Geelong, Victoria and the Great Ocean Road

Just an hour by train from Melbourne is Geelong, Victoria’s second largest city, although you’d never know it by its small-town feel. Geelong boomed during the gold rush as a gateway city to goldfields, and recent beautification efforts spawned nice parks along the water, and plenty of bayside cafes. Low-key and nestled on the huge Corio Bay, Geelong, most importantly, is home to our good Australian friends, Tony and Joan, whom we met in Fiji last April. Ever the gracious hosts, we met up with Tony and Joan shortly after arriving in Geelong and were whisked away for a tour around the beautiful coastal area, stopping at a seaside vineyard and nice beaches along the way.

The following day, we were honored by Tony and Joan’s invitation to a traditional Australian “tea” at their home. Over lamb, grilled pumpkin, fresh veggies and an unworldly chocolate cake for dessert, we chatted with Tony, Joan and Tony‘s son and daughter-in-law, Adrian and Anita, about funny Aussie stereotypes, LA traffic and some classic US slang. Their hospitality was extremely warm and generous, and the home-cooked meal was very, very good for our souls and our stomachs!

On Tuesday morning, we rented a small Nissan Tiida and headed southwest along the coast of the Southern Ocean (just 3300 km from Antarctica!). The beautiful and windy drive is called the Great Ocean Road, and it was hand-built by Australians after returning from WWII. The Great Ocean Road provides stunning views of the ocean and coastline, with several interesting, scenic and historic stops along the way. But enough with trying to describe it, here are some photos:

We drove about 200km along the Great Ocean Road, bringing us to the famous Twelve Apostles, which are lonely rock formations out to sea that have been created over the years by erosion. Since erosion is stopping anytime soon, the Twelve Apostles are changing - some collapsing and some new ones forming. Nevertheless, it’s a stunning sight.

We spent the night along the Great Ocean Road in a quiet, small seaside town called Apollo Bay. On our drive back there from the Twelve Apostles, we stopped to check out a lighthouse lookout in Great Otway National Park. There, we saw koalas in the wild, and even running along the side of the road!

Next, we say goodbye to Victoria and fly to Perth in Western Australia ("WA" to the locals), an isolated city in the vast expanse of WA that is often labeled Australia’s last frontier.