be on the lookout for, you guessed it, venomous snaikes. Also told us: "No worries. If you don't bite them, they won't bite you." Resisted our impulse
to snap our jaws at everything that moved. We visted the park in the late afternoon and it was a perfect time to see the wildlfe which had just woken up from their afternoon siestas. Saw lots of kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, echidnas, and huge emus with crazed-looking red eyes. They're more dangerous than the snaikes because they will actually try to steal snacks and gave give you a good bite. They've been known to kill people with a kick. On Nov. 15th, we headed back along the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne to meet Matthew's old buddies from his days of teaching English in Japan. I'll turn the journal over to him at this point. Bye for now, Helen
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Heather
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Great Ocean Road
Hullo again! Interesting to see your shots of the southern Australian coast line. Bea and I drove the Great Ocean Road from Adelaide to Melbourne a couple weeks ago in fact, and spent a week in Melbourne soaking up the Australian Open, lots of flat white coffees and cafe culture. good times. We're back in Adelaide now for about six weeks before likely heading off to Tasmania. Or Tassy as everyone likes to say. Cheers.