Today was THE day in Melbourne - time for the Great Ocean Road!
Since we had to get up for a 6:45 pick-up from the hostel, going out late again last night to a movie and then for drinks was perhaps not the best idea we've had so far... We managed to be outside on time despite having to get dressed in absolute darkness (my excuse for pictures to follow). And it was absolutely worth it!
It started off great when the bus pulled up 15 minutes before the pick-up time, just as I was sauntering to the kitchen for breakfast and Kelly was sucking down the first spoonful of fruit&fibre cereal. But all was well, because our driver-guide was James! He'd apparently gone into work early that day to ensure he could pick our group for the day! We must not have been that tiring, or maybe we'd at least guarantee a non-boring day.
Next stop was famous Bells Beach - the place where a world Championship surfing comp had been held the day before. We'd tried to go there 2 days before, but had been told it was cancelled that day due to small swells. It was funny seeing the tribunes and banners still up - we revently took picutres of where Kelly Slater must have wealked, surfed... breathed :)
The following stop was not supposed to be a stop, but when we were stuck in a traffic jam on the Great Ocean Road because there was a ceremony up ahead, yours truly Big Mouth asked if we could get off the bus to walk along the beach and meet the bus on the other side. So we all got off and had a little stroll along the beach. The two buses behind us apparently saw this and followed suit. Problem was that no one knew exactly when and where to meet the bus again, so the three guides had a hell of a time collecting everyone in their respective groups once they'd managed to park down the end of the beach! Yeah! Marisa : 2 vs Boring : 0!
We stopped at a small park just off the highway (2 lane winding road along the coast) to see Koala's in the wild. No Koala Coercion here - just simply Koala's snoozing in trees overhead. It was amazing to see one little Koala climb from one tree to the next - not just because the "little" Koala must've weighed at least 15kg and the branches he chose were rather flimsy! I got some great pictures, although I did briefly wonder as I was standing directly beneath them if they ever do a nr 2 in the tree....
We then raced on to a rainforest "walk" - since the entire group had gotten into the habit of "let's not do what the normal tour does", we voted to take a longer walk than scheduled at a different location to avoid the rest of the groups. What was supposed to be a walk turned into a group run... broken up by a fit of giggles from Kelly and myself when James started discussing FERNS!
The true highlight of the day though was a helicopter ride over the 12 Apostles. They're 12 rock formations (bits of coast cliff left standing after everything around them is washed away) in a row along the coast. Our pilot (the groundcrew - aka TopGun Team as we dubbed them because one had a particularly corny pair of aviator sunglasses - dared us to call him "Aunty Pat") had apparently been given instructions to scare us a little with sharp turns and the like. Too bad - I just LOVED it! Amazing views - wish I could upload ALL the photos!
The last stops were the "reserve apostles", a cave, and London Bridge. The last was actually stone formation forming a natural bridge with 2 arches. The middle bit - where it connected to the mainland - had collapsed 2 years ago. Apparently, when it collapsed, there had been 2 people on the outer part, who were then left stranded and had to be rescued by the coastguard. They'd refused all interviews and had hidden their faces from cameras - seems both were married - but not to each other - and they'd told their respective bosses they were ill that day, instead they rented a car for a romantic getaway that day. Hah! The truth will out! :P
Since we had to get up for a 6:45 pick-up from the hostel, going out late again last night to a movie and then for drinks was perhaps not the best idea we've had so far... We managed to be outside on time despite having to get dressed in absolute darkness (my excuse for pictures to follow). And it was absolutely worth it!It started off great when the bus pulled up 15 minutes before the pick-up time, just as I was sauntering to the kitchen for breakfast and Kelly was sucking down the first spoonful of fruit&fibre cereal. But all was well, because our driver-guide was James! He'd apparently gone into work early that day to ensure he could pick our group for the day! We must not have been that tiring, or maybe we'd at least guarantee a non-boring day.
Our first stop that day was at an aboriginal center where we listened to some history and information on the local tribes, witnessed truly amazing didgeridoo playing and learned more about aboriginal hunting. Unfortunately, me and my Big Mouth asked if we were going to get a demonstration of the weapon used most by the local tribe - a speer launched by a mallet, with which one could kill an animal up to 60metres away. The presentor was obviously waiting for someone stupid enougbh to ask and had me get up, walk to the end of the room, hold a teddybear in my outstretched right palm...while he 
aimed the speer at me from about 
20 metres away. I thought it was a joke, figuring the insurance wouldn't cover something like this, but he seemed perfectly serious and spent about an eternity (seemed like it when it was being aimed AT me) positioning himself and the speer. I finally just put my left hand over my eyes so I wouldn't jerk my teddybear holding hand when I saw him launch the attack. He then said it was all a joke and great fun was had by all groups at my expense. Kelly - my FRIEND - just spent the entire time making sure she had good pictures of the incident!!! (that's me holding the teddybear on the left, and the aboriginal presentor aiming his speer on the right, in case it was unclear!)
aimed the speer at me from about 
20 metres away. I thought it was a joke, figuring the insurance wouldn't cover something like this, but he seemed perfectly serious and spent about an eternity (seemed like it when it was being aimed AT me) positioning himself and the speer. I finally just put my left hand over my eyes so I wouldn't jerk my teddybear holding hand when I saw him launch the attack. He then said it was all a joke and great fun was had by all groups at my expense. Kelly - my FRIEND - just spent the entire time making sure she had good pictures of the incident!!! (that's me holding the teddybear on the left, and the aboriginal presentor aiming his speer on the right, in case it was unclear!)
Next stop was famous Bells Beach - the place where a world Championship surfing comp had been held the day before. We'd tried to go there 2 days before, but had been told it was cancelled that day due to small swells. It was funny seeing the tribunes and banners still up - we revently took picutres of where Kelly Slater must have wealked, surfed... breathed :)
The following stop was not supposed to be a stop, but when we were stuck in a traffic jam on the Great Ocean Road because there was a ceremony up ahead, yours truly Big Mouth asked if we could get off the bus to walk along the beach and meet the bus on the other side. So we all got off and had a little stroll along the beach. The two buses behind us apparently saw this and followed suit. Problem was that no one knew exactly when and where to meet the bus again, so the three guides had a hell of a time collecting everyone in their respective groups once they'd managed to park down the end of the beach! Yeah! Marisa : 2 vs Boring : 0!
We stopped at a small park just off the highway (2 lane winding road along the coast) to see Koala's in the wild. No Koala Coercion here - just simply Koala's snoozing in trees overhead. It was amazing to see one little Koala climb from one tree to the next - not just because the "little" Koala must've weighed at least 15kg and the branches he chose were rather flimsy! I got some great pictures, although I did briefly wonder as I was standing directly beneath them if they ever do a nr 2 in the tree.... 
We then raced on to a rainforest "walk" - since the entire group had gotten into the habit of "let's not do what the normal tour does", we voted to take a longer walk than scheduled at a different location to avoid the rest of the groups. What was supposed to be a walk turned into a group run... broken up by a fit of giggles from Kelly and myself when James started discussing FERNS! 
The true highlight of the day though was a helicopter ride over the 12 Apostles. They're 12 rock formations (bits of coast cliff left standing after everything around them is washed away) in a row along the coast. Our pilot (the groundcrew - aka TopGun Team as we dubbed them because one had a particularly corny pair of aviator sunglasses - dared us to call him "Aunty Pat") had apparently been given instructions to scare us a little with sharp turns and the like. Too bad - I just LOVED it! Amazing views - wish I could upload ALL the photos! 
The last stops were the "reserve apostles", a cave, and London Bridge. The last was actually stone formation forming a natural bridge with 2 arches. The middle bit - where it connected to the mainland - had collapsed 2 years ago. Apparently, when it collapsed, there had been 2 people on the outer part, who were then left stranded and had to be rescued by the coastguard. They'd refused all interviews and had hidden their faces from cameras - seems both were married - but not to each other - and they'd told their respective bosses they were ill that day, instead they rented a car for a romantic getaway that day. Hah! The truth will out! :P
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