Daily Archives: 4 November, 2019

The Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour: The Gibson Steps (Australia)

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

View from The Gibson Steps

Loch Ard Gorge was supposed to be the last item in our Great Ocean Adventure Tour itinerary but our Bunyip Tour guide/driver Jake Smithers said that, as we still had time, we were in for another treat to explore – The Gibson Steps.  From Loch Ard Gorge, it was just a short 5.1-km. (8-min.) drive to the Gibson Steps, another area of cliffs.

The Gibson Steps

For travelers heading west along the Great Ocean Road, the cliffs are actually the first sightseeing stop-off in Port Campbell National Park, a 1-km. (2-min.) drive from The Twelve Apostles. Set along the glorious stretch of Great Ocean Road, the Gibson Steps refers to the staircase, leading down the 70-m. high vertical cliffs, to the lush stretch of beach below.

The boardwalk leading to The Gibson Steps

Like most of the Great Ocean Road’s attractions, the Gibson Steps has a fascinating history dating back hundreds of years as it was originally thought that the steps were cut out by the Kirrae Whurrong people, a local tribe who called the area home.

However, it was only in 1869 that the steps got their full use and their name as local settler and pioneer Hugh Gibson, who built nearby Glenample Homestead, as well as fishermen and other seafaring workers, regularly used the 86 steep steps, carved into the face of the cliff, to access the beach and the water below.

The beach below

Gibson is most famous for his role in the Loch Ard shipwreck as Tom Pearce and Eva Carmichael, the two shipwreck survivors, regained their strength at his homestead.

Check out “The Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour: Loch Ard Gorge”

From the viewing platform at the top of the steps, we marveled at the natural scenery on offer – Gog and Magog, the nicknames given to the two jutting giant limestone rock stacks rising up out of the Indian Ocean (or Southern Ocean according to Australian geographers). Spectacular natural wonders like the Twelve Apostles (however, they are not considered part of the Twelve Apostles), they were also sculpted by weather conditions.

Check out “The Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour: The Twelve Apostles”

Gog (or Magog?)

The beach at the bottom of the Gibson Steps is popular for recreational fishing (Australian salmon, sweep, trevally, gummy shark, etc.) at an exclusion zone east of the steps towards Princetown (Clifton Beach).  However, despite the popularity of fishing, swimming here is highly unadvised, as the ferocious reefs and rip holes make for incredibly choppy waves.

The disappointing sign…..

Jandy and I wanted to make my way down to the beach via the steps to view the stacks in a different perspective but, halfway down, the path was barred as the area has been subjected to widespread storm and flood damage and will remain temporarily closed until required safety works are completed.

Our visit to The Gibson Steps marked the end of our Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour and  we were in for a long nearly 3-hour (226.9-km.) drive, via Princes Highway/A1 and M1, back to Melbourne. An hour (74.5 kms.) out of Gibson Steps, we made a short stopover, for dinner, at the Noodle Canteen in Colac before continuing on our way back to Melbourne. 

Noodle Canteen (Colac)

The Gibson Steps: Port Campbell National Park, Victoria, Australia. Tel: 1300 137 255. E-mail: pcvic@corangamite.vic.gov.au.

For those bringing their cars, park at the 12 Apostles and walk to Gibson Steps via a 1.1-km. gravel path section of the Great Ocean Walk which departs from the back of the kiosk at the 12 Apostles and safely underpasses the Great Ocean Road near the Gibson Steps viewing platform and beach access.  Coordinates:  38°40′06″S 143°06′43″E.

Noodle Canteen: 243 Murray St., Colac, Victoria 3250, Australia.  Tel: +61 3 5231 2807.

The Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour: Loch Ard Gorge (Australia)

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

Loch Ard Gorge

From The Twelve Apostles Visitor’s Facility, it was just a short 4.1-km. (5-min.) drive northwest, again via the Great Ocean Road/B100, to Loch Ard Gorge, one of the best-loved stop-off points along the road and the site of the most famous shipwrecks on the aptly named Shipwreck Coast.

Check out “The Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour: The Twelve Apostles”

Jandy (in green jacket) making his way down the gorge via the stairway

Here are some interesting trivia regarding the gorge:

The Tom and Eva Pillars

Part of Port Campbell National Park, the gorge was named after the 3-masted clipper ship Loch Ard, one of over (since 1797) 800 known shipwrecks in Victoria, of which only 240 of them have been discovered.

On March 2, 1878, the clipper ship Loch Ard, on its fifth and final voyage, left England for Melbourne. Captained by the 29-year old newlywed George Gibb, it had a 36-member crew and 18 passengers. On June 1, 1878, approaching the end of a tumultuous three-month journey, it got lost in a pea soup type of fog, collided with a rock reef and ran aground on nearby Muttonbird Island. Of the fifty-four passengers and crew, only two survived – 15 year old Tom Pearce (a ship’s apprentice) and 17 year old Eva Carmichael (an Irishwoman emigrating with her family).

The bruised and dazed Tom, who jumped off the ship, clung to an upturned lifeboat and was washed ashore.  After hearing cries for help, he swam back into the ocean for an hour to rescue Eva, who was clinging on a chicken coop and ship’s spar, from the water. Tom dragged the barely conscious Eva into a cave and then proceeded to climb out of the gorge to raise the alarm to local pastoralists. Two stockmen from the Glenample Station, three miles away, rushed to their help and immediately set into plan a rescue attempt. However, only four bodies were retrieved and buried. Eva’s parents, three sisters and two brothers drowned that night.

The world wanted a satisfying ending and thousands of people sent letters and telegrams calling for Tom and Eva to be married. However, they hailed from different social classes (Eva’s father was a doctor) and they went their separate ways. After three months in Australia, Eva sailed to Ireland where she went on to marry an aristocrat Captain Thomas Achilles Townshend. Tom, hailed as a hero (he received £1000 for heroism and the first gold medal struck by the Victorian Humane Society), returned to England and lived until age 49 and was buried in Southampton. Eva died in 1934 at the age of 73. 

The author at Loch Ard Gorge

To soak up the incredible rugged scenery, a flight of stairs allow us and other visitors’ access to the picturesque gorge. We descended down to an undeveloped, orange-colored beach surrounded by jagged cliff tops.  A sharp sea breeze was blowing inland. The beach was fronted by a smooth, pearlescent bay and an inlet of clear, blue water flanked by two yellow-washed unconnected rock pillars, with tufts of vibrant greenery, of the nearby Island Archway.

The author, Kyle and Grace

A clear example of the process of erosion in action, the pillars once formed a natural bridge over the gorge but collapsed in June 2009.  They are officially named Tom and Eva after the two teenage survivors of the Loch Ard shipwreck.

Tom Pearce’s Cave

The loch also has two small caves which served as shelter for Tom and Eva and are aptly named Miss Carmichael Cave and Tom Pearce’s Cave. After getting to shore, Tom and Eva spent most of June 1st sleeping in the same cave but Victorian sensibilities demanded that they could not spend this time together unsupervised. Thus that cave became Miss Carmichael’s Cave, while the big cave to the east became Tom Pearce’s Cave.

The weathered cliff face

Unusual for this section of coast, Loch Ard Gorge has a relatively calm interior. Its low energy beach has a moderate sloping dune that, in most tide and ocean conditions, makes the beach accessible with caution.

A pathway also allowed access to the eastern side of the gorge. There are also numerous plaques (detailing geological features), a small museum (detailing the site’s history as well as housing some artifacts salvaged from the wreck), a rest area and a cemetery housing many of the people that died.

Loch Ard Gorge: Great Ocean Road, Port Campbell National Park,  Victoria 3269, Australia.

The Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour: The Twelve Apostles (Australia)

Posted on by — 2 Comments ↓

The iconic 12 Apostles

From the Cape Otway Lighthouse, it was a longer 1 hour 15 min. (77.2- km.) drive, again via the Great Ocean Road/B100, to the Twelve Apostles along Victoria’s coastline, the highlight of our day-long tour and the jewel in the crown of the Great Ocean Road.

Koala on the ground. Though poorly adapted to walking on the ground, when disturbed, they can break into a bounding gallop, moving at speeds of up to 30 kms. per hour.

Along the way, we made a short stopover to observe adorable, spoon-nosed koalas, in the wild, on the ground or perched between the forks of eucalyptus trees.

12 Apostles Visitor’s Center

Interior of Visitor’s Center

The 12 Apostles are a collection of magnificent limestone stacks off the shore of Port Campbell National Park and their proximity to one another has made the site a popular tourist attraction. The road going there was breathtaking in its rugged splendor, with its dramatic, rugged cliffs carved from the sea and its panoramic views across the rich and azure waters.

Check out “The Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour: Cape Otway Lighthouse“

Until the 1960s, the stacks were originally known as the Pinnacles and then, later, nicknamed the Sow and Pigs (or Sow and Piglets), with Muttonbird Island being the sow, and the smaller limestone rock stacks being the pigs or piglets.

The boardwalk leading to the viewing platform

For marketing purposes, they were then coined as the Apostles, which slowly turned into the 12 Apostles (although you could only see eight at the time of the name). In fact, there are thirty different limestone masses stretched along the coast.  However, the only visible ones from the viewing areas are the eight apostles left.

Grace, Cheska and Kyle at the viewing platform

Upon our arrival at the Twelve Apostles Visitor’s Center (has toilets, coffee shop and souvenirs), we walked, along a wooden boardwalk, towards the viewing platform where we were awestruck in wonder at their size, splendor, myth, mystery and beauty.

However, only seven of the original eight stacks, spread out along 17 kms. of the Shipwreck Coast, have remained standing tall and proud along the shore, after a 50-m. tall (160 ft.) stack collapsed in July 2005.

The additional stacks located to the west

Though the view of the Twelve Apostles, from the promontory, never included twelve stacks, additional stacks, not considered part of the Apostles group, are located to the west within the national park.

Beginning 10–20 million years ago, the iconic as the incredible  Twelve Apostles were formed by constant erosion (up to two centimeters a year) by harsh and extreme weather conditions from the blasting winds, powerful surf and the salt of the tempestuous and stormy Southern Ocean which gradually eroded the soft limestone, carving out cavernous caves in the cliffs.

These caves then become arches that eventually collapse, leaving rock stacks or columns up to 50 m. (160 ft.) high which were left isolated from the shore and susceptible to further erosion from waves.

In the future, due to wave action also eroding the majestic, 70 m. high cliffs, the existing headlands are also expected to become brand-new apostles emerging from the coast in the near future.

The reason for the irregular shape of the erosion is due to the stacks being made up of layers of varying soil types.  The main layer is limestone but the other layers are a mixture of clay and mudstone. Because of the lower density of the mudstone and clay layers, they tend to be more narrow and much more easily eroded by the weather than the slightly denser limestone.

A glorious photo opportunity of the Apostles, in all their splendor, is during sunrise and sunset when the 12 Apostles change color, from dark and foreboding in shadow to brilliant sandy yellow under a full sun.  As the sun rises on her mast, the golden colors, with flecks of rose and red, spill across the rocks.

As the sun starts to fall, the sky explodes with burnt oranges and lavender hues, and the same colors drip across the rocks, adorning the apostles with rainbow colors before they look into foreboding shadows.

12 Apostles: Great Ocean Rd. and Booringa Rd., Princetown, Victoria 3269, Australia. Tel: +61 1300 137 255.

How to Get There: The 12 Apostles are located 275 kms. west of Melbourne, approximately a 4 to 4.5-hour scenic drive, along the Great Ocean Road, from Melbourne via Geelong. You can return to Melbourne on the 3.5-hour inland route along the Princes Highway.

The Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour: Cape Otway Lighthouse (Cape Otway, Australia)

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

Cape Otway Lighthouse

From Apollo Bay, we continued on our way for the short 30-min. (28.2-km.) drive, via the Great Ocean Road/B100, to a turn off. Turning left, it is a further 15-min. drive from the turn off to the Cape Otway Lighthouse on Cape Otway in southern Victoria. This lighthouse, a leading attraction on the Great Ocean Road, is a must for all visitors.

Check out “The Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour: Apollo Bay“

Lighthouse entrance

Here are some interesting trivia regarding this lighthouse:

  • It was the second lighthouse completed on mainland Australia
  • The light house remains the oldest surviving working lighthouse in mainland Australia.
  • During winter to spring (My to October), as 25 species of migrating whales (Southern Right Whales, Humpback Whales, Blue Whales, Killer Whales, etc.) swim very close to shores, the lighthouse is a vantage point for land-based whale watching.
  • For many thousands of 19th century migrants who spent months travelling to Australia by ship, Cape Otway was their first sight of land after leaving Europe, Asia and North America. 

The author

Known as the “Beacon of Hope,” the 21 m. high Cape Otway Lighthouse, a conical tower with balcony, sits on approximately 200 acres of land, 91 m. above the pristine ocean of Bass Strait.  The solar lantern’s light characteristic is three white flashes every 18 seconds and 1 revolution per 90 seconds. It weighs 4,318 kgs.

Here is the historical timeline of the lighthouse:

  • In 1846, the construction of the Cape Otway Lightstation began using stone quarried at the Parker River, 5 kms. east of the lighthouse, and transported to the Cape by oxen.
  • On August 29, 1848, its light was first lit using a first order Fresnel lens, manufactured in London, consisting of 21 polished parabolic reflectors and lamps, in three groups of seven, mounted on a frame and each burning sperm whale oil.
  • In 1891, the original light was replaced with a modern revolving lens, burning a single colza oil wick lamp.
  • In 1905, an incandescent kerosene mantle replaced the oil and wick lamp, increasing the brightness to 100,000 candles.
  • In 1939, the light and turning mechanism was converted to electricity and powered by a diesel generator, increasing the brightness to 1 million candles.
  • In 1962, the lighthouse was connected to an electricity main.
  • In January 1994, after being the longest continuous operating light on the Australian mainland, the lightstation was decommissioned and replaced by a low powered solar light in front of the original tower whose focal plane is at 73 m. above sea level.
  • In 1859, a telegraph station was added to the site when Tasmania was connected to the mainland by a submarine telegraph line from Cape Otway to Launceston.
  • In 1942, the Americans built a radar bunker on the cape which is now open to the public.

Any visit here is not complete without climbing the lighthouse and, after climbing the spiral stairs to the observation deck, we were rewarded with a breathtaking view overlooking Bass Strait on the left and the Southern Ocean on the right.

The stairs leading up to the observation deck

The wind here was fierce and strong and we can hear the noise of the wind even over ordinary conversation. Still, it was an amazing and awesome feeling on the observation deck. 

View from lighthouse

Within the grounds is the Lightkeeper’s Café and Souvenir Shop housed in the former assistant lighthouse keeper’s cottage (Open 9 AM – 4 PM) built in 1858.

Metal Kangaroo Sculpture

Nearby is a metal kangaroo sculpture and the anchor from Eric the Red which was wrecked on the Otway Reef on September 4, 1880.

Anchor of Eric the Red

At the keeper’s cottages of Apollo Bay, accommodation is available in two double studios (suitable for couples) or in the Lightkeeper’s Cottage and Lodge that can sleep groups ranging from two to sixteen people.

Interior of lighthouse

Lighthouse lens

Cape Otway Lighthouse: Otway Lighthouse Rd., Cape Otway, Victoria 3233, Australia. Open daily (closed Christmas Day), 9 AM – 5 PM (last entry 4:30 PM). Admission: adults ($19.50, $18.50 online), children 5 -7 years ($7.50, $7.00 online),  family of 2 adults and up to 4 children ($49.50, $47 online), seniors ($17.50, $16.50 online) and children 0 – 4 years (free). Discounted tickets can be pre-purchased from Apollo Bay and Lorne Visitor Information Centres, or the Otway Fly. Website: www.lightstation.com. Location: latitude 38° 51’ south, longitude 143° 29’ east.

The Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour: Apollo Bay (Australia)

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

Apollo Bay

From the Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch, we again proceeded on a 1 hour 10-min. (57.3 km.) drive, via the Great Ocean Road/B100, to the picturesque seafood village of Apollo Bay, a popular stop for package bus tourists at the foothills of the Otways, where we were to have our lunch.

This popular tourist destination and main fishing port is located between the Wye River and Cape Otway on the Great Ocean Road.

Check out “Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch“

Visitor Information Center

The town’s commercial center and main shopping strip, along the Great Ocean Road (Collingwood Street), features a good selection of decent restaurants, cafes and several lively pubs situated along one side of the Great Ocean Road, overlooking a wide, grassy foreshore which fronts the main swimming beach.

Start of the Great Ocean wall

Green rolling hills, overlooking Apollo Bay, create quite a scenic backdrop when viewed from the beach, foreshore and shops.

L-R” Cheska, Bryan, the author, Jandy, Kyle and Grace

Jandy and I tried out the 200-pax George’s Take Away, the largest restaurant along Collingwood Street, where we tried out their pasta.  Their menu also includes pizza, fish & chips, coffee, vegetarian meals and roast chicken.

Start of the Great Ocean wall

The Great Ocean Walk, which hugs the coastline and stretches for 91 kms., starts here and ends at Grenample Homestead.  A short walk from the car park, along a scenic mountainside pathway, is the lookout where there are views of Apollo Bay’s town centre, the harbor and beaches up and down the coast.

The Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour: Lorne (Australia)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

The seaside town of Lorne and its surfing beach

During our 1 hour 10-min. (57.3 km.) drive, via the Great Ocean Road/B100, to the picturesque seafood village of Apollo Bay from the Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch, we made a short nature call stopover at the seaside town of Lorne, a popular destination on the Great Ocean Road (it extended to this town in 1922).

Check out “The Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour: Memorial Arch“

This quintessential holiday retreat, attracting visitors for more than a century, has a relaxed Mediterranean feel, mild weather, charming picture-postcard scenery and beautiful Art Deco architecture.  Tall old gum trees line its hilly streets.

From the roadside, we had a panoramic view the 2-km. long, sheltered Lorne surf beach, the only patrolled beach in town, and bathers here were cooling off in the sparkling waters of picturesque Loutit Bay. On the foreshore, residents were picnicking under the trees.   At the pier, people fish for barracuda, whiting and trevally.

Great Pacific Hotel : home of one of the town’s two pubs

A tourist town, Lorne’s main shopping strip is filled with a large number of boutiques and clothing stores, boutique gift stores, cellars, restaurants (serving freshly caught seafood), sidewalk cafes and some art galleries/craft shops.

The foreshore

During the first weekend of January, the town hosts the 1.2 km Pier to Pub swim, described in the Guinness Book of Records as “the largest organized ocean swim in the world” with over 20,000 spectators.

The author, Jandy, Grace and Kyle

How to Get There: Lorne is located 140 kms. (a 2-hour drive) south of Melbourne. From Melbourne, daily coach services are available or rail/coach services via Geelong.

The Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour: Memorial Arch (Australia)

Posted on by — 2 Comments ↓

The Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch

From Anglesea, a short 15 min./15.8-km. drive, via the Great Ocean Road/B100, 5 kms. after the town of Aireys Inlet,  brought us to our next stopover – the Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch, the gateway to the Great Ocean Road.  Possibly the most photographed spot on the Great Ocean Road, this is made evident by cars and buses parked on a car park on the ocean side of the road, with people hopping out to take photos.

Check out “The Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour: Anglesea”

The iconic Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch, the longest  war memorial in the world, was built in honor of the 3,000 returned servicemen who worked on the road after World War I and as a memorial to Mr. W.B McCormack, honorary engineer to the Great Ocean Road Trust.

Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch (Australia)

On September 19, 1919, they started construction on the Great Ocean Road and, in November 1932, completed the 243 km. (151 mi.) stretch of road which extends from the town of  Torquay to  Allansford, near Warrnambool, the largest city along the road.

Commemorative plaque

Due to the grueling task of building a road by hand, some soldiers lost their lives during the construction of the road. Their story is recorded on boards at the site.

Bronze statue of The Diggers

A bronze sculpture on the south side of the arch, unveiled on April 13, 2007 (the road’s 75th anniversary) by Bruce Billson (MP Minister for Veteran Affairs), features two returned soldiers working on the Great Ocean Road.  There are also commemorative plaques for the arches built and also plaques for the 50th and 75th anniversary of the road’s opening as well as an information board.

The Diggers plaque

Over the decades, the arch was replaced a few more times. The first arch, erected in 1939, weighed in at 50 tons.  To reimburse the cost of the construction, this first arch was one of the original toll points where money was collected from those travelling along the road. Once the cost of building the road was paid off, the toll point was taken down and a second arch, made mostly with wood, was built in 1973.  This arch was ruined when Ash Wednesday bush fires set it ablaze on February 1983.

 

Commemorative plaques

In the 1970’s, the government, seeing the arch as a hazard to drivers, had plans to take the Memorial Arch down but it was shot down as it was considered a lack of respect for the returned soldiers of World War I.

The third arch, made mostly with metal, was destroyed when a truck ran into the side of the arch.  The present Memorial Arch, the fourth on the site, was made out of wood and has sides made out of stone and cement for support. The original sign still sits on the top of the arch.

The author

From the arch, a sandy trail leads to easy access to the beige sand beach where we stretched our legs and took in the panorama of beach meeting forests.

Jandy and Grace

Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch: 689/721 Great Ocean Rd., Eastern View, Victoria 3231, Australia

The Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour: Anglesea (Australia)

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

Anglesea

Our sixth day in Melbourne was to be spent on Bunyip Tours’ day-long, 243-km.  Great Ocean Road Adventure Tour, one of Australia’s most scenic drives and an important tourist attraction in the region.  After a very early breakfast at our apartment, we walked to the nearby pick up point where we met Mr. Jake Smithers, our tour guide/driver.

Jandy, Kyle and Bryan at the boardwalk along the Anglesea River

As soon as all the tour participants were accounted for at their pickup points, we were on our way.

Our first destination was the town of Anglesea, a 1.5-hour/114 km. drive via M1.  Here, we had a breakfast of muffins and coffee, courtesy of Jake, and had glorious views of the Anglesea River.

Anglesea is well known locally for its regular riverbank markets (held by the river on the Great Ocean Road, Anglesea’s main street), its golf-course (renowned for its resident population of eastern grey kangaroos which graze on the fairways), the Anglesea Cricket Club (which competes in the Bellarine Peninsula Cricket Association), the Angair Wildflower Festival (September), Surf Coast Walk, Point Roadknight, Point Addis and Harvey Street.