What a crazy day tour The Great Ocean Road was... Set off with no problems, first stop Bells Beach, which is the beach where the biggest surf competition in the world takes place - the Rip Curl Pro. The beach was so not what you see on television, The waves were tiny (although I think that was too do with being late in the season) and big patches of the sand were black. So not what the surf programmes show you!
We then had a pit stop at Split Point Lighthouse - where 'Round the Twist' the kids show was filmed!!
As you drive along the twisty, windy cliff edge road - it is amazing, that all you can see along one side of you is ocean, along the other side of you you drive past the occassional town, many of which have the most fabulous glass fronted houses all cut into the rock. They must be awesome to live in (although a little loney I'd guess!) The house were especially impressive in Lorne (the most expensive place to live along The Great Ocean Road). We stopped here and went on a walk to search out koalas, saw several in the trees and then as Laura, James and I rounded the corner, I saw the most massive koala, sitting on the floor about 3 ft away from me happily munching on eucalyptus. It was the coolest and I got some great piccies.
From here we didn't go anywhere fast as the bus broke down!! The rest of the group got transferred onto another bus - bar James, Laura and I and the 3 yankie, tattoo'd, cool boys that were proud as punch when they announced to me that they were Roadies, not so proud when they had to admit they were roadies for Disney on Ice!!
We then managed to get another bus organised to take us to the 12 Apostles, wich is an awesome limestone rock formation, that has been washed away from the rocky shoreline by the sea. Really sad that it won't be there forever as gradually the tide will erode it.
We then met the bus driver from hell... Imagine an upmarket executive style tour, full of older americans and Chinese people and then our lot at the back of the bus like the B team! We'd gone from a cool and funky bus driver, who was a mine of information to the oldest most boring man I've eve met, that insisted on giving us step by step guidance on the most mundane things - like how to order our dinner in the cafe! Buying goon at the first opportunity and getting samshed on the bus - helped us through!
Definately like to go back down the great ocen road and spend a few days there, perhaps stopping and staying at some of the towns along the way.
