Shoot me, I have so many backlogs to post about. I even told myself before that I’ll be posting at least once a day. Who was I kidding? Anyway, my flight back to Sydney is delayed and I’m bored here at the lounge and boyfriend’s snoring beside me, might as well update here. Tasmania series is not yet finished but I don’t have the photos here on my laptop so I’ll be sharing the Great Ocean Road trip I had last May (2012).
The trip was for the Great Ocean Road marathon that me and other friends participated into. Me and Vanessa registered for the 23km run and Annie and Dom went for the 14km. Great Ocean Road is a famous destination in Victoria (another state of Australia) and it’s a 243-km stretch of road along the the south eastern coast. The full marathon + extra 2 km (44km total) started from Lorne and ends in Apollo Bay. The half marathon started between those 2 points (makes sense). And the 14km had a loop around Apollo Bay. The tracks were known for great views which really adds up to the experience of running.
We flew in to Avalon Airport on Friday night and drove for 2 hours to Apollo Bay where we booked YHA accommodation for 2 nights (It was the best backpacker accommodation I’ve ever been!). I never get dizzy on a trip but that drive was an exemption. It was like the drive up to Baguio but times ten more “swerve-y”. Everyone, except the driver got dizzy. I even stopped talking to them because I had to concentrate not to puke. You wouldn’t expect anything else to happen that night after we arrived at the hostel aside from sleeping.
The next day, we decided to see the 12 Apostles in the morning since the 14km un will not start until 1:30 PM. 12 Apostles is a collection of limestone rocks off the shore by the Great Ocean Road. I’ve seen lots of photos of the place but I was still overwhelmed upon seeing it in front of me. No camera can do justice to it’s beauty.
The famous 12 Apostles are no longer 12
The other 4 Apostles – Dom, Chanda, Annie and Vanesa
Beautiful lookout points
Aside from the famous lookout point at Port Campbell National Park, we also went to these steps to see the Apostles from below. I was wondering if ever it gets warm there on winter. I can imagine it will be majestic to swim with all the giants around you.
From below
We didn’t have the luxury to stare at the Apostles long because Annie and Dom had to be back to Apollo Bay for their race. We left area of 12 Apostles around 11:30, giving 1 and a half hour allowance before the start time. And just for additional travel experience for all of us, one front tire decided to burst! 4 girls, 1 flat tire, kilometers away from main towns and a race to catch – perfect. We all know how to drive but only Annie had an idea on how to change tires. We were working on it slowly when a good samaritan stopped and finished it off quickly. We were so thankful because we sill made it on time for the 14km race. I’ll probably have a separate post on how to change a tire.
Oops!
Go Annie!
Plenty of time before the start
Then on Sunday, after me and Vanesa’s 23km run, we just quickly freshened up and ate lunch and we headed to this road which is known for the koalas.
The 23km finishers
And it was the best experience with koalas ever! I never really liked seeing animals in the zoo, so watching dozen of koalas hanging on a tree was just awesome.
Up a eucalyptus tree
They’re awake!
We even saw a cute baby koala on the road and we stopped to watch him as he tried to climb a small tree and later on disappeared in the bush.
Baby koala on the road
Baby koala climbing a small tree
There’s a lot more to see in the Great Ocean Road, I saw the maps and it seems that there were lookouts after every few kilometers. It will be nice to spend an entire weekend or more, just on that road. But I will have to request that no driving to be done at night, I don’t want to get that dizzy again.
