I had booked on a three and a half day trip with Wayward Bus Touring Company www.waywardbus.com.au (Classic Coast). It was a small 21 seater bus with a box trailer for our bags. I was lucky because there was only 14 of us plus the driver who was called Leigh. We left busy Melbourne just after lunch time and made for Apollo Bay. Our first stop was Bells Beach, a world famous surf beach which hosts a major competition each year. After spending a little time here we stopped at Lorne which is a classic seaside town sandwiched between mountains and the sea. Our first night was spent in Apollo Bay which has a slight hippy vibe to it. We stayed in a bungalow which was well equipped and even a had a pool table. We went out that night to an Italian Restaurant which had a large array of pizza on it's menu. I had an "Aussie" and it was a beewty.
The next morning was the first of three eight o clock starts. Today was the main event of the trip as we would see the Twelve Apostles. The morning was spent travelling through the Otway Ranges toward the Twelve Apostles. Along the way we went to the Melba Gully where we went on a walk through the lush Myrtle Beech rainforest. At Port Campbell National Park we were on the edge of Australia's most famous group of rocks, the twelve apostles. Here we stopped and I took a flight in a helicopter over the apostles. This was my first time in a chopper and I found it very exciting. I was fortunate to sit next to the pilot. I'm not sure what type and model it was but I do know that it had alot of glass in it. The only two parts of the ten minuet flight I was scared was when we banked left or right and the landing. The weather was a little overcast, but still good enough for taking photos. At Loch Ard Gorge we took in the stunning view of the ocean from the beach. We had a picnic lunch at Port Campbell where even I mucked in to help out with setting up. After lunch we travelled on to London Bridge which isn't a bridge. It was until one day the middle piece collapsed, leaving two people stranded. They were later rescued by helicopter and made the news. After this we took in the sights at 'Tolkiensque' Grotto, Bay of Martyrs and Bay of Islands. The last two stops of the day were Logan's Beach and Tower Hill. Logan's Beach between May and October is supposed to be good for spotting Whales. As we were out of season we didn't see any, but the beach was very nice. Tower Hill should of been first on our itinerary as it was exhausting. We climbed a steep hill only to find that we were only half way up. When we finally reached the top, the view was very beautiful. But there was no tower, so why was it called tower hill? The decent was just as demanding as the accent due to the steepness of the hill. Near the bottom we spotted a Koala having an afternoon snack before returning to the land of nod. After finding one wild animal we wanted more and broke up into small groups and went deep into the bush. We were not disappointed as we found a small group of kangaroos and roos as well as another Koala. Returning to the visitor centre we found three or four Emus standing on the lawn. Our night was spent in Port Fairy which is a bit of a time warp.
The next morning was the first of three eight o clock starts. Today was the main event of the trip as we would see the Twelve Apostles. The morning was spent travelling through the Otway Ranges toward the Twelve Apostles. Along the way we went to the Melba Gully where we went on a walk through the lush Myrtle Beech rainforest. At Port Campbell National Park we were on the edge of Australia's most famous group of rocks, the twelve apostles. Here we stopped and I took a flight in a helicopter over the apostles. This was my first time in a chopper and I found it very exciting. I was fortunate to sit next to the pilot. I'm not sure what type and model it was but I do know that it had alot of glass in it. The only two parts of the ten minuet flight I was scared was when we banked left or right and the landing. The weather was a little overcast, but still good enough for taking photos. At Loch Ard Gorge we took in the stunning view of the ocean from the beach. We had a picnic lunch at Port Campbell where even I mucked in to help out with setting up. After lunch we travelled on to London Bridge which isn't a bridge. It was until one day the middle piece collapsed, leaving two people stranded. They were later rescued by helicopter and made the news. After this we took in the sights at 'Tolkiensque' Grotto, Bay of Martyrs and Bay of Islands. The last two stops of the day were Logan's Beach and Tower Hill. Logan's Beach between May and October is supposed to be good for spotting Whales. As we were out of season we didn't see any, but the beach was very nice. Tower Hill should of been first on our itinerary as it was exhausting. We climbed a steep hill only to find that we were only half way up. When we finally reached the top, the view was very beautiful. But there was no tower, so why was it called tower hill? The decent was just as demanding as the accent due to the steepness of the hill. Near the bottom we spotted a Koala having an afternoon snack before returning to the land of nod. After finding one wild animal we wanted more and broke up into small groups and went deep into the bush. We were not disappointed as we found a small group of kangaroos and roos as well as another Koala. Returning to the visitor centre we found three or four Emus standing on the lawn. Our night was spent in Port Fairy which is a bit of a time warp.
On day three we headed for the Bridgewater Bay. Here we jumped on a small speedboat called the "Zippy Zodiac" run by a local called Joe, and set off in search of seals under the cape. We weren't disappointed as after crashing through the waves getting a little air we came upon a group of seals playing a game of "King Of The Rock". This is very simple as all it involves is knocking all the other seals off the rock. But while a pair are pushing and knocking each other, others are climbing back on. It was quite entertaining. The seals got very close to our small boat and even splashed us a little. From here we went out and round the cape and were in the big waves. The boat was jumping off the waves and crashing down with a big splash and everyone was screaming and laughing, it was a good atmosphere. We came back toward the rocks and stayed stationary while we watched the waves show and then hide a large flat shelf of rock that we were about 50 feet from. It was a little scary as if the motor had failed then we would have crashed into the rocks. We went back out into the sea and surfed a few more waves before rounding the cape again and entering a cave. In here we were greeted by some larger seals. I presume that they were adults due to their size. As we sat and watched them up on the rock above us the boat drifted forward slowly. At one point we were about 10 feet away from the bottom of this rock ledge with these large seals towering above us. Some of them started to dive into the water either side of the boat. Fortunately the one directly above us had the common sense not to. I'm not sure what sex it was. Once back on dry land, well wet dry land as it had started to rain we made our way along the rocks and onto the beach heading for the cafe. As we dried off on the bus we made for Nelson situated on the Glenelg river for our lunch. Our first stop of the afternoon was the Blue Lake. It gets it's name because of how blue the water is. This does change as it gets closer to winter. Next was the Umpherstone Cave which is the biggest sinkhole about. At the Canunda National Park we walked along the craggy coastline above the cliffs. The rock face in some places had been warn away by the sea and wind to leave the top surface with little support below. The weight of a person could easily aid it to give way. We spent the night in Beachport on the Rivoli Bay. This fishing village is meant to have a nice sunrise. I say meant to because I didn't see it!
First on our last day was Larry. Australia has a fixation with large objects such as pineapples, bananas and of course Larry the Lobster. Further along the road we turned off and went up a minor dirt track into the Coorang National Park. Here we scaled the massive sand dunes and made for the beautiful beach. This was a good place to chill out and de-stress. Back on the bus we headed for the Coorang Wilderness Lodge. This is run by local Aboriginal people. Here we tried some bush tucker such as Kangaroo and Damper bread. An Aboriginal guide took us on a Medicines Walk and showed us the plants and bushes that his ancestors used for sources of food, water and healing. The rest of the afternoon was spent taking in the views from the bus as we headed for Adelaide. A highlight was crossing the Murray River. We arrived in Adelaide a little later than planned due to a street race. This was the Clipsal 500, a V8 Supercar race which takes place over four days including the weekend and causes traffic jams. During this trip I had sat in the passenger seat and had got the best view. I also took charge of the CD player and played requests from the group. We had a good mix of people from many countries. There were two english lads (Paul and Mark) from near York, two Irish girls (Denise and Louise) from wonderful Carlow and Dublin and also two girls (Sarah and Ellen) from the States. If any of you have just read this dribble, add a comment, it would be good to get your thoughts!
