Yes yes, its been a very very very long time since i blogged.
Had a road trip during this easter/mid-sem break with SH, HY, WF and Jia...pretty fun i would say. =)
Our initial plan was to rent a car and go on Saturday (22 March) itself, however, due to the long holiday, all cars had been booked and none of the car renters has any cars to spare. Thus, we had to delay our trip all the way to after easter monday, which is Tuesday (25 March 08), which became the date, we went to Great Ocean Road.
We wanted to rent a mid-size car from Europcar at first, as they have the cheapest rate, however, only compact car is left and we cant fit all 5 of us into that car, thus we turn to the next option, Budget, and got a mid-size car (The new Toyota Corolla that only has 1200km on it odometer ^_^) for $183, for 2 days, including excess liability =).
Had a road trip during this easter/mid-sem break with SH, HY, WF and Jia...pretty fun i would say. =)
Our initial plan was to rent a car and go on Saturday (22 March) itself, however, due to the long holiday, all cars had been booked and none of the car renters has any cars to spare. Thus, we had to delay our trip all the way to after easter monday, which is Tuesday (25 March 08), which became the date, we went to Great Ocean Road.
We wanted to rent a mid-size car from Europcar at first, as they have the cheapest rate, however, only compact car is left and we cant fit all 5 of us into that car, thus we turn to the next option, Budget, and got a mid-size car (The new Toyota Corolla that only has 1200km on it odometer ^_^) for $183, for 2 days, including excess liability =).
Toyota Corolla - Front
Toyota Corolla - Rear
Toyota Corolla - Side
Thus, began our journey.
We collected the car on 25th morning 9am, and using the route planned carefully and precisely by SH, we start heading towards GOR, with HY starting the first drive.
Heading towards Geelong [Photo by SH]
Going Through Westgate Brige [Photo by SH]
It took us approximately 2 hours to reach Geelong, then another approximately an hour and a half to reach Torquay, which we made our first stop, to visit the Information Center.
Information Center [Photo by SH]
As Torquay signifies the starting of GOR, we manage to get a map for free that shows all the attractions and scenic viewing sites along GOR, which became pretty helpful along the trip.
All of Us @ the Info Center [Photo by SH]
By looking at that map, we briefly plan our journey, i took over the wheels, and initiated the start of the GOR self-planned tour. =>
Bells Beach
The first destination that attracted us is Bell's Beach. We drove outta Torquay and arrived to the entrance of Bell's Beach within 15 minutes. However, to our dismay, we couldn't enter the beach as it is being closed up for a surf competition, and to enter requires admission fee. Nevertheless, we still manage to spend quite some time taking pictures and looking at the scenes from a platform right before they start collecting money. =)
Bells Beach
"Wha....?" [Photo by SH]
The Girls
Us
Perfect scences, beautiful skies. The weather was treating us well.
Point Addis
Second attractions of the day, Point Addis, which is only approximately another 10 minutes away from Bells Beach, is actually a National Marine Park. A platform was built on a cliff for tourists to overlook the sea and enjoy yet another beautiful scenic along GOR.
Point Addis
Point Addis View
Us @ Point Addis
Emo Pose -_-
Emo View ^_^
The breeze and sun combo, plus the excitement had caused us to linger around Point Addis longer than we should, by the time we realized, we are running kinda late, thus hurriedly continue our journey and scarping off a few other attractions we meant to visit.
Split Point Lighthouse
Though rushing for time, as we passed by Anglesea(a small town) and almost reaching Fairhaven(another small town), a lighthouse came into view. A few moments later, a road sign was sighted showing the direction of the lighthouse, which apparently is a tourist spot. A split second decision was made to visit the Split Point Lighthouse.
Split Point Lighthouse
This lighthouse, is of course, non-operational anymore. To have a tour inside the lighthouse, admission fee is required, thus, we just took a walk around the surroundings, and snapped more, and more, pictures.
Me & Jia with the Lighthouse
I had to get my butt on the floor to take this pic >.<
Them
An expression of tranquility
We left after a while, and continue with our journey.
Memorial Arch
A must-take-a-photo place to whomever that comes to GOR.
Why?
See it for yourself.
That's why - proof of arrival ^_^
Its like the stone sign on the Great Wall that says "不到长城非好汉!"
Anywayz,
We took out the sandwiches we made the night before and had a small picnic by the beach that is right next to the arch. Surprisingly, most of the tourist just left after taking the pictures, and had totally ignored the beach. Thus, we basically had the beach all to ourselves, except for a random guy walking a dog or a lady jogging with her dogs.
The jumping girls
And the jumping couple -_- [Photo by WF]
A decision was made as we finish our sandwich, to shoot straight to the 12 Apostles.
Between Lorne and Apollo Bay
Whenever you see an accident, fatal or not, that happened in Great Ocean Road, it happened mostly at this stretch of the road.
The roads between Lorne and Apollo Bay is one of the whindiest, most dangerous roads on GOR. To make things more interesting, it runs on the edge of the cliff, and has only one lane, without divider, for both directions of the traffic.
Me driving, on that stretch
But, i do find it fun, and extremely enjoyable to drive on that stretch. It's just...so...relaxing =P, i guess this does occur to all of those who love to drive. =>
The curvy road
After lots of driving, passing by another very curvy, uphill road after Apollo Bay, and a toilet break stop at Lorne, we finally reached the 12 Apostles during the evening.
The 12 Apostles
All i can say, is that it is worth the 5 hours drive, the risk of dangerous roads, and all those petrol money. That place is just beautiful. However, though named 12 Apostles, there is only 7 of them left, some had collapsed, while others remained a mystery.
Another must-take-a-photo spot
Some of the apostles
The other apostles
Group Pic
Emo Session
Me n Jia
As we are still busy taking pictures, dark clouds started creeping in...
Dark Cloud's coming!! Run for your life!!
And thus, another rush to the car, to get to the final destination, hoping that we are able to get out of the place, before rain or darkness falls upon us.
Loch Ard Gorge & Blowhole
Another 10 minutes or so drive on a straight road lead us to the Loch Ard Gorge, where several weird looking cliffs that has been carved from the erosion of the sea can be seen. Quite some interesting sculptures of nature.
Power of Erosion
Wonder of Nature
The Blowhole
We didnt stay long here, as darkness seems to be coming soon. Thus, after snapping some compulsary shots, we started our journey back.
The Journey Back
We drove all the way back straight to Lorne without stopping, and managed to get outta all of the curvy roads before sunset. On the way back, we stopped at a McD drive thru, and got ourselves ice-creams, continue our way straight back to Clayton, had naan and curry chicken at one of the indian shops that opens till 1am, and ended the day, getting rest for the next day's journey - Phillip Island.
Check out the next post for it. ;)
Check out Jia's blog for her version of this trip. =)
2 comments:
Dude, u missed out London Bridge, though that itself really is nothing much. Great pictures there mate!
yea i know i missed it, but its due to the time constraints...and its not much as u said, so didnt lose much eh? =)
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