The Great Ocean Road

June 30, 2012:
We woke up at 5am, did a short jog to the tram and missed it while waiting to cross the street. Typical. We sat to wait for the next one which came 15 minutes later, but in the meantime, a strange man came and sat down next to us and told us "If I wasn't awake before, I am now!" Whatever that was supposed to mean. We were too busy conserving our energy to think of a response. It was freezing. The tram ended up arriving at our destination at the time predicted for the original tram we planned to take, so we had plenty of time to find the Bunyip Tours office and about a half hour for some warm drinks and breakfast before we boarded the busses. At which point we waited an additional 30 minutes because a woman had mixed up the times. We were très annoyed that we missed out on potential sleep.

Our tour guide was a super upbeat energetic kind of guy (which kind of grates you when you wake up at the crack of dawn) and it seemed to us that being a tour guide was his life's calling. The "facts" he presented us with, however, started out a bit macabre... he told us first about the West Gate Bridge and how the construction had been slightly botched so when it was almost finished it collapsed and tons of workers died as a result. Next, we learned that Australia has the most dangerous animals on the planet - something like 19 out of 20 of the most deadly species of snake make their home there, for example. Then, he told us about a series of shipwrecks and love stories with unhappy endings. Finally, he told us the death toll that went into the construction of the Great Ocean Road. It was a great way to get us really pumped up and excited first thing in the morning. Not. The tour group was pretty unwilling to participate in any of his questions.

 

We stopped for snacks at a bird sanctuary and, to Caitlin's delight (my horror), we were swarmed by parrots. I was not as delighted. And if you remember my post about my trip to Barcelona (where a pidgeon relieved itself on my jacket in the park), I had good reason.

 

We even saw a kookaburra...



...which are apparently really violent. Does anyone else remember this song from Barney?

We visited a lighthouse in the pouring rain and I had the pleasure of accidentally walking in on two separate women in the portapotties there (they couldn't figure out how to close the doors apparently). Awkward.

Caitlin and I had a blast pretending we were on an African Lion Safari, taking photos of the brush that reminded us of the Lion King. We even insisted that we saw a marking in one of the rocks that looked like Rafiki's drawing of Simba.

Although, I'd be hard pressed to point it out to you now.

 

It looks like Africa right?? Maybe I should go there first before I start making wild generalisations about the brush there.

Finally, we made it to the really gorgeous section of the road, where the Twelve Apostles are located and all that jazz. It was stunning, even in the pouring rain.

 

 

It was a really great way to spend the day, and even better because Caitlin and I got along so well. Travelling with people you don't know very well can be a huge risk, but so far, I had high hopes for our big East Coast adventure.