Gedye/Gaylord Road Trip Part IV:
Loch Ard Gorge and the Twelve Apostles
April 2004
 

To the east of the dreamy little town of Port Campbell the limestone plain drops off into the Southern Ocean in spectacular cliffs.

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The girls take in the Bay of Islands, followed by a quick look at the Grotto.

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London Arch was known as London Bridge until 1990 when the main arch collapsed into the sea, stranding two people.

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They call it the Shipwreck Coast, and the most famous of them all was the Loch Ard, which went down on the rocks outside this gorge in 1878. Two people somehow found the calm waters of the gorge and survived, but still had to climb the rugged cliffs to find help.

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Life is considerably easier in 2004.

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Next stop was the famous Twelve Apostles, the main attraction on the Great Ocean Road. We were blessed with a perfect afternoon -- the sea haze captured by the sun made the western view spectacular.

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To the east it wasn't too rough either.

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After about an hour, Chris, Grace, Caitlin, Weston and Lauren left to drive on to Apollo Beach where we were to stay that night.

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Peter and I stayed to record the gathering sunset.

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Not that we were alone, mind you.

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During a lull, we took portraits of each other. The lull didn't last long.

       

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Sickeningly photogenic eh?

When it was good and dark, we took got on the road to Apollo Bay. The windy roads told us the geology had changed. We had left the limestone plain and were heading into the wild and hilly Otway Peninsula.