Great Ocean Road & 12 Apostles

Leaving as speedily as we could with a young one in tow, we were off with Jon at the wheel. Great Ocean Road, here we come! It was a fairly long drive, but Asher was so good. I do think he deserves praise for how well behaved he was for our 4 days of roadtripping. At home I sometimes have trouble convincing him to get into his car seat without protesting. In the week or two prior to our trip I kept telling Asher, "we're going to to Australia, and there you must be a good boy and sit in the car seat, ok? They are very strict, you must stay in your seat at all times, yeah?". Did he understand? Maybe not, but I have this feeling he knew we were on holiday and so was happy to get into the seat.

It was a pity that the car seat the car rental company provided was a little low, so from his perspective, all he could see from the sides were the clouds unless the trees/buildings were very tall. At least he sat in the middle, so he could see the view in front, though still mainly things that were taller. I was eagerly pointing out to Asher, "Cows! Sheep!" But then I slid down to his height and realised he couldn't see anything : /

Breakfast stop at Hungry Jacks.  The staff there gave Asher a paper crown, and he was delighted!

The initial segment of the Road was as winding as I remembered. Had driven along the Great Ocean Road to the 12 Apostles with my family nearly ten years ago. The road hugs the rugged coastline for a good distance, passing coastal towns along the way, some more touristy than others. We ended up stopping at Apollo Bay for a quick lunch and a much needed stretch (or in Asher's case, run-around) before pressing on again. While the headlands, bluffs, and bays were impressive, I noticed that the same sense of awe I experienced the first time was missing. I think it has to do with the travels that we've gone on in the space between. Having been to the Cote D'Azur, this seemed to pale in comparison. I can't quite put my finger on it, perhaps there was less variation in the way the headlands looked? Maybe it was the way each turn in Cote D'Azur was somehow more surprising, revealing a hidden bay here and there. Maybe it was the simple reason that I've been along this road before. Maybe it was no reason at all.

But the segment of coastline after the road goes inland and comes out again was lovely, and it built up the anticipation to see all the wonderful rock features again.  It was at this point in the trip that I was again thankful for the Ergo.  Don't think I would have dared to venture so close to the edge if I was carrying Asher in my arms.  Even for the places that had railings, the paths were narrow and rugged with a cliff just beyond; it was not conducive terrain for a stroller nor for a baby in arms.  This way he was snuggled safe and close.  And since we made quite a few brief sight-seeing stops, it was convenient that he could get in and out of the carrier very easily.  Ah, how I love my Ergo :)

The scenic Castle Cove

Asher spotted a couple of birds above.  Sometimes his eyesight amazes me.  But as someone recently reminded me, he probably has 6/6 vision, unlike myself.

What's Asher looking at now?  Yep...still looking at birds.

The Arch

The (collapsed) London Bridge

The main draw - the 12 Apostles (11 now that one fell several years ago).  See the changing light as the sun set.

We managed to squeeze in dinner at Port Campbell before viewing the 12 Apostles.  Can't remember the name of the restaurant off-hand (will go chk), but the food was great!  One of the meals I really enjoyed during our trip.  The seafood was so fresh (see the seafood platter below), and they served a most excellent Chicken Parmagiana.  Comfort food!  We were quite hungry, so had lauched into all the other dishes before I got a chance to snap a shot of it :)

We stayed at the Twelve Apostles Motel, the same place I stayed at with my family all those years ago.  It hadn't changed much, which means the rooms are quite old.  It's sufficient for a night's stay, but may not be the most comfortable for a much longer stay.  

I was happy to see the motel's farm was still there, and especially that their pig, Miss Piggy, was still around!  There was also a goat, some chickens, birds, and a horse too.  The field the horse was grazing in had wild lavender growing in it, giving the field have a sweet purple hue!  Lavender bushes also grew outside our room, adding a fine fragrance to the crisp air. 

One of the nicest sights there was the field in front of the cottages the next morning.  Overnight it had become covered with yellow dandelions!

We headed off to Timboon for breakfast and to try and sample their apparently well-known Timboon cheese.  When we got there we were informed that they had stopped producing the cheese though!  Hey!  All the tourist guides were not updated!  We didn't use Lonely Planet for this portion of the trip cos the Melbourne guide doesn't cover this area.  I'm sure that would've been more updated!  We did get a block of 12 Apostles Whey cheese though (creamy and milky, quite subtle, good with sandwiches), as well as some locally made Otway G.O.R.G.E chocolates, which were smooth and well made.

The day before we had also tried the award-winning Timboon ice-cream at Port Campbell.  The ice-cream was pretty good - creamy, not too sweet, and had a good range of flavours covering the usual to Coconut & Lime, which I enjoyed, and which was the ice-cream man's favourite flavour.

 It was gonna be a day of endless driving.  Timboon - Melbourne airport to drop my FIL - Josh's house - Phillip Island!  Almost 7 hours!  Asher again deserves praise for being so so good.  He sat in his seat non-stop for a 5-hour stretch - taking his morning nap, lunch, and afternoon nap in the seat!  To be fair to him I stayed in my seat the whole time as well to accompany him, even though we made one very brief rest stop along the way.  He was doing so well, and I was afraid that if I took him out he'd not want to go back in!  But I pampered him with massages, partly to make sure his blood was circulating properly :)

Grandpa & Asher catching 40 winks in the car

The more pastoral landscape on the drive back to Melbourne

Next up, the last part of our trip.  Phillip Island!