For day 3 we did the infamous Great Ocean Road which is definitely the must-see in Melbourne.
I deemed this trip as the perfect escape from the busy city as it involves a whole day of taking in the beauty of mother nature.
If you're not into sightseeing, you probably wouldn't enjoy this trip.
But, in my opinion, it's a once in a lifetime experience, and as it is such an iconic day trip from Melbourne, not coming to the Great Ocean Road is equivalent to not coming to Melbourne at all.
The Great Ocean Road is Australia's heritage that was built shortly after the world war 2. Hundreds and thousands of soldiers were killed while building this road. It begins about 90 minutes drive from Melbourne's city centre and spans a total of 400 kilometres (249 miles) from the town of Torquay to Nelson on the South Australian border.
To put in simpler terms, it is basically a whole day long of car rides along the winding road till you reach the 12 Apostles. There are a few ways to take this once in a lifetime journey, you could stay at the beachside villages to admire such beauty where there's no way to recreate, or you could take in all the beauty at one go with several small stops along the way. We opted for the latter as it is a budget-friendlier option.
This place is known to be super windy regardless of the season, so be sure to dress for the weather!
And since it's a long journey up the winding road, we were also adviced not to eat anything too greasy before boarding the bus, and eating is prohibited in the bus. This is to avoid triggering nauseatic feeling in people who suffer from motion sickness easily.
I get motion sickness in the car quite often and I found this to be pretty bearable, just make sure you set your eyes at the beautiful coastal sceneries along the road and not on the road itself.
Our first stop was at the Anglesea.
It's a quaint little town. There was only one store near the place where our bus driver stopped the car.
I loved the calming water and the lush greenery.
All these and the crisp cooling air, it felt like I was in a dream!
As we had a long long journey ahead, we picked up a bottle of fruit juice before leaving Anglesea.
And I'd highly recommend doing so if you too often suffer from motion sickness.
It helped D a lot to have a cooling and sweet fruit juice to keep his waves of nausea at bay.
Also, bring a big bottle of water with you and always grab the chance to visit the loo whenever the driver pulls over. There weren't many public toilets along the road.
After about an hour of water closet break, we continued our journey to the Memorial Arch!
Here, you would be able to feel the sea breeze and walk down to the beach if you fancy that.
It was too cold for us to go near the beach, but we enjoyed looking at the waves hitting the shore.
Before you leave, make sure to take a photo with the Memorial Arch.
Our next destination was Apollo Bay. Many travelers spend a night here before heading to the 12 apostles, we, on the other hand, stopped by here for lunch! This place is famous for its world-class surf championships at Bells Beach, the breathtaking resort of Lorne and not forgetting the picture perfect Apollo Bay itself.
There's a canteen here where it's famous for its Fish and Chips. It was a little pricey, but it was the pretty much the only option we had, and it was our tour guide's recommendation.
We went to walk off the lunch we had at a park nearby.
Every corner of this place was so picturesque we couldn't resist snapping away.
After our filling meal, we were ready for the main attracttions!
First off, the Port Campbell National Park.
Bizarre looking shrubs and short looking trees. The road to the Lorch Ard Gorge was a sight!
So here's a little story behind the infamous Loch Ard Gorge: "Back in 1878, a large clipper ship engraved with the name Loch Ard beached on nearby Muttonbird Island after a tumultuous journey from England. Unfortunately, only two people of the fifty-four passengers survived, one of whom was a fifteen-year-old boy called Tom Pearce, and the other a seventeen-year-old Irish girl called Eva Carmichael.
Both passengers were washed ashore during the event where Pearce proceeded to raise an alarm to the surrounding locals. The act saved Carmichael’s life, though she returned to England soon after, having lost most of her family in the tragedy. Pearce continued to live a fruitful life and was often referred to as a hero of his time."
Copied from https://greatoceanroadmelbournetours.com.au/blog/69-the-fascinating-history-of-the-loch-ard-gorge.html
Head to the Gibson Steps to descend into Loch Ard Gorge and be enchanted by the magic of the Shipwreck Coast.
And here is a closer look of Loch Ard Gorge after taking descending from the Gibson Steps.
3 minutes away from the Lorch Ard Gorge, you will find the 12 Apostles. If you're feeling adventurous, you could also view the 12 Apostles from above, on a helicopter ride.
We went on foot and we did not regret a bit of it in spite of the crazy crowd.
Due to the weather condition and water damage, about half of the 12 apostles had disappeared.
It was incredible being able to see the 12 apostles at such a close distance, the colours, the sound of the waves, the breeze and the bright blue sky, it is something we will never forget for the rest of my life.
Due to bad weather condition and the instability of the soil of the Great Ocean Road, this attraction had been closed down a few times for reconstruction. It is believed that one day this iconic heritage of Australia might disappear from the world one day so I'd highly recommend this to anyone who has the chance to visit Melbourne.
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