in the merry old land of aus: great ocean road trip, day three & four

Day three begins at the Port Campbell Motor Inn. We planned to stay here the night before so that we could enjoy as much of Port Campbell National Park as we could! So first on our must see list was Loch Ard Gorge. We got here pretty early (after breakfast and check out) and the sun was shining in all the right places. The walls of the gorge are limestone and so are a nice orange-brown, which looks great against the blue of the ocean. The sand was also very orange, but very cold! It was seriously so cold we had to run to the places where the sun was on the sand. The story behind Loch Ard Gorge is worth hearing, but just not in my words so I have taken a picture of the sign and am recommending you read it! So from here Mom, Sara, and I travelled on the left side of the road to the 12 Apostles. This was definitely one of the popular stops. There was even a pedestrian under-pass to avoid tourist casualties or something. The Twelve Apostles actually aren't all there either. The reason the ocean has carved the coast this way is because the limestone is a relatively soft rock. This is also the reason that the Twelve Apostles aren't all there. Some of them have been eroded down below the water level. All this being said, the view was very cool! Next, about 300 metres down the road, was Gibson's Steps. I thought seeing the coast line from the top of the cliffs was cool until I got down and even with the water. Sara and I climbed down the steps and had some fun taking pictures in the sun on the beach. I think the tide was fairly high and so it was intimidating being stuck between the raging waves and the face of a cliff. So far, this was a very good day! ..until ..

Great Otway National Park and Triplet Falls was in our minds since we were told about it in one of the information centres. Little did we know that getting there involved driving switch-back mountain style through the forest for an hour. The speed limit was 20 km/hr. It was a good experience because I now appreciate all other roads much more now. Once we got near the falls, it was about a thirty minute hike. We were all very paranoid of snakes and spiders and things. Which reminds me, on the way down to the beach at Discovery Bay, go figure, there was a boardwalk through some scrubby brush and on the way back, mother got stalked by a snake. I didn't actually see it, but from the fear in her eyes and the way she described it, I have no doubts at all that it was actually following her. She said that she was walking and the whole way there was black tarp draped from the railing to the ground and she was hearing movement (the snake!). THEN, there was a hole in the tarp and the snake flew out in front of her and was hissing and everything. She sort of backed up and started calling GIRLS, COME HERE!! At this point, the snake looked kind of scared and was trying to get back past the tarp but it couldn't find the hole it had come out of so it was getting irritated and was hissing. When it finally got back through, and when we finally got there, a man was asking mom what the snake looked like and where it went and just said its okay because it was gone now and it was probably more scared than she was. Fair enough. Anyway, after this scare walking through the woods and on narrow trails was a little more tense than before the snake incident. Luckily, no more snakes, just nice waterfalls. For us, Triplet Falls was kind of a hidden gem in the forest with the sun shining down on it. Anyway, back to the car and back on the road.

Our flight from Melbourne to Adelaide leaves tomorrow at noon, so we wanted to get a close as possible in the day light to be able to see everything form here on. We drive through Apollo Bay and stop in Lorne for a snack. Wait a minute, not a single thing is open... Are we missing something? It's like 3:45 pm and all cafes and restaurants are closed. That's another thing about Australia that is different to home. The restaurants generally open at 5:30 or 6:00pm and the cafes close at 2:00 or 3:00pm. So we were out of luck here. We settle for watching some noisy cockatoos and walking down to see the water. The waterfront was very dynamic and active, with a skate park, a playground, a pool, a (closed) restaurant, and even trampolines! It was a nice town but I guess we just came at the wrong time. So we drive some more and stop at Aireys Inlet for some coffee and hot chocolate to bring us through Torquay to Geelong for the night. After taking a peek at the harbour front, we try navigating the city's one way street system to find us a place to stay. The Best Western it is and the Texas Burger (I know, how Americanized) for the biggest bowl of 'chips' ever. This was a very deep-friend meal that left us feeling a little too full. Sara and I swam in the pool because the hot tub water was overflowing into the pool water and it was soooo warm. Our time in Geelong wasn't much, but we were getting tired anyway and enjoyed the time that we had just hanging out. Off to the airport soon, where we returned our originally white car back in looking black from all of the bug guts on the bumper.

When we get back to Adelaide, we eat and talk and play another game of Canesta before bed. In the morning, we get to go to the airport again to pick up Steve! The four of us get to spend one afternoon and evening together before Mom and Sara have to leave for home. I knew our time together would fly by because we would be having so much fun together, enjoying each other's company in Australia! .. but I didn't know it would go by THAT fast! I had a great time with you mom and Sar, and I'm very glad that you had the opportunity to come see (parts of) this beautiful country with me!