Roadtrip!!!

We finally got outta the city!! All the pictures are on my Australia Photos Shutterfly page at: http://ericinmelbourne.shutterfly.com. (Also look at links section to the right).

Ok, first off, I got to drive on the left had side of the road!! Sweet!! It's been a dream of mine and now I can check that one off as fufilled. My other, slightly lesser, dream of getting into an accident whildst driving on the left also came true as well. We got rear ended at a traffic light at an extremely slow speed.

For those of you that know me, you probably know my driving record can be described as any of the following: long, elabortate, heavy, expensive, funny, sad....etc. It has also been known to create the look of wonder in peoples eyes as they try to deduce whether I'm unlucky or insane. So it didn't bode well with my new and improved image when I get into an accident after the first time driving in 5 months!! It was, in fact though, not a bad accident and not my fault. Luckily it happened at the end of our trip (so we didn't have to think about it the whole time) and we took out full insurance for the rental car (being my first time on the left and all). Happy endings are great.

On to the trip!!

First stop, Airey's Inlet and the Split Point lighthouse. Who doesn't like a lighthouse, huh? Huh? I can't think of anyone. There was a nice walking path with a view of the ocean. Very good. We drive onward......

....to Apollo Bay. We had great weather for the trip other than a little rain while in Apollo Bay. However, said rain provided us with a gorgeous rainbow while at Marriner's Lookout. We could see the full arch of the rainbow with the other end landing in the ocean. No gold though. Driving on...

This was one of many tiny isolated beachs along the Great Ocean Road. This one was accessable by parking next to the guard rail and climbing down a narrow, slippery path. As a result, it was empty, so we had it all to ourselves. There were lots of funky seashells lining the shore of which we collected a few. The waves were really nice and the formations that the sea has carved out in the limestone rocks are amazing! Moving on, reluctantly....

Erskine Falls, in the Angahook-Lorne State Park, is located in a low lying, wet, temporate rain forest. Very calm, pretty and lush. We got a small hike in and finally put our legs to work after a couple of months in the city. Driving on...

......we arrive in Port Campbell by night. We find a really nice Best Western and got a big suite for cheap. In the morning we check out the town which amounts to a handfull of restaraunts, hotels and gift shops. We go for breakfast and sit down at the second place we see. We look at the menu and see that all the choices involve eggs. Not everyone in the group eats eggs so this was a problem. We inquire as to any possible alternatives that are available. The answer was.....toast. Nice. We move on only to find out that this is the case everywhere but one restaraunt. I guess they like their eggs. We ate and moved on....

...to the Twelve Apostles!! very famous here in Australia. Unfortunately we came a couple of months late because one of the coolest one's collapsed. You can see the ruble pile to the left under the hand rail. Very sad. Moving on!!

Ahh, Loch Ard Gorge. Big, blue and beautiful. We pranced around for a while and had some silly fun on the beach. Then.....

...we drove to the Ottway Fly Skywalk in beech Forest. This was really cool. The walk way is up to 150 feet above the ground at points and the fauna was gorgeous. Since we came in the winter there wasn't much wildlife but this place deserves a second visit.

All-in-all the trip was great and we are looking forward to getting back to the Great Ocean Road ASAP. There's still much more to see!!