10th November. to 15th November 2025
Following the Great Ocean Road we arrived in Victoria and had the shocking realisation that we had less than 2 weeks remaining in Australia. So dodging rain showers we made the most of the opportunities to explore the nature around us.
We visited Tower Hill near Port Fairy an amazing place in an extinct volcano. In fact there had been several volcanos. We entered over a causeway over the lake surrounding it. Inside we soon found an easy way of spotting Koala bears. Just look for the crowd of people pointing their cameras up in the air below a tree.
I headed off for a walk around the last volcano and almost bumped into this swamp wallaby as I rounded a bend. We stood and contemplated each other for a couple of minutes before I moved forwards and he jumped off.
We did our bit of Koala bears spotting and also discovered the horrendous sound they make. It sounded like something large and dangerous. I believe this sound was used for Jurassic Park.
On the way out we saw the black swans on the lake.
Onwards and ocean views and various rock formations.
The most hyped of these were the 12 Apostles. Although there never were 12 rock pillars there. We came across a 12 apostles gourmet trail amongst other things. At the location there was a visitor centre and a large carpark with an underpass to walk through to view the rocks. I must admit , they didn’t seem any different from rocks we’d seen earlier, although they were spectacular and the viewing platform helped.
After this the Great Ocean Road took a turn away from the sea and through temperate rain forest. The trail I fancied doing was closed due to storm damage, but we did manage to see lots of tree ferns, before heading back to the sea at Apollo bay.
Here we found that we were near wildlife wonders and booked an evening tour to see creatures that we hadn’t know existed along side others we’d seen. walking along in the dusk we saw the usual emus and wallabies but also Padermelon and Potteroos small marsupial animals that mainly come out at night. We got quite excited seeing these new animals. There were also Koalas high in the trees as apparently they like the new leaves best. We discovered that Koala poo smells of eucalyptus surprise surprise as this is what they eat. Apparently the variety of eucalyptus they eat is determined by the gut bacteria they have, which enables them to digest it. They get the bacteria off mum by being weaned on milk mixed with her poo to get their own culture started.
Onwards and via a nice walk with waterfalls we came to Lorne and a wonderful sea view from our campsite high above. Here we had a very interested cockatoo looking at out food. At breakfast the next morning I made the mistake of throwing part of my apple core for him. Next minute we had about a dozen of them sitting on the fence watching us!
So finally we came to the end, or rather the start of the 240km Great Ocean Road. It was started as a project to employ returned soldiers after the First World War, between 1919 and 1932. It is the world’s largest war memorial. It also fulfilled an aspiration to link up the various coastal towns. It was originally built by a private company and paid for by tolls. It was eventually taken over by the government and widened as it became more used.
Our last visit before Geelong and the ferry to Tasmania was a special treat for Ashley with lots of chocolate cakes and chocolate for sale. We both had a tasting plate as a treat and Ashley managed too complete his with 8 pieces ! Notice the metre long chocolate bars and the wall of chocolate!
