Great Ocean Road: Part I

Now we're into the guts of our holiday, doing the bit we really desperately wanted to see - Great Ocean Road. Known as one of the most spectacular scenic drives in the country, GOR is renowned for its beautiful and rugged coastal landscape. Thus far it has certainly lived up to its reputation. I have been blown away by the majesty of the southern coastline. It's far prettier than I'd imagined with soft undulating hills reaching down to the waters of the Southern Ocean. Hundreds of bays and inlets line the road's path and we're constantly stopping to check out the extraordinary view from roadside lookouts. We have a lot of time to explore so we're taking it easy and cruising at a relaxed pace. It's blissful and a complete luxury. To be here in this iconic party of the country for the first time feels rather strange - I never knew Australia could look like this. Being from Queensland I'm more than familiar with beaches and the coast, but the landscape down here is foreign, which makes it an adventure to explore!

There is a seal sitting on the rocks in the picture below. Not that it's easy to spot. I was hiding in the bushes in a makeshift 'ladies room' when Ben started pointing like a madman at the rock. I thought someone was swimming in the water and they'd seen me with my pants down, haha! Turns out I'd walked straight past this little fur seal who'd been sunning himself on the rock. At Ben's crazy waving and gesticulating the poor frightened creature slid off into the water and then proceeded to give us a big 'up yours' by showing off some pretty impressive water acrobatics. Then I got all stupid excited about the whole thing - "We saw a seal man, like a real life wild one! Awwww!" I do love a good wildlife spotting.

Yesterday afternoon we took a northern turn and ended up in the mountains at one of those tree top experiences. One thing you must know about me is that I am absolutely terrified of heights. It's irrational and crazy but I haven't been able to overcome it no matter how many times I've attempted to face my fears. So, I can't say I enjoyed the tree top experience all that much and the $24 entry fee was completely wasted on me. I just got dizzy and panicky and sweated like crazy the whole time. To get through I kept my eyes on the horizon and put one foot in front of the other. Benny took his time behind me and got the wonderful pictures below. On terra firma we encountered a few snarly dinosaurs. Between them and the heights thing I had a pretty stressful afternoon! I was glad to make it out of there alive!

Oh, and on a drive to the beach yesterday we came across this little dude shuffling around on the roadside. He (or she - I can't be sure) let me come up real close to take this picture. Echidnas are so freaky huh? It's nose was stuffed in the dirt sucking up ants most of the time. I got lucky when it came up for breath. Cute!

All of this is to say that we're having a swell time down here in the south. So let the adventure continue...