Along The Great Ocean Road

I t has been called one of        forests. Today, logging trucks     the most beautiful              can still be seen carrying their   stretches of highway in the     wares to timber factories to be    world, curving around rugged          processed. But the main industry   coastline and dense forest,           now is tourism, with nearly one    through picturesque seaside towns     and a half million international   and green, fertile farmland. The      visitors coming to drive the road  Great Ocean Road offers some of       each year. Add to that the number  the most varied landscapes in         of locals who trek down the        Australia along its 300km’s.          highway to get away from it all,                                         and the Great Ocean Road has       A little bit of history               become big business.                                                                                        Originally built by returning         Natural wonders                    soldiers from the First World War                                        as a memorial to their departed       The south western coastline of     comrades, the road took 14 years      Victoria offers some of the most   to complete by blasting through       stunning natural attractions you   cliff faces. It was officially        could hope to see. The most        opened on 19 September 1932 by        famous of these is undoubtedly     the then Lieutenant Governor Sir      the 12 Apostles. Huge stacks of    William Irvine. The road soon         rock rising out of the sea and     took on a commercial purpose,         standing defiantly against the     linking the townships of              crashing surf, the Apostles are    Warrnambool, Lorne and Barwon         located within the Port Campbell   Heads. Soon new settlements           National Park, and can be seen     sprang up with some settlers          from specially built viewing       coming to hunt whales and seals       platforms, or at sea level by      off the coast and others to log       walking down a set of stairs to    the huge trees in the Otways          the beach. The Apostles have been  formed over the years by the          from sand and rock to lush, green  waves slowly eroding the soft         and dense forest. These are the    limestone of the cliff faces          Otway Ranges. Spectacular          forming great caves, which            national parkland filled with      eventually became bridges, and        towering trees, and many species   when the bridges fell away, stood     of plants that can exist only in   like islands as they do today.        this part of the world. The        The many moods of the Apostles        Otways contain numerous nature     can be seen as different times of     walks, waterfalls and picnic       day, at different times of the        areas. Some of the hikes can be    year. Golden and warm in a summer     quite difficult but worth the      sunset, or dark and unforgiving       effort as you come across          during winter dusk, they are          rampaging water flowing down       always spectacular.                   sheer rock at Hopetoun, Beauchamp                                        or Triplet Falls.                  The surrounding coastline                                                contains various other unique         Man made attractions               carvings, such as Loch Ard Gorge,                                        the Grotto, the Bay of Islands        In addition to all the natural     and London Bridge (recently           wonders that surround the Great    renamed London Arch following the     Ocean Road, it is dotted with      collapse of the actual bridge         numerous coastal towns that evoke  section of rock). These too are       memories of childhood holidays,    wondrous sculptures of nature,        spent playing in the sand and      created over thousands of years       swimming in the sea by day and     by an angry, inhospitable             cooking sausages on the barbie by  Southern Ocean.                       night. The casual atmosphere of                                          townships such as Port Campbell    Head further inland and the           and Apollo Bay can be a welcome    landscape changes dramatically        relief to city dwellers looking    for somewhere to forget the                                              stresses and chaos of life in the     Offshore, the Southern Right       city.                                 Whale can be spotted between May                                         and September making their annual  Some 700 ships are thought to         pilgrimage from further south to   have been wrecked off Victoria’s      give birth, raise their young and  south west coast, falling victim      begin the breeding cycle once      to rough seas or human error. The     again. The whales have been        remains of many of these can          increasing in numbers since        still be seen today, prompting        whaling was outlawed in Australia  the nickname “the shipwreck           in 1935, but are still a rare      coast”.                               sight and watching these                                                 magnificent creatures frolic in    Meet the locals                       the sea is one of life’s truly                                           memorable experiences.             As well as abundant flora, there                                         is also a wide range of fauna on      The Great Ocean Road is diverse,   show along the coast and further      enchanting and sometimes           inland. Koalas, wallabies and         challenging. It is rugged and      possums can often be seen in the      beautiful. Located only an hour    forests of the Otways, often not      drive from Melbourne, it feels     too far from town centers, and        like a whole world away from       along the many walking tracks         anywhere.                          within the national parks.             About the Author Mark Eden is a freelance travel photographer and writer, and the founder and director of Expanse Photography, a photographic services company offering fine art, limited edition prints as well as stock and assignment photography and publishing services. Mark can be contacted through the Expanse Photography website http://www.expansephotography.com. Published At: www.Isnare.com