CAIT AROUND THE WORLD

February 6, 2023 — My Great Ocean Road (GOR) trip was supposed to start bright and early at 6:15am when I got all my stuff out of my dorm, ate breakfast, and met the tour bus. Except I woke up at 6:45am (thanks Mom & Dad for the call) and rushed to make sure I did, in fact, have all my stuff, before grabbing what I could of my food (not much), skipping breakfast, and rushing downstairs to check out before meeting the bus.

Thankfully, I did make it in plenty of time since the bus rolled up about five minutes past the time that I had in my confirmation email. I got on and found a seat, we picked up one more person on the way, and we were off! I chatted with my seat mate for a little while as we cruised on to the highway and started our less-than-exciting beginning of the trip. We rolled through Inverleigh first and stopped for a breakfast and bathroom break. I bought myself a smoothie and a ham-and-cheese toastie (both delicious!).

We stopped next at Tower Hill lookout, which had a great view of the crater that was formed when the volcano that used to sit there erupted and then collapsed in on itself. Wildlife have since taken over the area, so we stopped for a walk, hoping to see emus, koalas, and kangaroos. The last of these, unfortunately, were a no-show on the day, but we did get to see an emu, several koalas, and a wallaby! Did you know? The main difference between a kangaroo and a wallaby is their tail: the kangaroo’s spine extends into their tail, giving them the ability to use their tail in more ways than wallabies, whose tails are cartilage.

Our next pit stop was Warrnambool, then we were off to the Great Ocean Road! We stopped at the Bay of Martyrs first and learned about what exactly lies behind the majesty of the Great Ocean Road. The cliffs all along the coast are limestone, which is super-soft rock and erodes slowly over time. The coast itself was formed millions of years ago and the wind and waves have eroded the rock to create incredible formations like the Twelve Apostles and the Razorback, which we saw later in the tour. Although coral and seaweed protect the rock along the coast quite a bit, they still don’t stop erosion, as the coast loses about 1.5cm each year.

We stopped for afternoon tea at a lovely lookout along the coast, just a little ways from the Grotto. We drank tea and coffee and had cookies and cupcakes overlooking the ocean.

Our next stop, the Grotto, was formed by erosion coming not only from the coast, but also from inland. According to the site’s informational plaque, a swampy depression percolated through the limestone off the coast. As weak acids in the water dissolved the limestone, a sinkhole was formed and eventually the Grotto hollowed out. Our guide referred to it as, “The window to the sea.” And it certainly is.

A few minutes down the road, we saw the London Bridge, so named because there used to be two arches. One arch remains, such that the Bridge no longer connects to the mainland. When the Bridge used to be connected, people were actually allowed to walk on the top of the formation. When the first section crumbled away, people were on top of the rock! It took six and a half hours for them to be rescued. Now, of course, there is no walking out on the bridge and there aren’t two arches, but it is still called the London Bridge and it is still a very beautiful sight.

After we saw the London Bridge, we drove into Port Campbell. We stayed the night in Port Campbell at the Sow & Piglets Guest House & Brew Pub, formerly the Port Campbell Hostel. I loved this hostel and it would have been amazing to stay more than one night. Its location is excellent, as many of the major points of interest along the road are just a few minutes away.

We cooked dinner as a group, with three different teams: one for prep, one for serving, and one for cleanup. I helped with prep, then most of us headed out to the pub nearby! We whiled away the next hour and a half chatting and laughing. I had such a good time hanging out with everyone. When it was serving time, we all headed back to the hostel for a delicious roast dinner. Three kinds of meat, potatoes, and tons of vegetables. Just wonderful!

After dinner, we went to the Twelve Apostles to watch the sun go down. Some of the best views of the sunset, though, came from the beach close by. After the sun went down, we got to watch the penguins come out of the ocean! We strained our eyes in the falling dark and watched as the ocean washed up penguins. One second they weren’t there, and the next they were. We could see them waddling along the beach and then lost sight of them the next minute, it was getting so dark. Finally, when the last of them had waddled home and it was too dark to see anything else, we made our way back to the bus and drove home to the hostel for the night.

I showered and got my pj’s on, then headed back downstairs to call home. I found a bunch of the people on the tour playing a card game called “Cambio” (which you might know as Cabo). I watched a round and we all munched on cookies that our tour guide brought. I even managed to play a couple hands pretty decently. We were up until almost midnight, even though a couple of us planned on a pretty early morning!