The Great Ocean Road was built by Australian soldiers when they returned home after WWI from 1919 to 1932 to remember the fallen heroes of the war and to honor them. The hard physical work helped the soldiers to deal with their trauma after the war.



Winki Pop Beach which is next to Bells Beach.

Surfer at Winki Pop Beach

Winki Pop Beach

Bells Beach

Bells Beach - the famous surfing beach

Notice the surfers!

Beautiful Aireys Inlet

The Split Point Lighthouse at Airey's Inlet

Beach at Airey's Inlet

The Memorial Arch to the WWI veterans who built the Great Ocean Road. Next to the arch is a sculpture of two working soldiers called the Diggers.

View from Mariner's Lookout in Apollo Bay

Another stunning view from Mariner's Lookout!

View from Mariner's Lookout

Kafe Koala, in Kennett River, where we had meat pies for lunch.

Beautiful red parrot eyeing our meat pies!

My dinner at the Port Campbell Hotel - grilled lemon pepper snapper with black rice, Asian salad and lemon cream sauce.

Ed's dinner - Caribbean chicken with curry, naan, rice, and pickled onion.

Loving your TR, Karen.

That red & green bird is a King Parrot.
https://www.birdsinbackyards.net/spe...rus-scapularis

OCTOBER 17: THE TWELVE APOSTLES, LONDON BRIDGE, AND THE RAZORBACK - SPECTACULAR!!!

Breakfast this morning is at Grassroots Bakery and Café in Port Campbell. Customers are a mix of locals and tourists. I have a very tasty cheese and ham toastie, and Ed has eggs, bacon and sourdough toast. We love Australian bacon! Much less fat and so much tastier than bacon we have at home.

Then we are on our way to Port Campbell National Park to see Gibson Steps, the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, Razorback, London Bridge and The Grotto. This is another spectacular day with never-ending gorgeous coastal scenery and sea stacks.

The Twelve Apostles is the most iconic site and I was so excited to see it. They are jaw-dropping gorgeous with the tan limestone stacks and sandstone cliffs, water that is many shades of blue, and gorgeous blue skies. This is awe-inspiring scenery. Sometimes places that are really hyped can be disappointing but we were not disappointed in the Twelve Apostles. BTW, there are 7 left standing, and according to my research, there may never have been twelve. These stacks were at one time called “Sow and Piglets”. Someone, probably from the tourism industry, decided to rename these stacks the Twelve Apostles because they thought the catchy name would draw more people.

Another favorite of mine is the Razorback which is near the Loch Ard Gorge. There are numerous pathways, and we stumbled upon the Razorback by taking one of these paths. The Razorback isn’t even in my guidebook. It’s gorgeous!!

And London Bridge has an interesting story. It was once a double-arched rock bridge that was linked to the mainland. However, in 1990 the bridge collapsed, leaving two terrified tourists marooned! They were eventually rescued by helicopter!

After seeing The Grotto, we decided to drive to Port Fairy, where we spent a couple hours, and had a delicious fish and seafood lunch. I didn’t write down the name of the restaurant. We weren’t enamored with Port Fairy; in fact, we felt our time would have been better spent walking along more of the coastal paths near all these gorgeous sites. But perhaps that is because we didn’t spend a lot of time in Port Fairy. I think one gets a better feel for a place if one stays overnight. Also, starting from Warrnambool to Port Fairy, the scenery isn’t that special. The coastal scenery is the most gorgeous and the most stunning from Bells Beach to the Bay of Islands.

On our drive back to Port Campbell, we stopped at the Bay of Islands Coastal Park to visit the Bay of Islands and Bay of Martyrs for more spectacular lookout points to see more rock stacks and magnificent sweeping views.

Dinner tonight is at Waves in Port Campbell. I had garlic shrimp with jasmine rice and veggies. The shrimp was cooked perfectly. Ed had grilled Baramundi with jasmine rice and veggies. All very fresh and delicious. Waves is also a boutique hotel. We didn’t see the rooms but based on their restaurant, I think it would be a much nicer place to stay than Port O Call.

The Gibson Steps (86 of them) were hacked by hand into the cliffs by Hugh Gibson, a wealthy 19th century landowner. They were recently replaced by concrete steps. These steps bring you to wild Gibson Beach. Be careful not to get stranded by high tides.


The Gibson Steps and Gibson Beach

We frequently saw these signs along the Great Ocean Road. I didn't know until I started planning our trip that Australia has some of the most venomous snakes!

Beware of venomous snakes and unstable cliffs!

Wow!!! The Twelve Apostles!! Jaw-dropping scenery!

We were amazed at the beauty! The Twelve Apostles surpassed our expectations!

Of course we had to have our photo taken with the Twelve Apostles.

This view is taken from the other side of the lookout platform of the Twelve Apostles.

Love the color of the water!

Another view of the Twelve Apostles

One of my favorites - The Razorback!

Another view of the Razorback

The Razorback

London Bridge has fallen down! This is where 2 tourists were stranded until they were rescued by a helicopter!

My very delicious fish and chips in Port Fairy.

Ed's delicious seafood platter.

Bay of Islands Coastal Park - this is a collection of rock stacks and sheltered bays with clifftop walks and scenic lookouts.

Bay of Islands Coastal Park is between Peterborough and Warrnambool.

The Grotto at Bay of Islands Coastal Park

Love the vegetation especially these white flowers. I think they are tea tree flowers.

Ed's Grilled Baramundi, jasmine rice at vegetables at Wave Restaurant.

My garlic shrimp, jasmine rice and vegetables at Wave Restaurant.

So glad you had such a good day at the Twelve Apostles. I find this section of coastline the most beautiful of Australia, along with the Tasman Peninsula.

I'm really enjoying your trip report. Your photos are beautiful.

Thanks for a great trip report! Staying tuned for the next instalment.

Accents??? Whaddya mean accents? We don't have accents? You, on the other hand.....

We absolutely loved the Great Ocean Road, and it's one of the highlights of our trip. Is the Tasman Peninsula in Tasmania? Several people suggested we should visit Tasmania but we just didn't have the time, unfortunately.

KTtravel, thank you! I appreciate your compliments!

margo_oz, I have a funny story about my accent. I grew up in western Massachusetts, which is very different from Boston and eastern Massachusetts. Farm country, small towns, no traffic congestion, and different accents. When I graduated from high school, I went to college in Boston. When I started college, my new friends did not believe I was from Massachusetts because of my "strange" accent! HA!

October 18: The Golden Towns – Ballarat and Bendigo!!

Because we enjoyed our dinner so much last night at Wave, we decided to have breakfast there this morning. Then we were off to Ballarat, about a 2-hour drive. Ballarat is one of the well-known gold mining towns in Victoria. We stopped here for an hour or so to walk around and admire the Victorian-era architecture. We decided not to visit Sovereign Hill, a re-creation of a gold-mining town. Our plan was to spend more time in Bendigo and visit a real gold mine there.

So next up is Bendigo, an almost 2-hour drive from Ballarat. We checked into our lodgings for the next two nights, the beautiful and exquisite Langley Estate. Langley Estate has some interesting history. At one time it served as the home for two Anglican bishops. Then it was a Toddler’s Home for children who were in the care of the Children’s Welfare Department. At one time it was scheduled for demolition and a motel unit was supposed to be built in its place. Luckily, this magnificent mansion was saved! It is now owned and operated by Simone and Thomas Heywood. Thomas is an internationally renowned organist, considered an Australian virtuoso, who travels around the world performing in concerts. We met Simone who is very nice and helpful, giving us restaurant recommendations and sightseeing information. They serve breakfast for groups of 4 or more, and you need to make a reservation. We didn’t mind not having breakfast there because we enjoy trying other restaurants.

Dinner tonight is at Toi Shan, the oldest Chinese restaurant in Australia. And unfortunately, the food was not very good. I’m sure it was at one time but not any more. But we will make up for this tomorrow with two awesome meals!!

Ballarat schoolboys

The Ballarat Visitor Center and Town Hall - stunning architecture!

Victorian-era architecture in Ballarat's center

Ballarat's center

Ballarat fashion

Ballarat fashion

Beautiful living room at Langley Estate

Exquisite foyer at Langley Estate

The very elegant Langley Estate where we stayed for 2 nights in Bendigo.

OCTOBER 19: DRAGONS, GOLD AND ART

We had one of our best breakfasts this morning at Whitby, located directly on Lake Weeroona. I had avocado smash, which was superb! A poached egg, beets, tomatoes, on top of sourdough bread with what else? Smashed avocado, of course! Delicious! Ed had poached eggs and sourdough toast with bacon. The best bacon! And the best poached eggs. We love the poached eggs in Australia, and ordered them many times when we ate out for breakfast. They are cooked to perfection with a perfect shape. I probably sound silly raving about poached eggs but I could never duplicate them at home. They are delicious and perfectly cooked – not too runny and not overcooked.

Bendigo was a gold-mining boom town in the 1850’s that now boasts a world-class art gallery, fascinating Chinese history, Tibetan Buddhist temples, and a gold mine that now offers tours. And there are lots of restaurants to choose from, too. It’s a fascinating place to spend a couple nights.

The first place we visit is the Golden Dragon Museum & Gardens. This museum is filled with dragons, costumes, and other Chinese cultural items. The highlights are the imperial dragons, including the longest dragon in the world at 120m and the oldest dragon in the world.

After the museum we visited the Bendigo Art Gallery, which boasts outstanding colonial and contemporary Australian art. I don’t know anything about Australian artists so this was a very interesting and fascinating gallery. And we lucked out! Admission was free when we visited!

We took a break from sightseeing at a café across the street. Sat outside in the gorgeous weather and enjoyed beer and pastry!

Then we had an awesome underground tour of the Central Deborah Gold Mine. We had to wear hard hats and then descend by elevator into the mine with a tour guide. There are several tours to choose from. We chose the 75-minute tour that descends 61m. My first time in a gold mine! It was fun and fascinating!

Dinner tonight is Malaysian food at Malayan Orchid. Absolutely delicious! Everything was cooked perfectly, seasoned just right. I didn’t write down what we had but we loved every dish. This made up for our lousy meal last night.

Golden Bendigo - we really enjoyed this town!

Ed's poached eggs with sourdough toast and the best bacon ever!

Feast your eyes on this work of art!! My delicious Avocado Smash!!

The oldest Imperial Dragon

The newest and longest Imperial Dragon at 120m.

Love the orange fish!

Bendigo Art Gallery

Bendigo Art Gallery

This unique art installation changes depending on where you are standing.

Here it is from a different angle.

The artist painted a day from his life at the beach when he was a teen-ager.

Another painting from a day in his life.

A crowded bed!

The Central Deborah Gold Mine

We entered the mine through this entrance and then descended in an elevator.

Gold!!!

This gives you an idea of what it looks like underground.

And a few more!

You have arrived in Bendigo!

The fountain on the main street.

Thanks for the info! The King Parrot is so colorful. Love the vivid colors!

Yes, the Tasman Peninsula is in SE Tasmania, not to far from Hobart and Port Arthur.

Bendigo looks nice. Thanks for introducing it to me. Adding it to my list of future places to visit in Australia.