Melbourne Great Ocean Road Trip
Kingsley and I took a weekend roadie (as they say down under) and drove from Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road to the 12 Apostles.
First stop was lunch Apollo Bay where we shared the Seafood soup, gluten free turkish bread and a glass of Seresin Sav Blanc (one of my new favorites!) at La Bimba by a surprisingly American waitress! The food was fresh and very delicious.
We then drove to Cape Otway Lightstation which has been in operation since 1848. It is pearched on the cliffs where the bass strait and the southern ocean collide. We went up the top of the lighthouse and marvel at the giant lead crystal lens, shipped from England, and valued at 5 million USD. For many immigrants Cape Otway was their first sight of land after leaving Europe or North America and many months at sea.
One of the unique landmarks at the lighthouse is the Frederick Valentich- Plaque which remembers the 20 year old pilot who disappeared over bass strait while flying from Melbourne to Kin Island on October 21, 1978. Frederick and his Cessna aircraft flew over Cape Otway before disappearing without a trace. After reading the transcripts of Fredericks last words with the Melbourne Flight service many beleve this story to be Austalias most credible UFO mystery.
The windy road leading up to the lighthouse is full of Manna Gum trees which sadly are in decline due to Koala over- browsing. But it is where many wild KOALAS call home! We spotted quite a few resting high up in the trees as we drove along which was an unexpected highlight of the trip.
First stop was lunch Apollo Bay where we shared the Seafood soup, gluten free turkish bread and a glass of Seresin Sav Blanc (one of my new favorites!) at La Bimba by a surprisingly American waitress! The food was fresh and very delicious.
We then drove to Cape Otway Lightstation which has been in operation since 1848. It is pearched on the cliffs where the bass strait and the southern ocean collide. We went up the top of the lighthouse and marvel at the giant lead crystal lens, shipped from England, and valued at 5 million USD. For many immigrants Cape Otway was their first sight of land after leaving Europe or North America and many months at sea.
One of the unique landmarks at the lighthouse is the Frederick Valentich- Plaque which remembers the 20 year old pilot who disappeared over bass strait while flying from Melbourne to Kin Island on October 21, 1978. Frederick and his Cessna aircraft flew over Cape Otway before disappearing without a trace. After reading the transcripts of Fredericks last words with the Melbourne Flight service many beleve this story to be Austalias most credible UFO mystery.
The windy road leading up to the lighthouse is full of Manna Gum trees which sadly are in decline due to Koala over- browsing. But it is where many wild KOALAS call home! We spotted quite a few resting high up in the trees as we drove along which was an unexpected highlight of the trip.
We made it to the 12 Apostles in time to watch the sunset, but didn't linger as it was freezing outside! So we drove on to Port Campbell where we spent the night at Daisy Hill Cottages where they had a wood burning stove going in the room for us and later enjoyed dinner at cute little boutique restaurant just down the road called Karoa.
Sadly the weekend flew by much too fast but was relaxing and a perfect little weekend escape.
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Australia
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