I had heard about the Great Ocean Road long before I got to Australia. It was high on my list of things to see. James from Go West Tours picked me up at 8:00 am. I got the last seat on the bus. And then we were off to see the sites. We had a mixture of drizzle and sun. Mostly sun later in the day.
Once we got out of Melbourne, it was just a short drive to the ocean. We spent the entire day exploring 150 miles of this diverse coastline. What struck me was how much it resembled California’s north coast. But equally impressive were the beaches that reminded me of southern California. So, combine southern California beaches with California’s north coast scenery and that is what the Great Ocean Road looked like. The exception was an amazing array of unique attractions only found here.
After our lunch break, we hiked in the Great Otway National Park. The hike took us through the ancient rainforest that has towering native hardwoods, some of the tallest trees anywhere in the world. Then we stopped at the Port Campbell National Park, where we saw world-famous rock formations including the 12 Apostles. We also saw Loch Ard Gorge, as well as Gibsons Steps, to view two of the famous limestone stacks from sea level.
The day ended at about 9:00 pm.