After spending about 35 minutes at Lord Ard Gorge, we proceed to Living On The Edge walk/park. There are actually 3 walking themes here; Geology (location of Island Archway before it collapses on 10th June 2009 and the Razorback), The Wreck (where Loch Ard Gorge is located) and Living On The Edge.
This is the signboard that we saw at the start of Living On The Edge walk. Ohh so Thunder Cave is like 550m away? Sap sap sui la (easy)
Pathway… overlooking the vast ocean.
Wooden seat for you to take a breather.
At the entrance to Thunder Cave, huge blocks of limestone rest on the sea floor 15 metres below the surface.
Many years ago they formed an arch over the entrance.
The Thunder Cave of that time probably looked much like the present day Blowhole.
The buffeting of sea & wind, & the dissolving effect of rainwater on limestone, finally narrowed the arch until it could no longer support its own weight & collapsed. Just as London Bridge did in 1990.
This is Thunder Cave at present day.
And this is where the sea water from Thunder Cave goes in. You can see a tunnel is formed. The current is very strong here and you can hear very loud noises when the water hit Thunder Cave. At first I thought this is Blowhole but nope it isn’t.
We walked further some more… enjoying the cold fresh breeze.
Not many people were walking on this trails. There were one couple and us only.
It won’t be long when this rock form an archway. What say you?
We came to a junction. Broken Head to the left and Sherbrooke River to the right. We choose Broken Head.
Around this time (after 12 minutes of walking), I was getting tired as we didn’t rest after Loch Ard Gorge and I only have few sips of water. I wanted to turn back but my sister insisted on walking. So walked we did.
Sherbrooke River mouth seen from Broken Head.
We reached Broken Head; the edge of the cliff.
The BLUE ocean. So pretty!
We scanned the ocean for whales but nothing there.
The walk back to car park… well it was one of the longest walk of my life. I kept asking “Arrggh are we there yet? are we there yet?”. I was gasping for air and so thirsty. Couple with the situation that we’re now the only two people out there… well I guess I panicked a little. It was actually mind over matter thingy.
When we reached the car park, I told my sis:
“You know what sis? I think we walked more than 1 kilometer just now.”
The walk took around 40 minutes in total! *pengsan* That didn’t include some paths that we decided not to venture into.
Okay so this walk is very far… you must be fit (I know I’m unfit)… but you know what? This is the best walk of all. It got the freshest air, cute pathways, picturesque coastline and a pretty ocean to boost.
As you can see from this map, the blue line is the length we walked at Living On The Edge. Very far eh?
After that we drove to Twelve Apostles. We gotta see it one last time before saying good bye to our Great Ocean Road journey.
So here we are…
This is the Twelve Apostles Visitor Centre Kiosk. Behind is the pathway to Twelve Apostles.
To Twelve Apostles lookout.
Bench to sit, relax and enjoy the view.
This is Twelve Apostles at 12.11pm. It was a bit cloudy hence the solemn mood.
Not as spectacular as our sunset visit yesterday evening still it was a sight to behold.
Was hoping for deep blue sea. π
We stayed on for nearly 30 minutes then it’s time to say goodbye.
When I started taking photos of the flowers & plants along the Twelve Apostles pathway… everyone start looking at them too. Often we only see the beauty of big things and miss out on the smaller stuff along the way.
This is the last ocean coastline we saw… after that we turned inland via Princetown Road (C166) (located after Gibson Steps). We’re going back via Simpson-Colac to Princes Highway.
Ahh if only we stay 1 more day here, we would have ample time to visit other attractions as well. It would have to wait next time then. π
So this spells the end of our Great Ocean Road journey. Hope you enjoyed it!
But hey don’t go yet, there’s more to come. Hehehe
To be continued…
Melbourne-Great Ocean Road-Victoria travelogue (more on the way):
Melbourne Day 1: Federation Square, Hosier Lane & Flinders Street Station
Melbourne Day 2: Queen Victoria Market, Royal Arcade & Block Arcade
Melbourne Day 3: Victoria Hall & Queen Victoria Market Again (Part 1)
Melbourne Day 3: St. Kilda Beach, Luna Park & Acland Street (Part 2)
Great Ocean Road Self-Drive Day 4: Car Rental, West Gate Freeway & Point Addis
Great Ocean Road Self-Drive Day 4: Anglesea, Aireys Inletβs Split Point Lighthouse & Lorne
Great Ocean Road Self-Drive Day 4: Stunning Great Ocean Views, Apollo Bay, Almost Cape Otway Lightstation & Wild Animals!
Great Ocean Road Day Self-Drive 4: Pee Story, Port Campbell National Park & Trouble Finding Twelve Apostles
Great Ocean Road Self-Drive Day 4: Twelve Apostles At Sunset [+Video] & Port Campbell
Great Ocean Road Self-Drive Day 5: Port Campbell Hostel, Post Office, Refuel & Port Campbell Town
Great Ocean Road Self-Drive Day 5: Loch Ard Gorge
10 Comments
I would love to revisit the Great Ocean Road if I get the chance, and yes, I so enjoyed reading your travelogue! π Waiting for the next one….
Wow…the more I read you travel posts and look at your picture…the more I feel like traveling. π
Dawn, I want to go there again too… in few years time. π
Ohh glad you enjoyed it. π
Tekkaus, good. Means I have the power of persuasive? Hahaha
Go for your second honeymoon. π
hi, i m droppin’ by again…been reading your blog for quite some time…but din manage to pen down my comments π
luv the pics that u posted up, there are so real…wish i could be there now, hahaha…ops! my imagination flies..
Hi, I visited last month, and after picking up some useful tips from your site, went on my own Melbourne and Great Ocean Road trip with family!
We went in late November, and the crowds were amassing because of late spring/early summer. We did an express version of the GOR drive (left Melbourne at 8.30 am, back for dinner at 7.30), but managed to stop by the main sites.
Just to share: I tried to abide by the speed limit like you, but kena caught by a speed camera somewhere outside Ballarat for doing 88km/h in a 80km/h zone! It was a “saman ekor” – a week after we returned home, a funny amount of A$55 was charged to my card by the rental company. The traffic cops are very strict & efficient.
Anyway, thanks for the postings on your trip. We got some really good pointers!
Nux V, hi there! *waves
Thank you so much. There are more to come… stay tuned ya.
KR, I’m sure you get to taste a lot of the local fruits which are in season now. Wow express version eh. You drove to and back Melb via Great Ocean Road or Colac?
Whoopss! We did speed at some places but thank god no saman. π We saw some ‘fake’ policemen in a police car around Colac.
You’re most welcome. π
This brings me back to the time I took a round trip with my family. Good times! π
CC, hey there. Long time no hear from you.
I’ll remember this trip as good times with my sister as well. π
Hi! Great to see the map of this place. I was not aware that I walked that far π
How I wish I did take as many pictures as you did, they are wonderful!
Hi, I think you walked even farther than me! Wish I have snapped even more pictures. But then I believe the most precious ones are etched in our memories. π