By: Darren Heise
Submitted: 2009-05-25 22:19:38 | Word Count: 597
Victoria’s famous south western coastal route, starts at Torquay and extends 285km west to Warrnambool. The road was built between 1919 & 1932 with the idea of building a scenic road of world repute. The road was both a memorial to the soldiers who had died in World War I, and an employment scheme for those who returned. Over three thousand ex-servicemen laboured with picks and shovels, carving the road into cliffs and mountains along the coastal line.
Towns on the eastern side of Cape Otway hold both stylish and artsy villages of Lorne and Apollo Bay. People love to fish, both for leisure and commercial in this area. Why not try yourself. Information at Apollo Bay fishing and Adventure tours offer fishing trips and boat cruises by the hour. The town holds the annual Apollo Bay music festival over a weekend at the end of March featuring jazz, rock, blues and country under several large tents set up along the foreshore. Try www.apollobaymusic festival.com for more info.
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As you travel through the Otway National Park, keep and eye out for lush hinterland of forest shelters waterfalls, glow worms and platypuses. Maits Rest is an easy stroll through a temperate rainforest (fern gully) that gives you a feel of the dense rainforest that once covered the entire Otway Ranges. Further down the road towards Lavers Hill, is the Cape Otway Lighthouse. Accommodation is available in the refurbished lighthouse keepers’ residences. The main building is in Heritage sandstone with four bedrooms and two open fireplaces. The lighthouse grounds are open to the public daily from 9am-5pm. Guided tours are scheduled at 11am, 2pm and 3pm daily.
The stretch from Moonlight head to Port Fairy is often referred to as the Shipwreck Coast is the most spectacular. Over eighty ships have been sunk here and dramatic rock formations such as the Twelve Apostles sit out beyond the rugged cliffs, where there are several lookouts. Gibson Steps offers one of the few places to access the beach, seeing the scale of the cliffs from below.
Loch Ard Gorge further west, holds the most fascinating area in the park with a group of islands, caves, gorges and blowholes to view. Tragically, 52 people drowned when a Glaswegian ship smashed on Mutton Bird Island in 1878. Only two survived and were washed into the gorge. Take the walk leading from the wreck sit, to the gorge, beach and then cemetery to gain a real feel of this beautiful area.
Last but not least, Warrnambool is a cross between an industrial city and a charming seaside agriculture town. With a history of first being used by sealers and whalers in the early nineteenth century, the Southern right whales were hunted almost to extinction. Between June and September each year female whales have returned in the last decade to calve. Try the specially constructed viewing platform at Logan Beach.
Warrnambool has several galleries and museums and some fine old churches worth a visit. Don’t miss Fun for Kids Children’s festival held annually late June-early July. The festival delivers a world of children's performance, hands-on fun, creativity and high energy activities. See www.fun4kids.com.au for more details.
Author Resource:-
When in Melbourne take some time to do a day tour to The Great Ocean Road, which is one of the greatest coastal drives. There you see the amazing natural coastline, meet the locals, and feed the birds. While visiting the Great Ocean Road be sure to check out The 12 Apostles, the unique rock formation just off the coast. Article posted by Darren Heise of Australia Travels.
