The Great Ocean Road is deemed one of the world’s most scenic roads. It is a narrow, two lane, paved road that twist and turns (sometimes hairpin turns) its way over 200 kilometres (roughly 124 miles) along the coastline of southwest Victoria. On one side of the road you have mountain and the other is the rugged cliffs that drop straight to the beach or ocean below. It is divided into four regions: Geelong, the Bellarine, the Surf Coast and the Otways Region.
The disgruntled Thomas Family started our journey, with Izzy and friend for Jake in tow, by driving south 46 kilometres (29 miles) to Sorrento. From here we caught the Queenscliff – Sorrento ferry; named that because it runs between the two Victoria cities. The ferry connects the Mornington Peninsula and Phillip Island area of Victoria to the Bellarine and Great Ocean Road area of Victoria by crossing Port Phillip Bay. The 40 minute journey across the Bay shaves about 3 or more hours off your trip by not having to drive north through Melbourne and down and around to the Great Ocean Road.
We purchased our tickets for the 7:00pm ferry, ordered our fish and chips for dinner, boarded the ferry, enjoyed our dinner and then headed out to the deck. We were greeted with beautiful views of Port Phillip Bay and by playful dolphins swimming along side the ferry. Once we arrived in Queenscliff, we made our way along the Great Ocean Road with Apollo Bay set as our destination in the handy, dandy, life-saving GPS. The 134 kilometre (84 miles) drive took about 2 hours. We arrived just after 10:00pm and were greeted by our friends the McMichaels. After room assignments and some quick unpacking, we hit the sack!
The next morning we enjoyed breakfast on the strip across from the beach. We then walked back to the house making a stop by the beach to test the water and sand. We then set our GPS to The Twelve Apostles (They deserve a blog of their own.) As we made the 2 hour drive, we stopped at Castle Cove lookout to admire the beautiful coastline.
TO BE CONTINUED . . . Stay tuned for: Our Flight Over The Twelve Apostles
Andrea, the pictures you've taken are just beautiful. Uncle Bruce and I think you should become a professional photographer. So glad you are having such wonderful experiences. Can't wait to see ya'll this summer. Love you
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