The Great Ocean Road (Five Days of Riding)

DAY 1
We set off from Melbourne by train to Warrnambool to start our ride along the Great Ocean Road. We spent most of the train ride eating, sleeping, and reading... not too much excitement there. We arrived in Warrnambool just in time to change to our bike clothes, stock up on dinner, and hit the road to get in a few k's (kilometers) before sundown. The sun shined brightly behind us giving a pleasant glow to our surroundings as we rode through familiar cow-laden scenery. After about 20km, we pulled into a campsite in Allansford right across from a field of cows and hay bales, and we set up camp as the sun gave off its last rays of colorful light.

Mally and I had prepared ourselves to return to the hardships of camping after the luxurious stay at the Dales, but as we set up camp - we learned that there was a brand new jacuzzi on site - Ahhh... to be roughing it!


DAY 2
The next morning, we awoke early and prepared for our first day's ride on the Great Ocean Road. After about 40km of smooth riding through open farmland, we reached the first of many spectacular sights: the Bay of Islands - a conglomeration of rock promontories standing tall and alone off the rugged ocean's edge. We pedalled a bit further down the road to the Bay of Martyrs where we had another view of these assorted rocky and red-colored structures.

We continued on for a bit down the twisting road lined with green shrubbery growing out of the coastal sands. The ocean was roaring down below us and when the greenery opened up or the road shifted closer towards shore we caught glimpses of the endless waters. About 10km down the road we hit another series of nifty rock structures standing out in the blue ocean waves. We walked down to "The Grotto" which was a rock wall jutting out from the ocean's cliff edge with an eroded window provided views out to sea. We then saw "London Bridge" which was a reddish brown stone arch standing out in the water. At one point, the arch was connected to land by another section of rock... thus forming a bridge, but London Bridge fell down. Next, we saw "The Arch" which was very similar to the now broken bridge, but had a bit more of a rounded arch shape.

All along our route, we continued to see familiar faces of other travellers following the same path. Some expressed shock that we were on bikes and not in cars, others expressed their amazement to see us keeping up with them, and many gave little smiles as we passed which seemed to say... "we've seen you two funny looking girls in spandex before".

We took a break in Port Campbell for some lunch, a rest for our legs, and some yummy homemade ice cream before continuing on to more beautiful sites. Our next stop was Loch and Gorge where we wandered around coastal paths on the tops of the cliffs that fall into the ocean. These paths took us to views of more outstanding rock structures sitting out in the water, to an outlook over a gorge, and down into the gorge where the ocean waters form a small bay. We could have easily spent the rest of the day just exploring this site alone.

But we cycled further to our final and perhaps most spectacular sight of the day: The Twelve Apostles. The Twelve Apostles, of which we saw 11, are 12 (so they say) rock promontories that stand proudly in the waters a short distance out from the coastal cliffs which mark the shore. Hundreds of tourists gather here to see the line of stone soldiers. A little further down the road steps led down the cliffs onto a small stretch of beech where Mally and I experienced the ground level view of the apostles and had a bit of fun playing on the sand. The sky was beginning to brighten up with colors and we would have loved to stay until the glorious shades of sunset highlighted the background, but seeing as there was no camping allowed in the park area and we didn't want to bike in the dark, we cycled to Princetown where we set up camp for the night... our minds full of spectacular ocean scenery.


DAY 3
We awoke for another early start to beat the heat and traffic as we made our way through a hilly route. After 10km of gradual climbing, we started really climbing and continued climbing for about 20km with only a few downhill respites. Luckily, the steep sections were sparse, the air was cool and fresh, and the scenery was fabulous. We headed a bit inland away from the coast and into eucalyptus forest. Our route was shaded most of the way with highlights from the rays that wiggled through. Aside from the green scenery of the forest, colorful birds dotted our path... two birds outfitted in a vibrant red color appeared almost to be fake... I had never seen such brighlty colored birds. The atmosphere and solitude made for a peaceful ride and little traffic interupted our quiet (only 15 cars overtook us in the first 30km... yes, I counted... it took my mind off the constant uphill road ahead).

Much to our dismay, the bakery at the top of the hill seemed closed for the day. But we found a small little cafe where I ate a couple egg sandwiches and Mally got a warm veggie concoction. With full tummies and rejuvinated bodies, we began our descent... which seemed to contain a lot of uphill for a descent! Our winding path was highlighted with vistas of rolling hills and distance glimpses of the sea below. After reaching the sea, we headed back inland once again to begin our second climb of the day. This climb (which was much shorter than the first) took us back into the eucalyptus forest and through a lush rainforest area.

At the top of the hill Mally and I stopped at the Maits Rest Rainforest Walk. At this point our bodies felt tired and the so-called "gentle terrain" of the "25 minute walk" seemed a bit rough. We knew we were struggling a bit when an elderly couple started to pass us. Luckily the rest of our ride went mostly downhill and then levelled out into Apollo Bay, where we were quite happy to stop for the day.

Since we arrived to town early, Mally and I explored the fine dining of this holiday seaside town. Mally tested out the bakery delights and some sort of vegetarian patty while I feasted on fish and chips (my first fish-n-chips experience) and my favorite cold yummy treat. We then headed off to our campsite and set up our tent overlooking the ocean. We relaxed the rest of the evening and made our way to the beach to see the soft glows of sunset highlight the sand and dance on the water.


DAY 4
Mally managed to get me to open my eyes in time to see the beautiful morning colors of the rising sun over the ocean... and I'm glad she did... what a wonderful sight! We soon packed and set off to another early start. Our day's ride followed the shore for most of the way. Winding this way and that and always going up or down... never flat (but no large climbs like the previous day). Along the way, fantastic ocean scenery constantly bombarded our eyes... long deserted beaches... high rocky cliffs falling into the water... craggy outcroppings stretching into the sea... sun sparkling on brilliant blue water... strong winds blowing mist off of giant waves... how we managed to keep our eyes on the road, I don't know. Only a few kilometers travelled inland through eucalyptus forest (where, unfortunately, I could not see any Koalas). The route led us to the idyllic coastal town of Lorne where a bakery sign sucked us off the side of the road and into the shop (mmmm).

After a short break, we continued along our Great Ocean Road with beautiful coastal views. At this point, the traffic began to thicken with Melbourne venturers and holiday travellers and Mally and I started to hug the wide shoulder. A bit down the road, we came across the Memorial Arch which spanned over the road and commemorated the construction of the wonderful coastal route. A bit further down the road we turned off and headed towards Bells Beach - home of the world surfing championships. Once we turned, the road looked as if it was a ski jump into the ocean... fortunately the road didn't end, but took a steep turn downhill directly to the site of Bells beach.... here, the water was so calm that we could easily understand why the world championships had to be postponed (how can you surf without waves?). As we left the beach on our bikes, we discovered that the road also took a steep turn uphill (doah!) so we had a bit of a climb on our loop back to the Great Ocean Road. But luckily, our destination for the night was just up the road.

As we pulled into Torquay, I spotted a Scandanavian ice cream shop with 34 flavors and helped myself to a death by chocolate, after dinner mint, cookies and cream cone (Mmmm!) We then unloaded at our campsite and took an evening stroll in search for dinner and came back along the beach as the sun began to fall. Once again, we saw a beautiful sunset... and spent the evening relaxing on the beach, listening to waves, and watching as the stars come out in force.


DAY 5
This day was terrible... after Mally and I awoke to pouring rain and cold temperatures, we started along a rough road with lots of traffic, log trucks, and high winds. We should have stopped and spent the day in Torquay, but we trudged on. As a truck whizzed by and splashed us with mud, a large blur was suddenly in front of us and Mally came to a screaching halt as she ran into an angry Kangaroo. I heard screams, grunts, and car horns as Mally discovered Kangaroo boxing and cars flailed in every direction trying not to hit the mass of Mally, bike, and animal. I would continue with this very amusing story, but perhaps you want to know our real April Fools Day experiences.

We actually awoke to another beautiful sunrise of reds, pinks, and soft blues. We ate our breakfast and watched as the golden ball of fire peaked out over the horizon and rose high into the sky. We then set off for a short ride to Geelong to catch a train back to our Melbourne home. Shortly after we set out, our police escort arrived to take us into the train station (this is no joke!). We really did have an escort! A fellow (Graeme) on a bike rode up beside us and began chatting. Turns out he was a police officer riding into work and it just so happened that the train station was right next door to the police station. So Graame rode along with us, told us a bit about Geelong, and guided us through the busy Geelong roads right to our desired destination. We couldn't have been luckier that morning... we would have struggled to make our way to the station on our own.

Our luck continued when we managed to catch the train that pulled in as we entered the station. We purchased our tickets as the loudspeaker announced one minute until departure and then managed to run down to the platform in time to load our bikes, sit on the train, get kicked out of our seats for sitting in the first class cabin, and then find seats in the regular cabin. As the train pulled off, we started into conversation with two ladies old enough to be our grandmothers. They were all dressed up to go out for a big day in Melbourne and as we told our stories of biking all over New Zealand and Australia, the Oooos, Ahhhs, Oh My's combined with wide mouths, bulging eyes, and giggles poured out. They couldn't wait to tell their friends of these two "adventurous" girls. We got quite a kick out of their stories as well and had a pleasant ride all the way to Melbourne.

We arrived to Melbourne early in the morning and gave the Dales a last minute phone call to announce our arrival. Geoff, fearful our early arrival was an April Fools joke, drove down to the train station and picked two weary cyclists up and took us home to rejuvinate! We were again greeted by our two furry friends and welcomed back for a third time. It is so nice to have a home in Melbourne.