The plan for today was to leave our hotel in Dandenong (an eastern suburb of Melbourne), at around 7 AM (which we did), travel –through the city to Geelong, to Torquay and onto the Great Ocean Road. This road follows the coast line from Torquay through to Adelaide, but we only intended to go as far as Warrnambool. The driving time should have been about 6 hours and 30 minutes, plus a half an hour to get through town, however, getting through town took a hour and a half because we got lost 3 times. First of all we got onto M3 instead of M1, and then received only partial instruction – well – anyway – we made it, and had an adventure or two along the way.
The route has some of the most magnificent scenery we have ever seen. For the most part, it follows the coast, past some world famous surfing beaches and incredible cliffs.
Our first stop was
Bell’s Beach – which despite the chilly and blustery weather,
and a recent shark attack, had a goodly number of surfers either already in the water, or getting into their ‘wetty’s’ to head out. 
A little further along we came across the Split Point Lighthouse
– which was very important in early navigation and still functions today, though is fully automated. The scenery was lovely, there was a very nice walking trail 
that led to the viewpoint and there were these delightful, tiny berries along the path.
We stopped for a coffee/tea and a freshly made scone with cream and home made jam. Yum! 
We drove on quite a way further admiring the scenery as we went (the road is very winding, sometimes we were at ocean level, and sometime far above). Then at Marengo we left the coast line and the road wandered though lush rain forests and cultivated farm land. At one point when surrounded by fields we noted a sign for a view point. We were surprised as we thought we were quite a way inland, (as you can see here),
but when we went over the little hill – we were amazed by the sight of Castle Cove. 
After another period of being in land, we were back on the coast, and invited to visit the Loch Ard Gorge view point. It was still cold and blustery, but Barb went out and got these wonderful pictures of the artwork that God has created through time,
and erosion. 
We stopped briefly at Port Campbell
for a bit of late lunch, and then were back on our way to Warrnambool. We made this last stop at the 
Bay of Islands,
and then arrived just before 5 PM.
After checking in we set out on foot to explore Warrnambool, wandering down the main street, and checking out the fair at the Beach and Lake Pertobe
in Warrnambool and then did a bit of shopping, had supper and back to our motel – about a 3 hours adventure. One thing we did see of great interest was this maze 
that is a focal point in the middle of a children’s playground. Tomorrow we will head back to Melbourne for our last few days before heading home.
The route has some of the most magnificent scenery we have ever seen. For the most part, it follows the coast, past some world famous surfing beaches and incredible cliffs.
Our first stop was
Bell’s Beach – which despite the chilly and blustery weather,
and a recent shark attack, had a goodly number of surfers either already in the water, or getting into their ‘wetty’s’ to head out. 
A little further along we came across the Split Point Lighthouse
– which was very important in early navigation and still functions today, though is fully automated. The scenery was lovely, there was a very nice walking trail 
that led to the viewpoint and there were these delightful, tiny berries along the path.
We stopped for a coffee/tea and a freshly made scone with cream and home made jam. Yum! 
We drove on quite a way further admiring the scenery as we went (the road is very winding, sometimes we were at ocean level, and sometime far above). Then at Marengo we left the coast line and the road wandered though lush rain forests and cultivated farm land. At one point when surrounded by fields we noted a sign for a view point. We were surprised as we thought we were quite a way inland, (as you can see here),
but when we went over the little hill – we were amazed by the sight of Castle Cove. 
After another period of being in land, we were back on the coast, and invited to visit the Loch Ard Gorge view point. It was still cold and blustery, but Barb went out and got these wonderful pictures of the artwork that God has created through time,
and erosion. 
We stopped briefly at Port Campbell
for a bit of late lunch, and then were back on our way to Warrnambool. We made this last stop at the 
Bay of Islands,
and then arrived just before 5 PM.After checking in we set out on foot to explore Warrnambool, wandering down the main street, and checking out the fair at the Beach and Lake Pertobe
in Warrnambool and then did a bit of shopping, had supper and back to our motel – about a 3 hours adventure. One thing we did see of great interest was this maze 
that is a focal point in the middle of a children’s playground. Tomorrow we will head back to Melbourne for our last few days before heading home. 
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