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After we had boomed round the Otway Fly, we drove back along the Great Ocean Road towards the Twelve Apostles. These Apostles are actually rocky outcrops which stand alone in the Southern Ocean just off the main coast of Victoria.

The Twelve Apostles

Before we reached the main 12 Apostles visitor parking and underpass, we stopped off at some steps which were altogether more peaceful and offered a good view of the first ‘apostle’. Again, some very tiring steps, and I was amazed to see the Chinese tourists who stopped at the same time as us trudge all the way down the steps, take one photo each, then walk straight back up them - a pretty tiring expedition on their part. The sea here is quite fierce, which has resulted in a fine, golden sand all the way along.

We then returned to the Pajero and went to the main Apostles viewing platforms. This was all extremely busy, but the views were nonetheless spectacular. Some apostles are more piles of rocks as the Ocean takes its toll, and they will dissappear altogether in the near future it appears. If we had wanted to, or had the money (many more pounds and dollars required), we could have taken a helicopter flight, or a small plane flight, around the apostles and local coastline from here.

A Shipwreck - Captain Gibb’s Plight

We read some interesting stories on the information boards about one Captain Gibb, who had wrecked a ship carrying a load of cargo and visitors from England in the 19th century. Only 2 had survived. The story went something like this:

“The ship had navigated into the “Threading the needle” section of coastline between King Island and the coast of Victoria on its way to Melbourne. A huge party was had to celebrate their impending landing. A fog rolled in, and Captain Gibb stayed on the deck til 4a.m. as the lighthouse could not be seen. Unfortunately they couldn’t stop the ship from running aground in the heavy seas and they mostly died.(sic)”

So, they had a big piss-up, captain Gibb was out on deck trying to sober up and they crashed…

Anyhow, we saw the cove where the survivors had managed to get out - no mean feat, and you would be by no means safe here, as you’d have to somehow get up a 25 metre vertical cliff to reach land.

We saw “the Blowhole” and “thunder cavern” which have also been carved out of the coast by the wave action. They were both impressive, and make you marvel at the power of the ocean.

The Bay of Islands

As we went on up the coast, we were beginning to look for a place to spend the night, as it was late afternoon, we made our last stop to look at the Bay of Islands - which are like the 12 apostles, only less apostly and more islandy. They too are quite spectacular and worth at least a cursory glance.

We eventually decided to stay in Warrnambool. Which was nice. However, after the coastal overload, and the running out of Great Ocean Road, we changed our loosely formulated plan the day after and cruised inland for the Grampian mountains.