Port Campbell to LorneDeparting Port Campbell for Lorne, Cape Otway was the last significant destination for exploration. The road deviates from the coast and enters the Great Otway National Park which covers a massive area. We head off the Great Ocean Road for Cape Otway which is about 15km down a decent road which winds through a euchalypt forest infested with koalas. They are easy to spot, you just look for the cars parked at the side of the road and all the tourists pointing their cameras in the air. This phenomena we referred to as a "bear jam" following in the tradition of similar behaviour we encountered in Canadian national parks.
We took our shots, avoided getting run down by crazed tourists and moved on to the Cape. Here you will part with $20 per head to visit the lighthouse. I thought it worthwhile and made the journey to the top of the lighthouse. We listened for a bit to the guide who regaled us with first person accounts of life at the lighthouse in days gone by. My how we laughed. OK not really but it was interesting and the views from the lighthouse spectacular.
Onwards then to Lorne where I had unfinished business with the Erskine River footbridge from 5 years ago where in ideal conditions for a great dawn shoot, the camera failed to deliver. This time, the bridge had been demolished. C'est la vie.
Departing Lorne we made a side trip to Bells Beach for a photo op and then moved on to Melbourne. Bells Beach turned out to be unremarkable this day except for the number of steps one is required to climb in order to get from the beach to the car park. Its is of course quite spectacular.
We bypassed Geelong on a magnificent piece of road and soon found ourselves in Melbourne. We have been navigating with Google maps which works exceptionally well if you have mobile phone coverage. Optus sadly is missing coverage all over the place making this tool fairly useless for those on the Optus network. But it does work in Melbourne. And so we were able to quickly cross Melbourne to our hotel without incident.
A funny story if I may. In Port Campbell which has one street, I paused to try and find our accommodation. After a few minutes of consulting maps it turned out I had parked right outside it. Ahem.
Melbourne
Since the schedule was tight we had one day of sightseeing and a trip to the Queen Victoria markets planned for the following day. I'll share some of the highlights from Melbourne but I'll save the markets for part 3.
The laneways were always full of people eating. Whats that all about??
Classic Melbourne scene, station and tram.
Paused at the National Gallery of Victoria, surely an oxymoron, to get some kulcha. Here Joan stares at a painting said to be worth $300 million dollars. I am quite taken by the ancient artifacts and the european masters.
We catch a tram to St Kilda which is always fascinating. Its pretty windy and so there are kite surfers in the harbour doing their thing. We head down the pier to check out the shed at the end and head past the Espy and Luna park on our way to Acland Street.
Acland Street has its own charm of course and we pause to take in some baked goods and coffee before heading back to town.
Back in town, we do a lap of the park in front of the exhibition building before calling it a day.
More pics here:
http://gallery.heinrich.id.au/melbourne-city-and-st-kilda#gallery/2928/1519/0About the Royal Exhibition Building:
Royal Exhibition Building: Royal Exhibition BuildingAbout the Espy:
The Esplanade HotelAbout Luna park:
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