Koalas are stoned all the time

Melbourne Day 3: The Great Ocean Road

We woke up this morning well rested and ready for a full day. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and we were ready to see some sights. We started by heading to Wooly’s (aka Woolworth’s, the local grocery store) to pick up fruit, meats and cheese, and lollies (aka sweets) to take with us on our drive. We then headed over to Babka Bakery, a Russian bakery in the suburb of Fitzroy that we had read about in our Frommer’s Australia guide. We bought fresh baked focaccia bread for our sandwiches to have later, and then a few sausage rolls and croissants with flat whites for breakfast. The croissants were big, crumbly, buttery heaven. Then we were ready to hit the road to drive The Great Ocean Road, our sunnies (sunglasses) in hand.

(Our chariot)

(Our chauffuers)

(Yummy sausage roll)

(Buttery croissant)

(The green beautiful Aussie countryside)

(The start of The Great Ocean Road)

We first stopped in the small seaside town of Lorne to take pictures and to take the opportunity to put our feet in the water. From what we could tell, this water was still part of the Bass Strait that eventually becomes the Tasmanian Sea. We are giving every body of water we stick our feet in each a name of a major water way in the area in hopes that we can claim them all!

(Getting our feet wet)

We were headed along the road, stopping at various points along the way to sightsee, take pictures, and dodge Asian tourists, when at one point we noticed a fair number of cars pulled to the side of the road and people out and pointing at the trees. Naturally, we decided to pull over and see what all the fuss was about, so we stopped and we were able to see koalas sleeping in the trees! Sarah informed us that koalas sleep all the time because they get stoned off of the eucalyptus leaves that they eat, a fact that Erin and I found hilarious. We were also doubly impressed that they are able to sleep in the trees without falling out.

(That's right...he's sitting up there completely high as a kite!)

When we reached Apollo Bay, we pulled off and set ourselves up on the beach for a picnic. We basked in the sun and soaked our feet in the water, ate our lunch, and enjoyed being out of the car for a bit with the ocean breeze blowing through our hair. Then we were off again to enjoy the drive.

(Delicious!)

Before we knew it, we had reached The Twelve Apostles, a group of rock formations off of the coast of The Great Ocean Road and a beautiful site. It was absolutely beautiful!

(Breathtaking view...)

While admiring The Twelve Apostles, we noticed some people down by the water and realized that if we backtracked a little, we too could make our way down to the beach. So, we found ourselves at Gibson’s Steps and made our way down to the beach. Here, we got a slightly different view of some of the apostle rocks and were able to yet again wade in the water. Here, the water was still part of the Bass Strait, but from here as it moves further out, it becomes the Indian Ocean...so we were practically standing in the Indian Ocean!

(Gibson Steps)

(Walking in the Indian (?) Ocean)

Our last scenic site was the London Bridge, a rock formation similar in shape to the infamous bridge in London and, like it’s namesake, it has also fallen down. From the picture below, you can see where there was once another piece of rock attaching the remaining rock to the land.

(London Bridge)

By this point, we were slightly sunburnt (some of us more then others) and tired, so we started the long drive back to Melbourne. The drive home was through the Australian countryside, through rolling green hills, cow pastures, sheep farms and picturesque towns. This really is an amazing country! I can’t wait for tomorrow.

'Til then...cheers!

Jess and Erin