Day 18: The Twelve Apostles

Today we took a van trip down along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria to see The Twelve Apostles rock formation, as well as several other sites. This was absolutely some of the most stunning nature scenes I have ever visited. The Twelve Apostles are a group of limestone stacks (there have only ever actually been nine of them) that stand away from the cliffs on the southern edge of Australia. They were formed by constant erosion of the salty wind and ocean waves. They definitely bring images to mind of pirates and old wooden ships sailing around in weird caves and whatnot hundreds of years ago.

The Twelve Apostles

My personal favorite formations were actually a few miles from The Apostles, two stacks named Gog and Magog. We were able to leave the van and go all the way down on to the beach, via The Gibson Steps. The steps descended very steeply down the cliff face where we were deposited maybe 400 yards down the beach from the two giant stone structures. If I had been in proper swimming attire, and the water didn't feel like ice, I could have even swam out on to them.

Me in front of Gog and Magog

The trip was a lot of fun because of the amazing natural beauty, but it was also good to get away from the city for a day, as it was when we went to the Blue Mountains outside Sydney. We spent most of the day in the van, which was very reminiscent of the cramped old press vans like in the movie Blood Diamond, driving out to the site several hours from Melbourne. We drove there along The Great Ocean Road which follows the edge of land for many miles along Australia's southern coast. The views from the road were stunning as well, including massive valleys and hills of farmland and livestock. We saw where all of the Merino wool exports from Australia are being held. Sheep were everywhere.

Our sketchy van that we toured around Victoria in

Loch Ard Gorge

Tomorrow will be a welcome day off to catch up on work and relax.