Day 5: Getting away from the city

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Today is the first day with a car! We had to pick it up in the middle of Melbourne, which was only a few blocks away. This also meant we had to get our large car down from a really narrow multi level parking facility and straight through a multi-million city, all the whilst trying to avoid tickets for speeding and driving on toll roads. We succeeded. 🙂 

The car is a light brown Toyota Camry, which did take some getting used to as it is really wide and has a huge turning circle. Also, it is a right hand drive, but also equipped with an automatic gearbox and cruise control. Only the best is good enough for us! 😉

From Melbourne, we had to head down to Apollo Bay, a small town on The Great Ocean Road. This is a meandering road down the coastline roughly between Torquay and Warrnambool, and is famed for its great views and fantastic scenery. With a day like today, with clear blue skies and temperatures reaching 20 degrees, it is a truly wonderful drive. Great scenic views of the coast present themselves around every corner, and the road even dips a bit further inland sometimes to go straight through thick coastal rainforest.

We have visited Split Point Lighthouse which is in working order ever since it is built in 1891! There also is a short walk in its vicinity where a small brackish inlet offers a variety of birds and other wildlife. After arriving in Apollo Bay a little too early, we decided it was a good time to visit Maits Rest, a location just 10 minutes our from the town, where the first Wildlife Warden of this area rest his horse while patrolling the coastline at the time of the First World War. A boarded walkway has been constructed to let visitors enjoy the coastal rainforest to the fullest as it allows you to walk right between the large trees and many ferns present. At only 45 minutes, it is also nice and short. 😉

On the way over, we even spotted a Swamp Wallaby, which of course posed nicely in front of our camera. Tomorrow, we drive the second part of the Great Ocean Road. The forecast: great weather, even better views and lots of fun!