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Apollo Bay to Port Campbell
Our first destination today is Cape Otway to hopefully see more Koalas in the wild and the Cape Otway historic lighthouse. This is the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia.
We were not disappointed with the Koalas. Just a short way down the gravel road where we were told they would be there was the first, not just one but two. They appeared to be an older one and a young one. Moving on further along the road we then saw several more, our Koala spotting skills are improving.
Down to Cape Otway to view the lighthouse. The area included the original houses associated with the lighthouse and a small museum of artefacts. We walked to the top of the lighthouse, including an external walk around the platform just below the light, windy out here. The views were amazing and far reaching on this clear sunny day. The lighthouse stands 90 m above the ocean and was built in 1848 by just laying one stone on top of another, no mortar was used in the construction.
Driving back to the main highway we saw more Koalas, one of which was right down low so we could have touched it .. great to see one so close in the wild.
Next came Castle Cove with views back to Cape Otway to the east and Cape Volney to the west.
Onward and our first view of the Twelve Apostles from Gibson Steps. Here we were able to go down steps to the beach and walk along to see the first two stacks, fantastic sights with the colours of the cliffs and the deep blue sea and pale blue sky. Great to walk in the surf before facing the steep climb back up.
From the Twelve Apostle's information centre and car park we took a walk to the main viewing platforms on the cliffs. The interesting point about the Twelve Apostles is that there have only ever been nine and in recent years two of these have collapsed leaving only seven standing. The feature is quite justified as a world heritage site and should continued to be protected, albeit, wind and wave action are undercutting the stacks and how many years one or two will still stand remains to be seen. We spent a long time just looking at this great sight. It was understandably very busy with coach loads of tourists also enchanted by these stacks.
At the west end of the Twelve Apostles is Loch Ard Gorge, which has its own stacks and arches formed where the sea has cut deep into the cliffs forming two gorges into the shore line.
We finally reached Port Campbell were we stayed for the night. It had taken seven hours to do just 97 kilometres with all the stops to look at the amazing views. More to do though after an early dinner as it was back to the Twelve Apostles to view the rocks at sunset. It was a beautiful evening with just a few clouds to add to the colour and beauty of the sunset reflected on the Twelve Apostles.
Another memorable day amongst so many so far.
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