The Great Ocean Road

Sunday, October 14, a van stopped in front my hotel at 7:20AM. Bleary-eyed and blinking, I crawled in, ready for adventure.

A few pick-ups later, the van was full with 13 of us on board. Off we headed South and West of Melbourne toward the Great Ocean Road.

We went through Geelong to just past Torquay where we stopped at a golf course where kangaroos are known to hang.

Kangaroos like golf courses. Lots of nice grass, trees to hang out under. We spotted a group who stared at us from across the green. Then we headed off to Bells Beach for a breakfast of Vegemite, crackers, Lamington cakes and tea.

Lamington's, I was told, came about when some guy named Lamington (duh) came up with the idea that one could coat dry old cake with chocolate and coconut and they'd become palatable. The jam thing is, apparently, a later addition. Kinda makes sense.

 

After watching middle-aged men surf for a bit, we headed down to Kennett River to see if Koalas would honour us with their presence. We did spy a couple, but they weren't the type looking for paparazzi opportunities. The birds, however, were acting like Hollywood hopefuls. Just see that bright-coloured gal who landed on my hand for some bird seed.

Back into the van we trundled and further down the Great Ocean Road to just past Princetown to see the 12 Apostles, pictured here:

 

 

Gobsmackingly stunning vistas, great ocean waves breaking, the call of gulls, sand beaches that go on forever. If it weren't for the crowds clammering behind me, I could have stood there for days just watching the ebb and flow of water, clouds and sky.

A little ways down the cost, near Port Campbell, is a place called Loch Ard Gorge. This gorge was named after a famous ship that wrecked nearby, the Loch Ard, on it way to Australia from Ireland.

Only two people survived this shipwreck: Tom Pearce, a ship's apprentice and Eva Carmichael, a young Irish woman. Both were 18.

 

Tom Pearce watshed ashore in the gorge first, then rescued Eva after hearing her cries for help.  Pearce climbed out of the gorge to raise the alarm to locals who rescued Eva as well.

 

The charm of the situation didn't go unnoticed, as suggestions were made that the two might have a romantic interest. Tom did propose to Eva, but she turned him down. She decided instead to return to Ireland to be with her remaining family.

 

But there's some lovely irony to the story's. Many years later, Tom became a ship's captain. On a journey from Australia, his ship wrecked near a small town in the south west of Ireland. At the time, it was common for all locals to come out to assist when such a thing occurred. And who was in that Irish town? You guessed it; Eva. She was married, with three children. But still, one begins to wonder if somehow those two were meant to be together.