The Great Ocean Road

We're back home now but there's time for some thoughts about the Great Ocean Road before the memories start to fade. There's not a lot to say that hasn't been said already, but travelling the road is an experience of two distinct halves, either side of the Cape Otway Lightstation national park. 

On the east side there are miles and miles of golden beaches and rolling waves, making towns like Torquay and Anglesea the surf capitals of Australia. The road from Torquay to Apollo Bay was built after the First World War as a tribute to the soldiers who didn't return. Most of the work was done by those servicemen who did come home as it was thought that this would help them recuperate and rehabilitate into civilian life. They hacked their way into the steep cliffs with methods considered primitive even at the time, leaving a road that snakes along the shoreline offering a series of spectacular views.

The dominant feature of the west side of the road from Cape Otway to Port Campbell is the way the limestone and sandstone cliffs have been eroded to create stunning rock formations such as the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge which are beautiful to behold.

These rock formations are constantly changing, and many are hidden just below the surface, making life difficult for sailors and lending the name of the Shipwreck Coast to the area.

The Cape Otway Lightstation was built to improve matters in 1848 although nowadays it's been replaced by a beacon and the keeper's cottage has been converted into a holiday apartment. As a final night treat we stayed there and with the park closed at the end of the day, we had it to ourselves apart from the caretaker and one other family, to enjoy views of the lighthouse and sunset, the moon and stars above and crashing waves below. A blissful end to an amazing holiday.