Great Ocean Road

Giz has officially passed the blogging baton back to me, so I guess it's my turn to post.   Good thing too because it's definitely time to finish off my trip report.  

You can read about the rest of our trip here:

New Zealand

Part I (Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula & Rotorua)

Part II (Taupo & Hawke's Bay)

Part III (Abel Tasman & Franz Josef)

Part IV (Lake Matheson, Wanaka, Queenstown & Milford Sound)

Australia

Cairns

Sydney: Part I

Sydney: Part II

Sydney: Part III

Melbourne: Part I

Melbourne: Part II

Now, for the last stop on our trip, the Great Ocean Road.  The Great Ocean Road is about 150 miles of road that travels along the ocean, beginning (or ending, depending on the direction you travel) in Torquay, about 1 hour and 15 minutes outside of Melbourne, and ending in Warrnambool.  The views on this road are stunning.  

We stopped in Torquay for lunch at the Torquay Larder, a cute little cafe with made-from scratch food and specialty food items.  

After Torquay, we continued on to the Angelsea Golf Club, which is known for being a location to see wild kangaroos.  

You don't have to search particularly long to see a whole bunch of kangaroos.  There were about 30 in this shot that I took just outside the main gate.

Next, we stopped off at the Split Point Lighthouse in Aireys Inlet and took some time to enjoy the majestic views all around.

There are a few lighthouses along the Great Ocean Road, the most famous is the Cape Otway Lightstation.  We opted not to visit it since they charge $17.50 per person.  But, now I'm kind of regretting it since it looks like the views there are second to none.

By this point in the day, the sun was starting to set, so we made our way for our hostel, the Apollo Bay YHA.  We practically had the place to ourselves by this point (3rd week in May).  But apparently it books up over the summer.

The next morning, we started off at Maits Rest Rainforest Trail, a quick walk along a rainforest boardwalk.

Gotta love the  driving reminders:

Next, we started the search for wild koalas amidst the eucalyptus on the road toward the Cape Otway's Lightstation.   Definitely like looking for a needle in a haystack.  We were about to give up, but spotted some cars along the side of the road.  Bingo!  

No trip to the Great Ocean Road is complete without seeing the Twelve Apostles.  

Don't bother trying to count all twelve apostles (the limestone rock stacks).  There are only about eight left.

We both agreed that we should have spent an extra day on the Great Ocean Road.  Still, it was a great way to close out our trip. 

We returned Melbourne that evening and caught a flight to LAX the next day.  

I could have done without the 47 hour return voyage to Ottawa, which included spending the night sleeping in  the Chicago Airport and having to fly to Montreal and bus to Ottawa after flights were delayed and sold out.  But, we'll just forget about that part and call it an excellent trip!  

I hope you enjoyed my posts about Australia and New Zealand!  Thanks for sticking them out with me.