This is the city of Melbourne from our hotel room at the Grand Hyatt
The Great Ocean Road hugs the southern coastline of
Australia.
The coastline road
Those are all surfers trying to catch a wave.
It is a pretty coastline
We rented a car and
drove southwest from Melbourne for an hour and a half before reaching the coast at Anglesea.We watched the surfers catch the
regular breaking rolling surf.The
waves looked perfect for beginning surfers.Everyone in the water was dressed in full-length wet
suits.The Great Ocean Road is not
very long (about 350 kilometers) but is a narrow and windy road so it will take
us about 6 hours to drive to the town of Port Campbell.Unfortunately, we have no time to stop
and surf.
All the surfers in their full length wet suits. The waves are very rounded, consistent and have a continuous roll.
They celebrate the Great Ocean Road by staging a road rally
for vintage cars.This is a
Vauxhall.It looks like it has an
aluminum body.
It looks like a full aluminum car
Fish and Chips at a seaside town were in order, so we stopped
at the quaint little town of Lorne for lunch.
There are rainforests along the road to walk through.We walked on a wooden pathway through
the Otway National Park.There
were 300-year-old Eucalyptus trees and beautiful fern gullies. The air was
heavy from all of the trees and you felt like you were in a spa with the
eucalyptus aroma coming off the wet leaves.It was an enchanted forest. We watched for Koalas in the eucalyptus trees before entering the rainforest but came up empty handed.
Beautiful ferns
Huge trees reaching for the sky
Barb getting a little wet from the rain
A lot of the trunks have openings so big that you can stand in them
Lots of moss
An enchanted forest
Scott
The road winds through beautiful grassy hillsides with cows grazing in fields with sheep over the next hill. There are signs along the road to watch for Koalas and Kangaroos.
Beautiful grassy hillsides
Farms dot the hillsides
You have to watch out for the Kangaroos and Koalas!
Near Port Campbell are the Twelve Apostles. Except there are
only eight.Four of them have
fallen into the sea. (These are gigantic rock formations in the ocean).They are quite spectacular.
Barb at the windy lookout point
Spectacular monoliths coming out of the sea
Self portrait
Not sure which Apostle this is
Pretty colors
Many ships have crashed against the rocks on this
coast.We walked to a coastal
lookout to look at the spot where the Loch Ard clipper ship was dashed against
the rocks.
So close to shore and still a shipwreck. Dangerous coastline.
Gorgeous inlet
Reminds us a little bit of the slot canyons in Lake Powell
The ship wrecked out on the furthest point
Beautiful arch. When the seas are rough the water sprays up through the arch.
We found a motel in Port Campbell and spent the night.Tomorrow we will head back to Melbourne
to catch a flight to Sydney.
Roos, wallabies, koalas, geese, sea lions, fur seals, goannas, echidnas, birds........the list could go on.
Kangaroo Island could be compared on a smaller scale to the Galapagos. There is abundant wildlife living around the island, mostly in the conservation areas. About one third of the island is dedicated to conservation. The island is about the size of Long Island but with only 5000 inhabitants, mostly living in the town of Kingscote.
It is only a 20 minute flight from Adelaide to Kangaroo Island
This is the airport. We think the fencing is to keep the kangaroos out.
The waters must be treacherous around the island as there have been numerous shipwrecks. (Each of the 21 rooms at the Southern Ocean Lodge is named after a shipwreck). Many lighthouses have been built to keep the sailors off the rocks. Cape du Couedic lighthouse is built with the limestone that is found in the area. We are staying at the Southern Ocean Lodge which is on the southwest corner of the island. It boasts beautiful views from every room and has lots of beautiful viewing from glass all around the lodge.
Cape du Couedic lighthouse
One of the few lighthouses that have not been painted white.
Southern Ocean Lodge
Entry
Sitting and bar area
Windows all around for views of the Southern ocean. There is nothing between here and Antarctica
Lunch on the deck
View from our room
Rooms on the left. Each has a view
Sitting area in our room
Our bathroom
Nice views
Kangaroos and Kanapes is the name of the evening tour we take with the lodge. Western grey kangaroos are found here and like to come out at dusk and eat. They have no predators on the island, so they are not wary to too many things. Not far from the lodge is an old farm where land has been cleared and the roos like to eat the grass in the area. The lodge sets up drinks and h'orderves and we watch the roos until the sun goes down. Barb wanted to make the roos feel at home, so she pogo'd around the field with them.
Their tails are so strong that they can sit back on them and use both feet to kick out at an opponent
They can be fast
Lots of Roos
These tow are having a bit of a boxing match
Kangaroos in the Outback are more of a red color. These are Western grey Kangaroos.
What are you looking at?
Barb thinks the Roos won't notice her if she acts like one of them.
They have no predators on the island
Roos and an evening sunset toast
A coastal clifftop trek in the morning to see views of the limestone cliffs of Hanson Bay and the crashing waves across the coastline began our day. The landscape has both limestone and granite boulders and cliffs. We came across calcified wood. (similar to petrified wood)
View of the cliffs
Self portrait
There is a fresh wind blowing from the direction of Antarctica and it is a cold wind.
Beautiful views
It is the end of spring in Australia
Tree stumps of calcified wood
Granite boulders below
Standing on limestone and looking at granite boulders in the ocean
That is an osprey nesting on the green patch on top of the rock
Barb enjoying the walk
This is an Echidna. It looks a lot like a porcupine and does have some quills, but also has a fur that grows between the quills. It won't release quills though. Barb decided to pet one to see what it felt like.
We saw this echidna on our walk
Barb petting this echidna and making friends
Eucalyptus trees are in abundance. There are many different varieties, but the Koala only likes the gum eucalyptus. They will eat one pound of leaves a day, which is hard to do considering that they sleep for 20 hours a day. They wedge themselves into the tree and sleep.
Sleeping Koala
Koala's are not actually bears. They just look like a cuddly teddy bear.
This one woke up enough to take a look at us.
This one is holding a baby
It doesn't look very comfortable
Better watch out when walking under gum eucalyptus. There could be falling Koala's.
Cape barren geese do not migrate. Their green bill makes them look different from other geese.
Cape barren geese
Remarkable Rocks.......and we do mean remarkable. That is the name of a grouping of granite rocks that are amazing. Set high on a cliff, they look more amazing to us than stonehenge. The sea below is treacherous and often has errant waves that crash up here. The lichen on the rocks is bright orange.
They don't look too impressive from a distance.
They start to get more impressive the closer you get.
Barb standing next to the boulders
This is like a big playground
The way these rocks have been carved out is amazing
Once again, Barb is queen of the mountain
Atlas has nothing on Scott!
Barb is having a hard time with this one. She better get back on her regular workout routine.
Self portrait
The orange lichen is pretty
From a distance
Scott looks like he is in the whale's mouth
And you thought Scott was tall.
The coastline
Sea plants growing on the rocks
Fur seals are found close by.... they love hanging out on the rocks and playing in the tidal pools. There is a blow hole called Admirals Arch that has stalagtites growing from above and seals hanging out around it. It was picturesque.
Fur seal
Hanging out on the rocks
What's for lunch?
The rocks create nice swimming pools
Scott
Admirals Arch
Barb
Wallabies are a marsupial along with Koala's and Kangaroos. They give birth to tiny young that are naked and blind. There are so many wallabies on Kangaroo island that cars often hit them on the roads.
Wallaby
Seal Bay is home to Australia's third largest colony of Australian sea lions. We took a tour with a wildlife guide to walk along the beach amongst the sea lions. There were a few babies that were trying to nurse and some young males playing or fighting with whomever they could annoy.
A large male
A baby pup nursing
A young male annoying a female
Oh yeah, take that!
When they get tired they just roll over and say, "I have had enough".
Barb at seal beach
Hanging out with the sea lions
Birds and lizards:
Sea birds
Beautiful small bird outside our window
Cock-a-too's
A goanna lizard
A lizard poking his head out
We decided to take the bikes down the road to the next beach area. Riding along the beach in the sand and the sunshine is our last morning activity. We layed the towels down for a little vitamin D and a quick rest before heading back to the lodge to pack up and head out to the next adventure.
