Youngs Around the World

The Great Ocean Road stretches from Warrnambool to Torquay along the rugged southern coast of Australia. The beaches along this coast are not the idyllic vacation beaches of postcards and dreams. The waves are fierce and powerful, thrashing against the coast, carving limestone like a jack-o-lantern, and rolling out stellar tubes for the discriminating surf bum. Inland from the Great Ocean Road lies thick beech forest and the vibrant rainforest of Cape Otway National Park with bushwalking and camping opportunities to satisfy the nature lovers. The best way to do the Great Ocean Road is to drive leisurely, take in the magnificent coastal views, stop at the quaint beach towns along the way and fit in a few of the countless outdoor activities on offer.

Our first day on the road was waterlogged by torrential rain and strong winds blasting in from the sea. The gray and gloomy skies cast a foreboding shadow over the coast so we decided to make our first stop in Port Campbell to wait out the storm. After striking out on our first attempts to secure budget accommodation, we happened upon a sign for a cottage along the main road. I inquired at the service station next door and a friendly, older gentleman produced the keys to a lovely three-bedroom house behind the station. We had the house to ourselves and it was the perfect place to wring ourselves out and wait for the rain to subside. The owner stoked up the large gas heater in the living room as we settled in. It’s been a long time since we enjoyed the comforts of a real house and I reveled in the pleasure of the privacy and space. Just as I began to get really comfortable, the clouds decided to call a cease fire and, although the skies remained ominous, we dared to venture out to a few of the coastal viewpoints.

The coastal stretch between Port Fairy and Cape Otway, which includes the Port Campbell area, was a notoriously deadly area for sailing ships due to rough waters, hidden reefs and dense fog. The truculent stretch earned the name of Shipwreck Coast when its waters claimed more than 80 ships in a period of 40 years in the mid-to-late 1800s. The most famous of the wrecks was an English ship called the Loch Ard, which hit a reef on the final night of its three-month voyage in 1878. The vessel was so badly damaged that the crew were unable to assemble the life boats. Of the 55 people on board, only two survived. Much of the debris and cargo as well as one of the survivors from the wreck were washed into the gorge that now bears the name Loch Ard Gorge. Only four bodies were ever recovered and they are buried in a commemorative cemetery on the edge of a cliff. There is a great walking path along the gorge with signs telling the story of the shipwreck and ending at the cemetery. Shipwreck Coast is daunting for its ghostly tales, which are easy to believe as you stare out at the power and ambivalence of the waves.

Over millions of years, the constant pounding of the waves has sculpted the coastal limestone cliffs into brilliant formations, the most famous of which are the Twelve Apostles. At one point in time, twelve rock stacks protruded from the sea just off the coast but the same eroding forces that carved the stacks initially have caused several of them to crumble into the sea, leaving only six Apostles remaining. There are bridges and blowholes where water has carved a hole through a cliff and caverns of stalactites formed by water and minerals seeping out of porous limestone walls. There are sheer cliffs with waves pounding into them, slowly, gradually sculpting the next masterpiece.

We managed to get in a few more lookouts, walking over paths surrounded with colorful indigenous flora, before the rain came back with a vengeance, forcing us to jog back to the car and ending our brief afternoon of sightseeing. I didn’t mind, though, because I was eagerly anticipating a wonderfully cozy quiet night inside the cottage.

1 Comment »