The Great Ocean Road and Cape Otway.
The Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch at Eastern View. This is the third memorial arch with the previous ones being destroyed in 1973 and 1983 by bush fires.
Me standing next to the Great Ocean Road in front of the memorial arch.
The Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch was built to commemorate the 3,000 returning servicemen from World War I who built the road between 1918 – 1932.
Memorial sculpture near the memorial archway depicting servicemen working on the construction of the Great Ocean Road.
Plaque dedicated to those who served in World War I. The Great Ocean Road is the the world’s largest war memorial.
Dedication plaque to the memory of Howard Hitchcock, the founder of the Great Ocean Road Trust.
Introduction to The Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch.
View from Eastern View of the coastline.
Waves breaking at Eastern View.
View along the coastline in the direction of Lorne, just under four miles away.
Rugged rocky coastline of the Lorne – Queenscliff Coastal Reserve.
Sun beginning to break through an overcast sky above the Bass Strait.
Bass Strait.
Waves crashing over the the rocks.
The Great Ocean Road is long and winding.
Much of the 243 km road hugs the coastline affectionately known as Surf Coast because of the conditions, but also travels through rainforests.
View along the coastline heading towards Apollo Bay.
Apollo Bay Bakery on the Great Ocean Road.
Koala up a tree at Cape Otway.
Koala up a tree.
Cape Otway Lighthouse.
The lighthouse guards the Bass Strait.
Cape Otway Lighthouse is located on Victoria’s south-west coast at the eastern end of the “Shipwreck Coast” overlooking the Bass Strait.
Cape Otway Lighthouse was built in 1848 and is the oldest surviving lighthouse in mainland Australia.
View from Great Otway Lighthouse.
The ironwork of the lighthouse structure weathered by the harse conditions.
Rocky coastline at Cape Otway.
The workings and bulb of the lighthouse’s lantern.
View from the lighthouse.
View of the rocks below the lighthouse and waves break over rocks further out in the Bass Strait.
Wall chart of International Maritime Signal Flags – Single Letter Signals.
The lighthouse’s preserved radio room.
Cape Otway Lighthouse lantern room. The lighthouse was decommisioned in 1994 and traditional continuous revolving light in the tower has been replaced by a low powered solar light in front of the lighthouse with three white flashes every 18 seconds.
Introduction to the stonework of the lighthouse.
Anchor from Eric the Red shipwreck with the Australian Aboriginal Flag and flag of Australia on flag masts in the background. On the Aboriginal Flag the black represents the Aboriginal people of Australia, the yellow circle represents the Sun – the giver of life and protector and red represents the red earth.
Plaque on the anchor from Eric the Red which was shipwrecked on 4th September 1880.
A welcome message from the Gadubanud Aboriginal People. The Cape Otway area is part of the traditional lands of the Gadubanud Aboriginal People.
Hand drawn map of Indigenous Culture Sites within the Cape Otway lighthouse precinct.
A billabong sculpture.
The Meeting Hut. The hut is a contemporary and artistic creation of a traditional Talking Hut or Wuurn, with rock base and wooden upper section. Larger than the traditional permanent dwellings it is an example of some designed for larger gatherings in cooler months.
Traditional Aboriginal Mia Mia (hut).
The Meeting Hut.
Map of Aboriginal Australia.
Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge.
Twelve Apostles at Port Campbell National Park.
The Twelve Apostles are a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of Port Campbell National Park.
The Twelve Apostles were formed by erosion. The harsh and extreme weather conditions from the southern ocean gradually erode the soft limestone to form caves in the cliffs, which then become arches that eventually collapse, leaving limestone stacks.
The southern ocean below the cliffs at Port Campbell National Park.
Waves on the southern ocean. A small path on the left leads down to the base of the cliff.
Limestone stack.
Dark clouds over an unforgiving ocean coastline.
Headland of Port Campbell National Park.
Looking out to the southern ocean above the top of trees in Port Campbell National Park.
The name Twelve Apostles did not represent twelve stacks as there was only eight.
Of the eight original stacks at the Twelve Apostles, seven remain after one collapsed in 2005.
Although the Twelve Apostles never represented twelve stacks, additional stacks not considered part of the Apostles can be seen to the west within the national park.
Due to wave action eroding the cliffs, existing headlands are expected to become new limestone stacks in the future.
At some time in the past there has been a landslide at this point with grass now growing on the foreshore.
Cracks caused by errosion appearing in a prominent section of the headland.
The stacks were originally known as the Pinnacles, and the Sow and Pigs (or Sow and Piglets, with Muttonbird Island being the Sow and the smaller limestone stacks being the Piglets).
Close-up of one of the seven remaining limestone stacks.
Layers in the rock visiable on the surface.
View along the southern ocean coastline of waves crashing against the rocks and cliffs.
Two limestone stacks that separated from the headland.
View across the Twelve Apostles and southern ocean.
The Twelve Apostles.
The Twelve Apostles off shore of Port Campbell National Park.
Sun shining in the distance.
Unfortunately grey clouds above me.
Two limestone stack formations.
The limestone stacks caused by erosion are usually up to fifty metres high.
The Twelve Apostles.
Rugged coastline.
View from Port Campbell National Park.
Rays of sun reflecting off the sea through gaps in the cloud.
Continuous waves rolling in on the coast.
Limestone stacks at the Twelve Apostles.
The Twelve Apostles at Port Campbell National Park.
Warning notice at Loch Ard Gorge. Looks like the only thing safe to do here is to sit down.
Loch Ard Gorge. The gorge was named after the clipper ship Loch Ard which ran aground on nearby Muttonbird Island on 1 June 1878. Of the fifty-four passengers aboard, only two survived – Tom Pearce, at 19 years of age, a ship’s apprentice, and Eva Carmichael, a 19 year old Irishwoman emigrating with her family.
These two stone pillars had previously formed an arch called Island Archway until it collapsed in 2009. These two unconnected rock pillars have since been officially named Tom and Eva, the two survivors from the Loch Ard.
View across Loch Ard Gorge.
View from Loch Ard Gorge of limestone rock formations including the “Razorback” in foreground.
Close-up view of part of the “Razorback” rock formation.
“Razorback”.
“Razorback”.
“Razorback” rock formation near Loch Ard Gorge.
Panaromic view looking out to the ocean across the top of Loch Ard Gorge in the Port Campbell National Park.
Tom and Eva. According to memorials at the site, Tom Pearce was washed ashore when the Loch Ard ran aground, and rescued Eva Carmichael from the water after hearing her cries for help. Three months after the running aground, Eva returned to Europe . Tom continued his life until his death at 49 and is buried in Southampton, England.
Stalactites and other rock formations hanging above an exposed cave.
A small cave visible at sea level.
Stalactites.
Stalactites.
Stalactites hanging above an exposed cave.
Visitors walking on the sand in the base of the gorge.
Visitors in the Loch Ard Gorge.
Stalactites and other rock formations hanging above a small cave entrance.
Hanging stalactites.
Hanging stalactites above a cave.
Seagull resting on a rock.
Waves rolling into the gorge from the ocean.
Me in the heart of the gorge.
People on the beach at Loch Ard Gorge.
View of Loch Ard Gorge and beach from above.
Loch Ard Gorge.
Loch Ard Gorge with people on the beach.
View of Loch Ard Gorge and beach from above.
Looking across the headland to waves in the ocean off of Loch Ard Gorge.
Rock formations and arch at Loch Ard Gorge.
