12 Apostles and the Grotto

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The 12 Apostles are surely the highlight of the entire Great Ocean Road. Well, that's what we thought until we hit the Grotto...which most tourists miss as they return to Melbourne after seeing the 12 Apostles. As we the GOR took us to the 12 Apostles, you could not see them from the road. There were huge parking lots to the right of the road and then a walkway took you to a scenic overlook. The parking lot was packed with buses and cars.

What can you really say about the 12 Apostles...they are simply amazing! They are known as one of the top five or six famous sights in all of Australia, which says a lot considering the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef, the majestic beaches, and the unique Sydney Opera House. The apostles are just something you have to see. The water has carved these marvels out of the limestone that makes up the coast. I really wanted to take a little known path that would take you down to the beach, but we had South Australia on our sights. We spent about 30-40 minutes taking pictures and just enjoying the sights...it was a perfect day warm and sunny.


We continued on the GOR and immediately noticed the lack of cars. Not too many travelers venture past the Apostles, and we so learned what a mistake that must be. We saw a sign for the London Bridge but kept going...I later saw pictures and it didn't look too special so no disappointment there. Then we saw a sign for the Grotto, and quickly whipped the car into the parking lot. With only two other cars parked, we figured it really wasn't much to see. To our surprise the path and staircase took us down to the BEST SIGHT on the Great Ocean Road. The Grotto was amazing....a big natural pool with several smaller ones was perfectly enclosed in the cliff side. There were waves crashing into the wall and sometimes splashing mist over...bigger waves supplied the water. It was a beautiful little cave-like enclosure with all these small pools. It was so great that we spent about an hour just enjoying it. In our time there we didn't see another tourist, and it was peaceful. The water in the small pools was warm as we walked through the knee deep waters. The biggest pool was probably about 6 feet deep, and we would have surely gone in if we brought our board shorts.

We took several pictures, and later to my amazement did not find one picture of the Grotto in all of the brochures that the old lady had given us at the information stand. What a great treat, and it would be the first thing I would return to next time I visit the GOR.

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Photos

Grotto
large pool