London Bridge
After the Twelve Apostles and lunch in Port Campbell, we kept going west. The stretch past Port Campbell is quieter, with fewer tour buses, but the rock formations keep coming.
London Bridge used to be a double arch joined to the mainland, like a bridge. In 1990, the inner arch suddenly collapsed into the sea, leaving two tourists stranded on the outer part. They had to be rescued by helicopter! Now it’s an island arch, renamed London Arch, though everyone still calls it London Bridge.
The Grotto
Next was the Grotto, a sinkhole in the cliff. You walk down a path of stairs to a rock pool, and through a hole in the rock you can see the waves crashing on the other side.
The Bay of Martyrs and the Bay of Islands
Then two bays close together: the Bay of Martyrs and the Bay of Islands. The Bay of Islands is like a smaller, emptier Twelve Apostles: a bay full of rock stacks and little islands, golden in the late afternoon light.
A Night in Warrnambool
On the way to Warrnambool, we passed fields full of cows. Dairy country.
We stayed the night in Warrnambool, the biggest town at the western end of the Great Ocean Road. Our room was bright, white and spotless.
Dinner was at Hecho en Mexico on Liebig Street: bright colours, neon, a mural wall, tacos and a sizzling plate of meat. We put on the sombreros. Obviously.
That’s the Great Ocean Road done. Tomorrow, we’d turn inland for Ballarat.
Information About the Bay of Islands
A short walk from the car park to the lookouts over a bay full of rock stacks and little islands. Like a smaller, emptier Twelve Apostles.