Great Ocean Road, Apollo Bay, The Otways and The Rain (Part 1)

Before we (Kat, Trav and I) had realised it was the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, we had arranged to go away for four nights to Apollo Bay and the Great Ocean Road. Of course, once we realised this, we had already booked an extra day off work and were hyped about it, so we just had to get a move on and book the accommodation quickly before it was gone!

We left on the Friday night (5th June) after we’d finished work, and headed down to Torquay. Of course, an accident on the West Gate delayed things by half an hour or so, but all in all, a relatively quick trip was had. A stop for fast food in Geelong, Kat’s first booze bus and we arrived in Torquay by 9pm. We stayed in a small cabin there just overnight before moving on in the morning.

We took a leisurely drive down the Great Ocean Road the next morning, stopping frequently at the lookouts and towns. Our first stop was Aireys Inlet, where the Split Point Lighthouse is. We had a walk down to the beach before heading over to the lighthouse (which we didn’t go up) and wandered around in the sunshine before moving on. I’ve since found out that this is the same lighthouse from the TV show ‘Round The Twist’ and would have been much more excited there had I known that!

I can’t remember the other various stops that we made, but we timed it so that we came into Lorne just before lunch time. After a quick walk around, we decided on a place called ‘Bottle of Milk’ which served large burgers accompanied by loud music. Very delicious, and we even stopped again on the way back!

Just as we were finishing, a couple of friends I know from Flickr came in, so we hung around for a quick chat before leaving them to their food. It was a bit of a shock seeing Melbourne people out of town like that!

On the way out of Lorne, we spotted Sheoak Falls and decided to stop for a quick look. The walk up wasn’t exactly easy on my ITBS, Kat’s legs or Trav’s lungs, but we got there and managed to have a look around before more people arrived. We only went to the bottom lookout, deciding that as it was, getting back to the car would be a struggle! Unfortunately, this set the tone for the weekend. If only we’d have been fitter and more prepared…

After several more stops and more beautiful weather, we came into Apollo Bay in late afternoon. On arrival, we couldn’t see anyone there to check in, so we left a message and went to grab a drink. After they had called back and directed us to another building, we checked in, paid and were then directed to our own 2 bedroom unit on another site. It was an older unit, mostly decorated 70s style (wood panelling, old gas heater and stove), but was ours for three nights so was quite convenient.

The rest of the afternoon was relaxing, and we had a look around town and just rested our legs. Although the TV had a few issues, we had brought laptops and a projector, so could cuddle up and watch a movie after dinner.