The Great Ocean Road and the Grampians

Last Tuesday morning I left Melbourne behind and joined a three day Groovy Grape tour heading for Adelaide. Travelling long distances between major cities in Australia by joining a tour, instead of using direct connections like a train or coach service, can actually be quite competitive also from a financial point of view. It's not only a handy way to properly see the attractions on the way, meals and overnight accommodation are also included in the price. Of course it takes a bit longer, but if time is not an issue, it's also a good way to get to know other travellers.

The tour I joined took in the famous coastal road called the Great Ocean Road, as well as the Grampians, a national park comprising a mountain range sharing the name.

On the first day we drove along the Great Ocean Road pretty much all day long. Some travel guidebooks compare it with Highway One in California, but I got to say the two fight in completely different leagues. The Great Ocean Road, despite its flashy name, is far inferior. Most of it looked quite ordinary to me, with one exception. That was the sandstone region, which was quite unique at least in my eyes, as I've never seen anything like it before.

Part of the sandstone region along the Great Ocean Road.

This part of the Great Ocean Road consists of a shoreline with sheer vertical cliffs, dropping perhaps 30 metres into the churning sea. Archways and pillars of sandstone decorate the coastline. Our driver/guide unintentionally tried to make us miss the sunset at the Twelve Apostles lookout. Apparently traffic signs in Melbourne are as bad as in most of NZ, and we all know you should not put petrol in a diesel engine! Anyway, despite of these bumps in the road we made it in time to admire the twilight at this amazing spot.

The sun is setting over the Twelve Apostles.

The next morning we stopped at another few attractions with names like the London Bridge and the Bay of Martyrs. When we reached Warrnambool, where the Great Ocean Road ends, we had the chance to see some whales at the Southern Right Whale nursery. This time of the year Southern Right Whales come to these "warm" waters to give birth and to nurse their young. From a lookout above the beach, we could see about 10 whales very close to the shore. They were mostly just floating on the surface not doing much, but a few were breaching every now and then, and waving to us with their pectoral flippers. Obviously we were very far from them, so as an experience it was nothing compared to Kaikoura in NZ or (especially) Tonga. But it was still a bit exciting for me to see a new species of whales.

In the afternoon we arrived in the heart of the Grampians: a small town called Hall's Gap. There we visited the Aboriginal Cultural Centre, the MacKenzie Falls (not enough water to be impressive) and a lookout called the Balconies. From the Balconies we had a terrific panoramic view of the Grampian Mountains. The mountains look like a giant has glued layers and layers of thin stone sheets together, broken the resulting plate, and stuck it into the ground at an angle so the sharp edges are jutting up.

The MacKenzie Falls in the Grampians.

There's lots of wildlife in the national park. Kangaroos were munching grass on the oval right in the centre of Hall's Gap. There is an estimated 40 million kangaroos in Australia at the moment, and it's a huge problem because they destroy crops. Because of human land development, it's very easy for them to find food and fresh water. Under such good circumstances they also breed like rabbits. To top it off, Aussies are a bit sensitive about culling the population since the kangaroo is, after all, the national animal. (Kangaroo meat is sold in specialty shops and butcheries, but apparently it's not that common for Aussies to eat it.)

Wild kangaroos in Hall's Gap.

On the third and last day we were supposed to go for a walk in the Grampians in the morning, but it was pouring down, so we started driving towards Adelaide instead. On the way we stopped in Hahndorf, a (surprise, surprise) German village where the first German immigrants to South Australia settled. We arrived in Adelaide in the evening.

On Friday my intentions were to explore Adelaide a bit, however, it took me so long to book flights to Bali and Singapore, as well as to get all sorted with a traveller's insurance policy, that my sightseeing was limited to a stroll through the city centre. By the looks of it, I didn't miss much.

Yesterday I took a flight from Adelaide to Alice Springs, which is located right in the middle of Australia. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the temperature in the desert town was 33 degrees Celsius, the soil is red and almost every second person you see is Aboriginal. Now this is the Australia I've imagined!

I'll tell you more of tiny Alice Springs and the attractions in this region later. Tomorrow I'm going on a three day tour to Kings Canyon and Uluru (Ayers Rock), and next Friday I'm heading towards Darwin. Over and out.

MORE PICTURES from the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians are available here.