The Great Ocean Road

Sunday 1st August
We took the scenic route back to Warrnambool, to take in the remainder of The Great Ocean Road. We had got as far as Lorne back in March. The day started out as a pleasant sunny day but got steadily worse, as you can see from the photos.
Construction of The Great Ocean Road began in 1919 using thousands of returned service men, a massive job undertaken with only picks, shovels and horsedrawn carts. Covering over 400Km it was finally opened in 1932. It was funded privately and charged a toll for the first ten years when it was handed back to the state who abolished the toll, as the road was paid for. Now there is a novel idea for the M50!

The Twelve Apostles

It was freezing and so windy I thought I would blow over!! Found on the famous Shipwreck Coast which has claimed many lives, the Twelve Apostles stand guard in front of rugged cliffs, towering 70 metres above sea level. Formed by the oceans weathering effect on the soft limestone over thousands of years, these unique formations are one of the most photographed natural attractions on The Great Ocean Road.

Lock Ard Gorge

The gorge is named after the ship Loch Ard which ran aground on nearby Muttonbird Island on 1 June 1878 approaching the end of a three-month journey from England to Melbourne . Of the the fifty-one passengers and crew, only two survived: Tom Pearce, a ship's apprentice, and Eva Carmichael, an Irishwoman immigrating with her family, both of whom were 18 years of age. According to memorials at the site, Pearce was washed ashore, and rescued Carmichael from the water after hearing her cries for help. Pearce then proceeded to climb out of the gorge to raise the alarm to local farmers who immediately set into plan a rescue attempt. We had seen the re-enactment on Flagstaff Hill in Warrnambool last week. Pearce was a young man at the time, who went on to survive another shipwreck and died in his forties of a heart attack. Eva returned to Ireland shortly afterwards but in a steamship!

London Arch /London Bridge

London Arch is a natural arch in the Port Campbell National Park. The arch is one of the tourist attractions along the Great Ocean Road near Port Campbell. This stack was formed by a gradual process of erosion , and until 1990 formed a complete double-span natural bridge.The arch closest to the shoreline collapsed unexpectedly on 15 January 1990, leaving two tourists stranded on the outer part: they were rescued by a helicopter. I remember seeing it on the news at the time. The two were husband and wife except not married to each other! (I know this quiet spot where no one will find out!) Prior to the collapse, the arch was known as London Bridge because of its similarity to its namesake.