e left Melbourne with our final destination to be the whale watching lookout at Logan's Beach in Warrnambool. The drive to the ocean and on down to Otway was breathtaking....in natural beauty and curvy roads. If I had done this trip as a child there is no doubt I would have thrown up atleast twice. It was a drizzling outside but the sun was still shining or as my mother used to say "the devil was beating his wife." I said that to Matt who looked at me like I had a screw loose. I did
a little research and found this saying is pretty much a dixie thing. We southerners are not the only ones to have a weird saying for a sunshower. In Arabic cultures people are known to say "the rats are getting married". In Polish the saying is "the witch is making butter." Regardless, sunshowers are perfect weather for rainbows. We saw atleast five one being a double bow.Our first stop was supposed to be a famous rock formation in the ocean called the Twelve Apostles but we started to s
ee signs for the Otway Tree Top Walk. This sounded like a great idea to me. It's funny how when I am sitting happily on the ground events that take place high up in the air sound fantastic! The reality is always something very different. We turned away from the ocean view and headed into the rainforest. I returned the unexpected nature hike favor to Matt as we headed down in to the forest. This part was very enjoyable actually. There is no better smell than a rain forest. So it was a little slippery and steep and wet but the smell was fantastic. This was the former stomping ground of William Buckley. He was an escapee from an English convict camp who ended up living with the Aborigines for 32 years. His story has lead to the Australian saying "Buckley's Chance" (equivalent to "a snowball's chance in hell"). To read his whole story check out this http://whitewolf.newcastle.edu.au/words/authors/C/ClarkeMarcus/prose/OldTales/williambuckley.html
ee signs for the Otway Tree Top Walk. This sounded like a great idea to me. It's funny how when I am sitting happily on the ground events that take place high up in the air sound fantastic! The reality is always something very different. We turned away from the ocean view and headed into the rainforest. I returned the unexpected nature hike favor to Matt as we headed down in to the forest. This part was very enjoyable actually. There is no better smell than a rain forest. So it was a little slippery and steep and wet but the smell was fantastic. This was the former stomping ground of William Buckley. He was an escapee from an English convict camp who ended up living with the Aborigines for 32 years. His story has lead to the Australian saying "Buckley's Chance" (equivalent to "a snowball's chance in hell"). To read his whole story check out this http://whitewolf.newcastle.edu.au/words/authors/C/ClarkeMarcus/prose/OldTales/williambuckley.htmlWhen we
got to the tree top walk it didn't seem too scary. The walk way itself is built a bit like a cage so there is a good feeling of enclosure. As we got higher I was ok if I didn't look down. Not looking down is a bit like not touching a steaming plate that a server warns you not to touch because it's hot. I can't help but do it. I was quite proud of my courageous behavior until we got to the tower. I was determined to go to the top so up the stairs I went. Up and up and up until things started going a little wobbly. I held onto the p
ole in the middle of the staircase with both arms and tried to keep going. The earth seemed to tilt in the wrong direction and the dizziness was so bad if you asked me right then I would swear I was going to fall backward over the railing while being sick. I squeaked out to Matt that I couldn't do it and started back 
down the steps never loosening my death hug on the middle pole. I put a little a little red marker on this postcard at the point I think I made it up to on the stairs. The tower is 154 feet up in the air so I still think I did ok. I felt a little better when I got back to the regular walk...well, better until I started to feel the swaying. Evidently the walk was built to sway I however did not enjoy the swaying...at all. It was a wonderful to see the trees and all the other plant life that lived high up in the top of the forest but I would be a liar if I didn't say I was perfectly happy to get back to the bottom of the rain forest and take pictures of all the flora down there.
got to the tree top walk it didn't seem too scary. The walk way itself is built a bit like a cage so there is a good feeling of enclosure. As we got higher I was ok if I didn't look down. Not looking down is a bit like not touching a steaming plate that a server warns you not to touch because it's hot. I can't help but do it. I was quite proud of my courageous behavior until we got to the tower. I was determined to go to the top so up the stairs I went. Up and up and up until things started going a little wobbly. I held onto the p
ole in the middle of the staircase with both arms and tried to keep going. The earth seemed to tilt in the wrong direction and the dizziness was so bad if you asked me right then I would swear I was going to fall backward over the railing while being sick. I squeaked out to Matt that I couldn't do it and started back 
down the steps never loosening my death hug on the middle pole. I put a little a little red marker on this postcard at the point I think I made it up to on the stairs. The tower is 154 feet up in the air so I still think I did ok. I felt a little better when I got back to the regular walk...well, better until I started to feel the swaying. Evidently the walk was built to sway I however did not enjoy the swaying...at all. It was a wonderful to see the trees and all the other plant life that lived high up in the top of the forest but I would be a liar if I didn't say I was perfectly happy to get back to the bottom of the rain forest and take pictures of all the flora down there. Our next stop was the Twelve Apostles formerly known as
The Sow and Piglets. The name was changed in the 1950's to lure more tourists even though only 9 of the lime
stone stacks were left. A product of natural oceanic erosion these stacks are one of the biggest tourist draws in Victoria. The small pile of limestone rocks in the front left of the photo used to be an "apostle" but collapsed in 2005. Now there are only eight left. Eventually the ocean will erode away more of the cliffs (approx one inch per year) making new apostles and claim the 8 that are left standing by eroding away their bases.
The Sow and Piglets. The name was changed in the 1950's to lure more tourists even though only 9 of the lime
stone stacks were left. A product of natural oceanic erosion these stacks are one of the biggest tourist draws in Victoria. The small pile of limestone rocks in the front left of the photo used to be an "apostle" but collapsed in 2005. Now there are only eight left. Eventually the ocean will erode away more of the cliffs (approx one inch per year) making new apostles and claim the 8 that are left standing by eroding away their bases. Just a mile or so away is Loch Ard Gorge named after a famous shipwreck that took
place there in 1878. There were only two survivors both aged 18, Eva Carmichael, an Irish immigrant and Tom Pearce an apprentice crewm
an. Tom was swept into the gorge and later rescued Eva from the water. He sheltered her in a the cave and revived her with some brandy that had washed ashore. Eva, who had lost both her parents, two brothers and three sisters returned to Ireland and later married. Tom became a sea captain and survived two other ship wrecks.
place there in 1878. There were only two survivors both aged 18, Eva Carmichael, an Irish immigrant and Tom Pearce an apprentice crewm
an. Tom was swept into the gorge and later rescued Eva from the water. He sheltered her in a the cave and revived her with some brandy that had washed ashore. Eva, who had lost both her parents, two brothers and three sisters returned to Ireland and later married. Tom became a sea captain and survived two other ship wrecks.Matt and I c
ould actually walk down to the water in two places. One in the Grotto which is a wonderful limestone formation that made a small still pond of water with the ocean breaking behind it. We went for a walk on the beach at the Bay of Martyrs which was filled with huge clumps of seaweed and the back bones of cuttlefish (squid like animal). We almost got soaked when a huge wave snuck up on 
us. I have never seen Matt move so quickly...don't want to get the man's shoes wet. And he makes fun of me for loving shoes. The color of the water is incredible changing quickly from green to blue depending on where the ocean floor drops off.
ould actually walk down to the water in two places. One in the Grotto which is a wonderful limestone formation that made a small still pond of water with the ocean breaking behind it. We went for a walk on the beach at the Bay of Martyrs which was filled with huge clumps of seaweed and the back bones of cuttlefish (squid like animal). We almost got soaked when a huge wave snuck up on 
us. I have never seen Matt move so quickly...don't want to get the man's shoes wet. And he makes fun of me for loving shoes. The color of the water is incredible changing quickly from green to blue depending on where the ocean floor drops off. We made one more little unexpected stopoff when w
e saw signs for the Historic Boggy Creek Pub. The pub was built in the late 1800's and originally known as The Sportsman's Arms Hotel. This area is also known as the Whiskey Trail due to a large number of Irish who settled here and distilled then illegal whiskey leading to many illicit raids. There is a family named Delaney who came over from Ireland in 1855. There are two plaques for the family near the pub. One celebrates a family reunion of nearly 1600 members. The other marks "Delaney's Corner", the spot where family members were arrested for the illicit distillation of whiskey in 1881. The proprietor of Boggy Creek was very friendly and told us about the three resident ghosts that haunt the pub. He also pulled out the local paper to give Matt and me some bad news. The whales hadn't really shown up in mass this year.We pushed on to Logan's Beach hoping some whales would show. Unfortunately the barkeep was correct. No whales anywhere to be seen. There were alot of surfers out and it was fun to watch them catching waves. Evidently, the whales in this area were hunted almost to extinction. If I was a whale I probably wouldn't want to come back to this spot where so many had been killed either. In reality the paper said they would probably appear just later than usual and they don't hunt them here anymore either.
We took the highway back to Melbourne which is must faster than the Great Ocean R
oad and MUCH less curvy (better for my stomach). We drove back through Camperdown which reminded me a bit of Ireland. The town is built on an extinct volcano. When the area was first settled the paddocks(aka fields) were covered with volcanic rocks. The rocks were collected and made into rock fences much like the walls on Irish land.
I am still gathering info about Ned Kelly and I am also working on a food post by special request of Colleen.
oad and MUCH less curvy (better for my stomach). We drove back through Camperdown which reminded me a bit of Ireland. The town is built on an extinct volcano. When the area was first settled the paddocks(aka fields) were covered with volcanic rocks. The rocks were collected and made into rock fences much like the walls on Irish land.I am still gathering info about Ned Kelly and I am also working on a food post by special request of Colleen.
