Great Ocean Road, storms and koalas

(A couple of days later!)

Yesterday I spent quite some time chatting to Amber about the numerous shipwrecks along this coast. It had little impact in the beautiful sunny conditions. But things change quickly around here and the weather rolled in overnight. The wind came first and i was up securing the tent in the dark. Then the rain came, blowing sideways, so I was up dragging much of our gear inside. Needless to say, I didn’t get too much sleep and it was 8.30 before Amber and I dragged ourselves out from under the covers to a chilly day.

Breakfast and shower later, we packed up and parked the car and trailer across the road, preferring bikes for a wander into Apollo Bay. This gave us the chance to zip in and out trying to replace our light bulb and eventually we succeeded!

Back on the road we headed towards Cape Otway Lighthouse which is about 12km off the Great Ocean Road. I had researched the lighthouse tours, but was not prepared for the excitement on the way: the road was home to endless koalas! First one we spotted because a fleet of cars were pulled over on the verge. After that one, they came hard and fast so, by the time we got to the lighthouse we had seen 33! They are quite a traffic hazard too. One driver (with kids in the back) screeched to a halt and backed up around a blind bend, crossing into the other lane...  I wonder how many accidents are attributed to wildlife?

The lighthouse tour was self-guided so you could go at your own pace. Up the tower we climbed for extraordinary views. Then we headed to an aboriginal centre on the facility where we painted an shell to take home.

All this excitement meant it was getting late when we drove past the 12 Apostles and, since we have two nights at our next spot, we decided to keep going and come back tomorrow for this, Loch Ard Gorge and London Bridge. This gave us time to set up in light, get the laundry and lunch done and even ride around the park before bed! 

Can’t wait for tomorrow!