Today, we have a long travel day in front of us. We are flying from Melbourne to Queenstown, New Zealand and then picking up a bus to Te Anau. Since I have quite a bit of time to kill, I am writing this while on the flight today. Yesterday we took a tour down the Great Ocean Road. This tour took us down an incredible coastline very reminiscent of Highway 1 from Monterey going south complete with all the twisty roads and magnificent vistas. Our first stop was Bell’s Beach which is supposed to be a famous surfing beach. Our tour guide said that some of the movie Point Break was filmed at this beach and that it hosts an annual surfing competition that has gotten to be quite famous.
The drive down the coastline was mile after mile of spectacular ocean vistas, incredible green country side, and impressive cliffs carved by the sea crashing against the limestone. What made the drive even more enjoyable was that the sun broke out for the entire day and that made the color of the water and the countryside so much more vibrant. This was another case where the pictures really couldn’t accurately capture the beauty.
We were on a mini-bus that carried 21 people on this tour. At the beginning of the trip, the driver announced where everyone was from. There was quite a cross section of people from places like Boston, Scottsdale, Korea, Japan, Brazil, England, some Aussies and one couple from Italy. Without asking who was who, by the time we got to the 3rd stop, we figured out who the Italians were. The first 2 stops were 15 minute stops at beaches for photo opportunities. Both times, the same couple was the last one back on the bus as everyone was waiting for them. We had already pegged them as the Italians, but the 3rd stop confirmed it for sure. There we stopped at a place where the driver set out some tea & coffee and biscuits (cookies). Everyone had been milling about taking pictures when the driver announced the refreshments were ready. Everyone else queued up in Aussie fashion, but the Italians walked right up to the front of the line and barged right in and started helping themselves. Judy was staring daggers at the husband of this couple (you all know how she is with following rules) and he got the message and got his wife to back off. It was so classic Italian that we just had to chuckle about it.
The next stop we made was at a place where there was a Koala preserve. These guys sleep over 20 hours per day and eat eucalyptus leaves most of their waking hours. Also at this area, there were some king parrots that would fly right up to you and land on your shoulder, head or hand hoping to get fed some birdseed.
After some more coastal driving, we stopped for lunch at Apollo Bay. We sat down at a little diner and I looked over my right shoulder and noticed some art on the wall. I looked at the artist’s card and had to take a picture of it. I’m sure that this guy has been the butt of many jokes at his expense (probably not the first time he’s heard that one.)
Our next stop after lunch took us away from the coast and up the mountainside into Mait's Rain Forest. This forest was almost exclusively large eucalyptus trees and big ferns. Not as impressive as the Daintree Rain Forest that we previously visited but still quite nice.
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| London Bridge |
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| The Arches |
By the time we finished these stops, we headed home for the 2+ hour drive back. We were picked up at 8:00am and didn’t get back until 9:00pm. It was a long day for us, but I can’t imagine how difficult it was for the driver who had to negotiate those roads all day while also trying to be informational & pleasant. Don’t think it would be a good job for me. Hell, just being pleasant for that long of an uninterrupted period would be virtually impossible for me.
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