The Great Ocean Road

Jim had vacation last week, so we took the opportunity to do the scenic drive along The Great Ocean Road. You could probably make this drive comfortably in 2 days, however we took our time and did it in 3.
The Great Ocean Road is 243 kilometers (150 miles) of curvy and climbing highway that runs mostly parallel with the Bass Straight, better known as "the ocean."
It was constructed between 1919 and 1932 as a means of work for servicemen returning from war and as a memorial to those that gave their lives in WWI. (I learned this while on The Road and on Wikipedia, but there is no history tab on the "Official" Great Ocean Road website. This saddens me.)
It begins just southwest of Melbourne, in Torquay, and finishes northwest in Portland. Along the way there are picturesque beaches with stunning rock formations and heaps of port towns with excellent food. There also many shipwreck locations (circa 1800-1900's) along this particular part of coastline, giving it the appropriate nickname of "Shipwreck Coast".
You are eased into the scenery with a Morse code of sandy beach separated by kilometers of trees. After a while, the road more frequently runs parallel with kilometers beaches varying between rock and sand. Surfers are sprinkled in the waves.
The first lighthouse we see resides at Split Point in Aireys Inlet.
The road winds in and out of Otway National Park. We stop for a peek at Sheoak Fall, one of the many waterfalls you can take time out to walk to.
Our destination for the evening is the Best Western in Apollo Bay. The hotel is almost as fun as the drive because we are able to watch TV, with remote! (We don't have either at home.)
We order a big pot of paella at La Bimba. This was Jim's first experience shelling some seafood. He wasn't expecting to work so hard for his meal.

Having ample time for the drive, the next day we headed off track a bit to see more of the waterfalls in the national park. The first was an easy 10min walk to Hopetoun Falls. All of the trails are well maintained and most of them are elevated so you are walking on a metal grid. Next was walking loop to Triplet Falls. Triplet Falls is exactly that; 3 waterfalls next to each other. This was the destination of many of the tourists. This walk only took about an hour, so we decided to do the other water fall at this location. The third walk was considered "difficult." I think that was due more to the time and length, like 3/4 of a mile 1 way and a return time of 1.5-2hrs, than the actual difficulty of the terrain. Either way, we headed down the trail to Little Aire Falls. At one point, we heard the rant of what sounded like a monkey. Are there monkeys in Australia? We exchanged glances and kept going.
We didn't know exactly how long it would take. We kept seeing signs that just said "Little Aire Falls" and an arrow; no distance remaining. We finally came to the scenic overlook; a raised metal balcony adjacent to the narrow creek and falls. This place was beautiful and it was also the place that Jim proposed to me. I said yes. Yay! Engaged!
As much fun as this was, we had more driving to do so we began the trek back to the car. It didn't take long at all:)
So, newly engaged, we drove on to Lavers Hill where we stopped for petrol, lunch and cake. To our astonishment, out in this middle of nowhere town, the shop served cake by Mark! Mark makes our favorite TimTam cheesecake here in town. You can't go wrong with a Mark cake. We ate some curried chicken pies and anxiously awaited our dessert; Death by Chocolate and another slice simply called "Mark Cake". The death by chocolate had, at one stage, been a piece of an entire cake. The owner nuked it in the microwave and it became a chocolate moat. It was still delicious. Enough about that.
We stayed the night at a lovely B & B called The Butterfly Farm, in Nirranda. We had our own own apartment; bath en suite, 4 poster bed, and attached lounge room (with TV!). Grabbing some stuff from the car that night, we heard what sounded like a pig in a tree. Again, we just kind of exchanged glances and hurried about our business. John, one of the owners, made us a huge and delicious brekky in the morning. He also informed us the grunt noise was probably a koala mating call...hmm interesting.
Because of the waterfall viewing, we had skipped part of the Ocean Rd. This allowed us to see some new things on the return drive toward Melbourne.
Scenic viewing areas include:

Cape Otway Lighthouse Station...had to pay for this one. It was just okay. We did go up into the light house and see the light. The best part was spotting koalas in the trees on the road to the light house.
Gibson Steps
London Arch, which actually used to be 2 arches (previously London Bridge) but the one closest to the shore collapsed in 1990.
The Grotto
AND...the iconic Twelve Apostles


12 Apostles is the most photographed site along the road. Due to erosion, there are fewer than 12 stacks remaining. You can't see all all of them from any one location, except from air.

The Great Ocean Road is just that. It's a must do drive to make when you are in Victoria. It's an easy and affordable little adventure.