The Surf Coast

We headed off on a 'little' roadtrip that would take us down the coast from Melbourne to Adelaide and back on an inland route.  Most of the coastal route is known as the Great Ocean Road, but more about that later. The first part of this trip was down the Surf Coast, a section from Torquay to Apollo Bay.  First stop was the famous Bell's Beach.  The sea was absolutely flat when we were there, but Bell's has a powerful left-point break that is part of international surfing folklore.  Since 1973 it has been home to the Rip Curl Pro - the glamour event on the world-championship ASP World Tour.

The beautiful Bell's Beach

The sand was gloriously golden and there were a few surfers and paddle borders out in the cold weather.

Health and Safety at the famous surf beach.

Geoff couldn't resist a swim - even if the rain and hail were coming down hard!

The coast is lovely and not unlike the Wilderness area in the Cape.  Kaleideskoop and Karen Zoid played on the iPod, making it feel more like a roadtrip up the coast.  The main difference being the Eucalypt forests lining the road and the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos and Crimson Rosellas flying over the road.  

Glimpses of deserted beaches.

Aireys Inlet Lighthouse (1891) is 34m high and is important to guide ships through the Bass Strait.

Lucy really liked the lighthouses.  I guess she takes after someone we know.....

Eagle Rock.  The first of many impressive sea stacks we would see on the road.

Another beautiful lookout.

The afternoon alternated between beautiful sunshine and rain squalls and hail, providing for some very dramatic views.

One of the lovely rainbows we saw out to sea.

The Great Ocean Road is a stretch of road between Torquay and Warrnambool on the Australian south coast and was built by returning soldiers from World War 1 as a job creation and nation building scheme.  Built between 1919 and 1932, it stretches 243km and is dedicated to all those who lost their lives in the first World War, making it the largest war memorial in the world.  In its most impressive areas it is comparable to Chapman's Peak and Clarence Drives, but the road also winds through farm land, towns and scratchy forest.  The Great Ocean Road does however link many very interesting attractions, cute towns, lovely beaches and thick forest.

The Gateway to the Great Ocean Road

The memorial to the men and women who built the road.