The Great Ocean Road - not for the weary

Whew...I'm still trying to slow my breathing after our speed trip along the Great Ocean Road. A little like the Oregon Coast in places but with koalas and other creatures along the way, it's a beautiful and winding drive through the southernmost edge of the state of Victoria.

We picked up the car yesterday morning (me as sole driver because Kev's too expensive to insure with this company) and after taking the wrong turn once and making a cute loop through the city started on our way. There's plenty of places to stop for a view, a walk, a waterfall and so on. We stopped at a grocery store (in Anglesea) to pick up some food for lunch then at the next town (Lorne) we stopped at an information centre to speak with the most enthusiastic person ever. She listed enough for us to do to keep us busy for a month while scribbling away on a map the whole time. We did take her up on the Erskine falls and a caravan park where the owner lets you spot koalas. We saw a bunch, mostly just hanging out, hoping that if they got high enough the tourists would stop trying to take pictures of them I suspect.

We arrived where we were staying in Apollo Bay, a great homey (but breezy place) and had some dinner, then went for a walk in town. The next morning we drove out to the "12 apostles", of which there are currently only 9. They are remainders of cliff that have yet to be blown away by wind and sea - a pretty incredible sight. Unfortunately, we (Kev) miscalculated the length of our drive back and at 2:30 we realized we had to have the car back at 5:00 pm and were 2.5 hours from Melbourne (our destination). Panic and yelling ensued, all while Rose drove through windy roads (carefully I promise, I wasn't that angry) and swore at "tourists". After barely finding our way back to the rental place a full FIVE minutes before 5:00, I was feeling pretty strung out but all worked well.

Now we catch a plane to Brisbane - the hotter area. We'll spend the remainder of our time there and the surrounding area. My friend Caroline will be kind enough to pick us up at the airport tonight, a treat we haven't had to date!

Check in soon.