From sunrise to sunset Mother Nature feasted our senses on our drive from Apollo Bay to Port Campbell on the Great Ocean Road. The sunshine, the sea, the coastline, the rainforest, the koalas :), the rolling hills, the valleys, the land formations - awesome!
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What better way to start the day - a walk on Apollo Bay beach
and it was lovely!! |
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........or a ride on the beach! :)
Spot the seagull! |
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Surfs up!
Was huge all along the coast we travelled today! |
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| Our backyard on this glorious morning! |
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The emerald rolling hills as we left Apollo Bay and headed west
- the stunning Otway National Park is always hovering close by |
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| And it was magnificent! Never seen such huge tree ferns! - some 100's of years old! |
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| Always interested in how places get their names |
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We drifted through this beauty for an hour - stunning!
The senses were certainly spoilt!!! |
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There is nothing better than to see our native animas in their natural habitat doing what they do naturally!
These cuddly koalas were along the Cape Otway Road as we headed to the Cape Otway Lightstation
They were everywhere we looked - so many of them in this area! -
Excuse the number of pics I've included but they were incredible to see and watch.............. |
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This little chap was on the move - he'd been up eating his morning tea and decided it was time for a rest!
On a mission to find the nearest comfy fork! |
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| Made it! :) |
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| Mother and child :) |
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| Are you looking at me?! |
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This handsome fellow walked across the road and climbed into the ground scrub - he was eye level with us
Up close and personal! |
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| Here I am! I'm awake now! |
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Cute aren't I!
So awesome!!!!! |
THE OTWAY LIGHTSTATION
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Australia's most significant lighthouse - Cape Otway Lightstation est. 1848.
The light has been in operation since 1848 and is perched on towering sea cliffs 80metres
above where the Southern Ocean and Bass Strait collide.
For thousands of immigrants, Cape Otway was their first sight of land after leaving Europe and North America and many months at sea. Hundreds of lives were lost in shipwrecks off the Cape, which led to the building of the Lightstation.
The narrow gap between Cape Otway and King Island, less than 90kms, was so hazardous at least 18 ships were wreckedthere. In 1835 almost 250 lives were lost when the convict ship "Neva" founded off King Island. In another major shipping disaster, 399 immigrants perished when the Cataraqui was wrecked off King Island in 1845.
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The heart was pounding up here on the lighthouse balcony - the sea was pounding as well!
Great views - unforgettable! |
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| The lighthouse was originally fuelled by whale oil, then kerosine and later electricity. The giant red crystal lens in side the lighthouse was shipped from England and is valued at $5 million.It shone 48kms out to sea. It isn't used anymore- the old light was decommissioned in 1994 and it has been replaced with the close by solar-powered automatic beacon. |
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The new beacon is dwarfed by the majestic old lighthouse
The lighthouse keeper - who is now unemployed, crows that the old girl shone 48kms whereas the
modern beacon only shines 35kms! :) |
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| Strange happenings at the Cape! A UFO maybe????? |
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| Also standing on Cape Otway is a Telegraph Station built in 1859 to house Australia's first submarine cable, which linked Tasmania and the mainland. When the cable failed, the building became a Lloyd's Signal Station, signalling passing ships and telegraphing the details to Melbourne. Between 1882 and 1933 it was a school, and accommodation for the Armed Services and light keeper's families. |
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| The Morse Code machine originally used for the telepraphing |
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Another addition to the Cape was this World war II Radar Bunker.
Built in 1942 after the US steamship City of Rayville was sunk by a German mine off the
Cape in November 1940 - this was the first casualty of WWII for the USA. |
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| The beautiful Aire Valley - lush and fertile farming area on the Great Ocean Road near Princeton |
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Fun and interesting and beautiful!
The Otway Fly is in the Otway National Park near Lavers Hill, in cool temperate rainforest 500 metres above sea level.
Besides the adrenalin pumping zip-line you can walk in the treetops on the fly,
and learn about the rainforest habitat on the interpretive trail.
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| The amazing Mountain Ashe reach for the sky and tower above the rainforest floor |
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An interesting educational trail has been created in part of the rainforest and all the dinosaurs are represented -
we all know this one! |
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| The huge Blackwoods stand proud in the rainforest |
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Walking on to the fly to ascend to the tree tops!
Best way to see a rainforest! |
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The fly is a 600 metre long walkway, 25 metres above the forest floor, made from over 120 tonnes of steel.
The project took 10 months to complete. It was opened in September, 2003.
There are only three other steel canopy walks in the world and all are in Australia.
Illawara Fly in NSW, Valley of the Giants in WA, and the Huon Vally in Tasmania |
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| The Satinwoods surround the Mountain Ash |
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| Flowering fungi in the tree top branches - not quite as clear as this from the ground! |
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| The giants of the rainforest! - the Mountain Ash |
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The Spiral Tower at the highest point of the Fly.
At the top of the tower you are 47 metre above the forest floor and you come face to face with the forest canopy!
You certainly get the tallest trees perspective!! Bit scary!!! |
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| Looking to the forest floor from the top of the tower |
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Pete testing the Cantilever! It's safe but it does bounce a bit!
The cantilever section can hold 28 tonnes, equivalent to the weight of 14 elephants! |
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| Viewing the cantilever from the Fly |
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| The beautiful rainforest with its varied dwellers |
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| The Myrtle Beech |
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| The soft leaf Tree Ferns were in abundance! |
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| The Fungi |
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Pete and I didn't partake in the zip-line experience but from what we heard its fantastic fun!
A shame we didn't have time for the adrenalin rush! :) :) |
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| More beautiful rainforest - just stunning! What a way to do our daily walking! |
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| A King Parrot |
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| Monster Tree Ferns! |
THE TWELVE APOSTLES
As we drove along the cliffs towards Port Campbell the sun was setting and we just had to stop at the Great Ocean Roads iconic 12 Apostles which we could see silhouetted in the silver sea. We'd planned to visit them tomorrow but the sunset was incredible and the stunning scene wasn't to be missed! We'll return tomorrow and see them again in a different light!
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