The Great Ocean Road

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I organised a surprise long weekend trip along the Great Ocean Road for Dean’s birthday in July 2009. We both love that part of Victoria but this time we just seemed to whizz along it. The Twelve Apostles, a collection of limestone stacks just off the coast, took our breath away three years ago and were just as stunning this time around. These impressive formations, up to 45m high, have been formed by the gradual erosion of the soft limestone. Sadly, there are only seven Apostles left and the erosion continues.



We also stopped at all the usual pretty towns, most notably Apollo Bay and Lorne. Our very last stop was Torquay. This seaside town, located at the northern end of the Great Ocean Road’s Surf Coast, is one of Australia’s surfing meccas. It wasn’t as pretty a place as I would have liked for the last few days of our trip, but I soon warmed to it. Dean had a few surfing sessions while I explored the town. We also had a couple of rummages around the town’s excellent op-shop (love op-shop shopping!!) and bought a lottery ticket with the idea of carrying on with our travels (alas, we didn’t win…).



For me, our two days in Torquay were quite a reflective time. It felt strange to be almost back at home, but not actually have a home to go back to. The excitement and anticipation of seeing our friends again and being back in familiar surrounds were mixed with a few butterflies in my belly.

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