Lance's Down Under: Great Ocean Road/Shipwrecked Show

This is a view of the terrain leading up to the cliffs.

Monday, April 23, 2013

View of the coast

12 Apostles

Gibson's Steps

These signs were at every stop.

Can you tell we stopped too many times?

Dagan likes being the photographer.

We headed out fairly early. We had to drive a good hour inland on the Great Ocean Road before getting back to the ocean. We drove through the Otway National Park. It was a pretty drive and very curvy. Once we got out of this park, we entered Port Campbell National Park. The land was very interesting. It was fairly flat, and then dropped off to the ocean. This is where the sandstone cliffs are located. Erosion has created a very dramatic effect. It really was spectacular. We stopped at all the stops. The kids were making fun of me for wanting to stop, but I am glad we did. We saw the 12 Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, Gibson Steps, the Grotto, London Bridge, and the Arch. We got some lunch during part of this in Port Campbell. After we left Port Campbell National Park, we made a few stops in the Bay of Islands Coastal Park. At this point, the kids decided they didn't want to get out of the car anymore.

The London Bridge is in the background.

Dagan found a rock to climb.

Sydney under the overhang.

We made it to Warnambool. We checked into our hotel and relaxed for a while. Then we headed to dinner. We were going to dinner and the Shipwreck Show at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village. It was a sound and light show about the Loch Arch wreck. We had been to the place where it had occurred earlier in the day. It was an interesting show and very informative. The ship crashed 1 day short of reaching Melbourne after being at sea for 90+ days. There were only two survivors. The man saved the young woman who had lost her entire family. The man received many honors for what he did. Plus, we learned that this was his second wreck, and was eventually in a third wreck. Crazy! The young woman got back on a ship a few months after the wreck to return to Ireland. She never returned to Australia. The other important thing that survived was a ceramic peacock. It was supposed to be shown in Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880, but didn't make its official appearance until 1988 at the Brisbane World Exposition. It is now on display at Flagstaff hill Maritime Village and is worth 4 million dollars.