Day 7 - Great Ocean Road (aka back the way we came)

We woke up in Warrnambool to a forecast of sunny weather which cemented our decision to head back along the Great Ocean Road. After breakfast of espresso and hot cross buns, we hit the road.

First stop was the Grotto and the Loch Ard Gorge, not far from the 12 Apostles. There's something about the formations along this stretch of limestone cliffs that defies words.

The Grotto

Panoramic shot, looking east from Loch Ard Gorge

Looking east.

After wandering around there for an hour or so, we hit the twisties again. We shot some video from a camera mounted on the front of the bike of parts of the ride through the Otway National Park - will get that uploaded soon. 

The ride through the forest was spectacular. At one point Keith pulled over at a turnoff for a lighthouse and said "Wanna go look?". I just said yep. What followed was a stretch of great road with a really interesting historical park at the end, with said lighthouse, telegraph and radar stations. Even better, on the way we saw koalas in the wild, and a kangaroo jumped across the road in front of the bike.

The beginning of the koala butt jokes.

We walked around the park, taking in the performance of some actors portraying characters from the lighthouse's past. Climbing to the top of the lighthouse seemed like a good idea until I got to the top and looked out (it was a tad too high for my vertigo). 

Cape Otway Lighthouse

Killer view from the top

The next stop was at Apollo Bay where we had lunch, watched some guys fish in the surf, and chatted with a lovely woman who told us much about the area and wanted to sell us her motorcycle with sidecar. She mentioned Tasmania, and we played with the idea of a side trip until we found out it's like going to Newfoundland and involves a long overnight ferry ride.

The rest of the ride was brilliant, and we ended in Anglesea. We will no longer think about how much we paid for out motel room, but the dinner at the Italian place behind it will always remain in our memories.

More pictures from Day 7.

Yum.