We woke refreshed after our stay in Warrnambool and set off to explore more of the Great Ocean Road and surrounding areas. Our host had filled us in on a few more things to do in the area, and we decided to take her suggestion of visiting Middle Island in Warrnambool. Middle Island has a Little Penguin colony. The island is also accessible by land at low tide and foxes were reaching the penguins and killing them off. After many failed attempts to save the penguins, the town finally succeeded by training dogs to live on the island and protect against foxes. You can read more about the project here. There's also a movie called "Oddball" coming out about the story, and you're welcome to watch the trailer below as well as see our pictures.
We weren't able to get close, but those may be some penguins at the edge of the island
We didn't see any of the protective dogs in real life, just on this sign
We then drove about 30 minutes further west to the quaint fishing village of Port Fairy. There we wandered around the ocean side park and tried to get a better view of the lighthouse. It was very windy on the piers.
Port Fairy fishing boats
Wandering around rock sided pools near the piers
Bright and windy beach area with the lighthouse hidden between the trees
Me and Lisa getting nearly blown off the pier
We tried to zoom in the camera as much as we could to see the lighthouse
We didn't have a lot of time to spend in Port Fairy, because we needed to head back east along the Great Ocean Road to see some more sights and make it to Melbourne in the evening. On the way we stopped again at Bay of Islands to see how the islands looked in full daylight instead of setting sun.
Bay of Islands in the bright sun
We then stopped at Gibson Steps near the Twelve Apostles. There are 86 steps from the top of the cliff down to the beach. The steps were technically closed that day due to high water, but we could see some beach sand below and decided to risk it. We were glad we went, because the giant waves were fun to watch and the wet sand felt wonderful between our toes. We just stayed smart and safe and never turned our back to the ocean.
It looked like there was plenty of safe beach space, so we had to go down
The cliff edge flora was pretty
Heading down the steps with a view of one of the Twelve Apostles ahead
There were some surfers way down the beach
Loving the feel of the ocean and of kinda trespassing
Our punishment for jumping the barrier was to walk all 86 steps up
The next stretch of the Great Ocean Road required a lot of driving through winding, forested areas to the town of Apollo Bay.
Brandon loved driving the winding roads of course
The forested area was nice scenery to drive through
A view of the ocean from a turnout along the way
The water was cold, but it was a hot day, so a lot of people were swimming in Apollo Bay
Our next stop was Kafe Koala near Kennett River. Jacqui, our Altona host, had recommended the spot to see koalas and native Australian parrots. She insisted that we stop and gave us bird seed to feed the parrots. I was hesitant at first, but I think it turned out to be the most memorable and fun part of the day.
Holding seed in your hand causes you to become a parrot perch
It turned out to be a fun experience
Brandon just loved it and wished he had a pirate eye patch
There was a koala super close too!
A real, wild, live koala!
We continued along the coastline, stopping occasionally to admire and take pictures.
Moonrise Kingdom pose
Eventually we made our way to Lorne where we had some dinner. The pastor whose car we borrowed had recommended the fish and chips place there, and we all decided it was very good indeed.
Salty Dog Fish and Chippery
Before driving home we put our feet in the ocean and took in one last sunset at Torquay. It was the perfect way to end our Great Ocean Road journey.
I'm glad you "stayed smart and safe and never turned your back to the ocean." It's been well documented that as long as you are LOOKING at the waves you won't be swept off to sea! :)
wow, what a great trip. I just heard about it and found the blog. I am thinking about doing something like that with a real retirement in a year. I have been to Thailand twice in the past 2 years and really enjoyed it. I think that you will also. Land of smiles. cheap. Different food and culture, but they like English speaking guests and want to learn English better. Nice place to visit.
Hey, Steve! You should definitely do some travel in retirement. That's great! We're really looking forward to Thailand and leave this Friday already. Did you visit Chiang Mai? That's where we'll be spending the majority of our time.
I'm glad you "stayed smart and safe and never turned your back to the ocean." It's been well documented that as long as you are LOOKING at the waves you won't be swept off to sea! :)
ReplyDeletewow, what a great trip. I just heard about it and found the blog. I am thinking about doing something like that with a real retirement in a year. I have been to Thailand twice in the past 2 years and really enjoyed it. I think that you will also. Land of smiles. cheap. Different food and culture, but they like English speaking guests and want to learn English better. Nice place to visit.
ReplyDeleteHey, Steve! You should definitely do some travel in retirement. That's great! We're really looking forward to Thailand and leave this Friday already. Did you visit Chiang Mai? That's where we'll be spending the majority of our time.
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