29 October 2009 - Marriage  Lines
                               (The Great Ocean Road)

G'day. Just up the coast east from Port Fairy is Warnambool, known as the 'nursery' for Southern Right Whales. The whales often swim close to the shore and can be spotted from a specially constructed viewing platform on the cliff top. We had our binoculars trained on the sea and sure enough the humps of several whales appeared maybe a hundred metres off shore, and occasionally a smaller hump could be seen swimming alongside.
 
The Great Ocean Road along Victoria's south-west coastline is recognised as one of the world's most scenic drives, stretching 240k from Warnambool to Torquay near Geelong, past beaches, up headlands, along cliff tops, across rivers, through lush forests, offering stunning views of the Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean at every turn. The road was constructed to provide work for returning soldiers and dedicated as a Memorial to those killed in the First World War. We were lucky with the weather as it was sunny again, though still chilly, but the light was excellent for photographing the 'Twelve Apostles' - a series of limestone sea stacks carved by waves from the sheer white cliffs.
 
Our day finished at Cape Otway Lighthouse where we stayed in one of the old lighthouse keepers’ cottages. In the forest leading to the lighthouse Koalas could be seen in the branches. We'd been told earlier that we would be lucky to see a Koala in the wild on this trip - so many had been lost in the bush fires of recent years. However as we explored more carefully we spied at least six in one glade alone, some with babies tucked up close to their mums, both seemingly asleep.
 
Phil the Pom

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