If you're in Melbourne and have the time you really should head down the Great Ocean Road, a day's drive along one of the most scenic coasts in the world. When we went the weather was perfect and the first beach we stopped at had surfers galore hitting the water... Before the official start of the Ocean Road, the Anglesea golf course (18 holes, par 73!) is home to a large population of Kangaroo's which graze on the well kept fairways. They tend to be most active in the early morning or early evening, spending much of the rest of the day sleeping. The golfers pretty much ignore the Kangaroos and vice versa, with the odd exception when a golf ball strikes a wandering Kangaroo. The golfer we spoke to said this isn't as rare as you'd expect as the Kangaroos just wander wherever they fancy. The official road begins after Geelong and runs along the coast, through the Port Campbell National Park and towards Warrambool. The National Park boasts the Twelve Apostles (even though there are now only nine left) as one of its popular tourist attractions, along with London Bridge (which has fallen down!). The official website at http://www.greatoceanrd.org.au/ is excellent - it has information about the surrounding areas, picture galleries, accommodation information - you could spend hours here! The Port Campbell National Park section of the Great Ocean Road is the most famous and photographed section, known mainly for its dramatic coastal scenery. The rock formations known as the Twelve Apostles are the centrepiece of this display, although only seven can be seen from the lookout point. Last century these formations were known as the 'Sow and Piglets', and in another centuries time they won't exist - they are the remnants of a retreating limestone coastline being eroded at an estimated 2cm per year. Another well known rock formation is the London Bridge, originally named for it's multiple arches which resembled the bridges of London. Today only one of these arches still stands, the other having collapsed in 1990, leaving a group of lucky (?) tourists stranded on the far side! Nearby is Loch Ard Gorge, the infamous site of a tragic boat wreck. On March 2nd 1878 the Loch Ard, an iron hulled barque, was making its way from Gravesend, London to Melbourne. The crew of 54 were due to arrive at Port Phillip Heads on the 2nd May, but at 4am on the morning of the 2nd May it was swept onto the rocks after a cruel mist descended. The only two survivors were washed into the gorge, although it took Tom Pearce over an hour to drag Eva Carmichael to safety from the surging current. Tom became a national hero and many people hoped the two survivors would become romantically involved, but Eva returned to her Irish homeland within three months.
