We reluctantly left our fabulous Torquay accommodation on 23 March and set off for Warrnambool. We drove straight through to Lorne, our end point the previous day, stopped briefly at Apollo Bay (a pleasant place) and on to Cape Otway, the second most southerly point in mainland Australia (Wilsons Promontory, in eastern Victoria, is the most southerly point.)  

Cape Otway is where the Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean meet. Cape Otway has Australia's most significant lighthouse (they claim) with its attendent cottages, an 1859 telegraph station, some WW11 bunkers and a collection of aboriginal artifacts - and spectacular views. The Telegraph Station was built to house the first submarine telegraph cable between Tasmania and the mainland but it (the cable) failed after 2 years. (After which they laid the cable from Flinders to Tasmania - funny how Flinders didn't mention the Cape Otway link!!) The Telegraph Station then became a Signal Station and later on, a school and accommodation for the Armed Services and lightkeepers' families. The whole complex was very well done and is effectively a museum. One of the buildings houses dinosaur fossils found nearby, another has the original furniture and fittings (including a late 1800s organ from Canada!) from the families who lived there.  

King Island is only 90km south of Cape Otway and at least 18 ships have been wrecked in the gap between the cape and the island which is why the lighthouse was built in 1848. The lighthouse is 12km from the Great Ocean Road and, as we were driving there, we wondered how they ever managed to get the men and the materials there to build the lighthouse - apparently, it took them 3 attempts! We could have spent longer at Cape Otway but time was marching on!  

 
 
We drove on, moving slightly inland and the countryside changed dramatically from the sheer cliffs to rolling hills and dairy country - very picturesque. We passed through Princetown and were back on the coastline travelling on 70m high cliffs.  

Next stop was the Twelve Apostles and - it was packed with people!!! Where did they all come from? We'd seen little traffic since Cape Otway and suddenly we couldn't move for people! The Twelve Apostles is clearly a very popular tourist attraction! There is a huge carpark on the other side of the road from the coast, with a visitor centre, a tunnel under the Great Ocean Road to the coast and board walks along the cliffs with viewing platforms to the Twelve Apostles. It was well-done but SO busy. Tourists everywhere taking selfies and group photos! Lovely views and, yes, the Twelve Apostles are impressive but it was hectic!  

 
 
We moved on through Port Campbell to Peterborough and stopped at London Bridge which was much quieter than the Twelve Apostles site and just as impressive. It used to comprise of a rock with a tunnel connecting to the cliff by a bridge (hence London Bridge) but, in 1990, the bridge collapsed.  

 
 
That was our final stop for the day before we reached Allansford (the end of the 244km Great Ocean Road) and then, 10km further on, Warrnambool where we stayed for 2 nights. It was a long day (we probably should have stayed somewhere in between Torquay and Warrnambool) but it was a great day and we saw some magnificent countryside and coastlines.