Wednesday, September 06, 2017

11 - Australia

After re-stocking our cooler with some necessities, we headed south along the Great Ocean Road.  We had stayed the night just south of Melbourne in a town called Geelong.  I'd never heard of it - turns out to be a rather large town - since we had gotten used to the relative deserted feeling in the Northern Territory, the town seemed crowded!

Unfortunately, the cold and wet weather really would be with us all day - but we made the best of it!

First stops were Bell's Beach and Pt. Addis - surfing beaches.   There were huge waves - and surfers out there in wetsuits.  Just hard to pick them out.




Lots of scenic pullovers along the road.  Some were a bit of a hike, others were just right along the roadway.



Stopped to check out the Split Point Lighthouse - hadn't planned it, just saw a sign.



We stopped at the little town of Lorne to get maps at their visitors center.  The nice lady there gave me lots of info and told me where to find a koala that was "resting" nearby in a tree.



Isn't he adorable?  He seems to be just sleeping.




Just driving along the roadway - beautiful views - and the sun came out on occasion!





Took about a mile walk to see Sheoak falls.  A little muddy from the recent rains.



More beautiful views from the road.





Sun was out - selfie at a safe spot along the road.



I had read that there was a neat rural road - Grey River Road - that had lots of wildlife - birds and koalas.

We went past it, but we turned around and we're (sortof) glad we did.

There were an amazing amount of colorful birds in the trees.



They must be fed regularly - because they would land on you!



I can't believe Duane let this one stay on him.




Really beautiful birds.  Amazing how many there were.





We did drive a few kilometers on the road - saw maybe 10 koalas up in the eucalyptus trees.  Hard to pick them out....




Hiked to Erskine Falls - beautiful and peaceful.





Really tropical looking stream at Erskine Falls.



More views from the road.



More of the same tomorrow!


3 comments:

affectioknit said...

...those are some beautiful views...love the little koala...and the pics of you with the birds...

Love,

T

Elizabeth said...

Views from the road were spectacular. Weather must not be too brutal, short sleeves and all. All the pictures are great. Will make a good slide show at a future time. MOM

Sharon said...

Buddy saw the bird on Duane's shoulder and asked if Duane is a pirate and if so where are his buccaneers?

I'm glad that the two of you are having a great time exploring Australia. It's so different than anything you would find here at home.