The Spectacular Great Ocean Road

A scenic view along the Great Ocean Road

The next morning cousin Sarah and I were off for a road trip to the famous Great Ocean Road - and let me say it did not disappoint! And yes, this means I did drive on the "wrong" side of the road - good news is we all survived!

So the road runs, as you probably guessed, along the coastline for hundreds of kilometers about an hour or two south of Melbourne. It is a magnificent drive and very diverse. Parts of the coastline are fairly rugged cliffs crashing down to the ocean - this part is somewhat reminiscent of my trip to Nova Scotia last year, not what I expected at all. Other parts are more arid, sandstone looking cliffs and formations, while in other places you have little beach resort towns like Lorne and Apollo Bay. We stopped in Lorne and had some of the best fish and chips I have ever tasted!

Probably the most dramatic spot was the famous "Twelve Apostles" - see photo of these large rock formations out in the ocean. Don't try to count to twelve - you won't be able to do it. Erosion and the sea have reclaimed some of them, with only about 7 remaining. How many exactly is apparently up for debate depending on which rocks you consider to be part of the official "Twelve." Truly a spectacular site!

The "Twelve Apostles"

Sarah and me at the "Twelve Apostles"

We pressed on to Port Fairy which is a really cute little port town about 5 1/2 hours from Melbourne along the Ocean route. It has a real old world feel with an old fashioned downtown street scape and of course a prominent harbor right in the middle of town on the waterfront. 

We checked in at the Merrijig Inn, apparently one of the oldest in Victoria (province where Melbourne and this whole area is located). We were shown to an attic room, which we had been warned was small - it was but it was also adorable. I will say, though, it is one of the few times in my life that I actually bumped my head on the ceiling! Being right under the roof, the bathroom ceiling sloped rather dramatically. 

We got settled and then headed out for a delicious dinner at a highly recommended local restaurant called Portofino's. Our plan had been to head back to the Inn to catch the end of the Open Women's Final but it was over so quickly we didn't make it. I was fortunate to see so many good matches, this was one of the few disappointments - glad I didn't buy tickets for that one! Not only because I wanted Sharapova to win it, but because it just wasn't a good match. Oh well - I've seen enough great ones.