Great Ocean Road, 12 Apostles, and Loch Ard Gorge

Left the driving, Start on the right (Melbourne) to left 

Three friends and I took four days off to explore the expanse of pavement on the edge of the Southern Ocean. As soon as we landed we would leave town in the morning to go down the Great Ocean Road. One of Australia's top road trips. 

Lets Go To Melbourne

But a night in Melbourne- the greatest city of Australia in my opinion. More worldly than Sydney but less extreme than Perth, it sits on the southern part of the country, across from Tasmania.

We decide to go out and canoodle with new friends at roof top bars. The artistry of the city, from the graffiti on the walls to the dramatic interior design, makes it the San Francisco of Australia- I am told.

We rise early to check out the Queen Victoria Markets. I grab a baby chicken and a David Bowie t-shirt, not really but you could get both.  Its time to get our Wicked camper, which are these cool vans with murals on the side. Should get popular in the states soon.

Queen Victoria Markets 

Cable line outside Discovery Hostel 

Driving Great Ocean Road

Walter White was our guardian angel for the weekend. We headed  south, hoping not to fall off the planet. Apollo Bay was four hours away. On the way you have to see Bells Beach, which is the iconic setting for Keanu Reeves "Point Break".  The other unforgettable spot is a hillside treasure in the town of Lorne, Teddy's Lookout. Constructed with a compass detailing the surrounding locations, it comes with a view of a sea inlet and homes that make you reverie.

Bells Beach

View from Teddy's Lookout

Our spirits were so lifted we jumped on top of the van for a photo shoot.

An arrow pointed us toward Erskine Falls, a great bonus stop off the G.O.R.  Time to get back on the road, we had an hour until the misty town on the ocean, Apollo Bay.  With a population in the 2000s, we thought we would have a quiet night but that wasn't the case. 

Morning called for a good breakfast as we saw hundreds of runners crossing the finish line for a marathon. 

Pit stop: Great Ocean Road Wildlife Park is a self-sustaining park with Australian wildlife like kangaroos, wallabies, and dingos.

12 Apostles & Loch Ard Gorge

On the southern edge of Australia's coast is a rocky cliff rim with giant limestone stacks that bear the brunt of the Southern Ocean. The 12 Apostles, now 8 after multiple collapses turned these formerly attached caves, to archways (eroded from waves), into  rock stacks.

On the sunny and breezy day, I drifted off to my own little spot to take in the beautiful coastline. The site is very popular with tourists, even arriving on helicopter.

If you have time to see more, drive three minutes west to Loch Ard Gorge. A hidden beach sits deep into the gorge. With winter  and our stay here in Australia approaching, we decided to jump in the ice-cold water.

As we headed back towards Melbourne the sky started to darken with lilacs, corals, and blues.  We found refuge off the highway next to a farm with horses and cracked a bottle of whiskey to warm our bodies. The whiskey was turning us into cowgirls because later into the night, we tried to mount one of the horses next door.