If you are reading this as the most recent post, read the post two below first. It is part 1 of 3 of our Great Ocean Road Trip. Then there is part 2 of 3. This is part 3 of 3. If you read these to fill empty time in your day I suggest one a day, they're long.
We awoke after our 12 apostle experience to the sun finally shining and limited clouds. We set off for the place we were told you could surf with the whales, and we were stoked! We were a little worried because the previous day there had been 20 foot swells, which, if you are not familiar with surf swells, is like a house sized wave when you're surfing and at the bottom of it. When you look out into the ocean it looks angry... very angry. We got to the spot and we happy to see the waves were down a bit, probably to about 10 foot swells. We looked out and the whales were literally 150 yards off the coast. If the sea was calm you could easily swim out there with no board (though not recommended). We were a little let down to not see any surfers out, but we went in to town to rent some boards and try our luck.
Our Luck: nobody in town rents surfboard.
However, there was a town 20 minutes up the road that rented them... so we started the engine back up. We got into the next town about 20 minutes before the surf shop opened so we got some coffee and bakery goods at a the pace next store. This place was sweeeeetttt. I wanted to take some pictures of it... but I refrained since my camera was in the car.
The shop opened, we rented the boards and wet suits and had to purchase some straps to tie them to the roof and we were on our way back. We got back, strapped on our suits and headed to the beach. Still no surfers out... not good. We walked down the beach looking for a calmer spot, but the sea was still pretty angry. We stopped at a spot that looked decent and decided to try our luck. I was about to step in and looked up to see about 100-150 yards off the coast a GIANT and i do emphasize GIANT dorsal fin. I haven't seen jaws, but I know what a GIANT shark is. I also know what a normal size whale is. Both are GIANT. Needless to say, I was reluctant to get into the water.
Everyone else (who were obviously eyeless) went right in. They didn't make it out to far though, the waves were a bit too crazy. So I joined in the fun only to find that the covering I had on (previously thought to be a wet suit) would be better described as a mesh wet suit. It wasn't mesh, but the point of the wet suit is to have no tears in it so water can't get in. My wet suit obviously didn't get the memo, so I FREEZED MY BALLS OFF. Our surfing was unsuccessful, but we yearned to surf, so we headed into town to ask about a better surf beach.
We got poor directions (as we had now come to expect) and were driving around when we saw an elderly couple exiting a place that looked possibly like a beach. We asked them if there was one there. There wasn't but they were extremely nice and got in there car and let us follow them to one. We thanked them and headed off for round two.
Round Two: freezing Dillon, giant waves. I reached the crest point where the waves stop after being smashed by a few and was very happy to be able to finally take a break. I sat on my board for a bit just enjoying the ocean, though it was far less enjoyable while being an ice ocean until I thought I had gained my strength back up to catch a wave. I didn't really and just kind of unsuccessfully caught little bits of waves and drifted back to shore.
We dryed off and headed back into town to find a hostel. We asked around and called around finally landing on a hostel with an open 4 bed room for $25 a person. It was a little odd, it was located above a local pub filled with old men and definitely didn't have the hostel feel. We got the "only room left" which was in the very back of the place with no light down our corridor. We had all seen that horror movie before and were a bit skeptical of the place. The room was super nice and even had a TV and DVD player... more skepticism.
We went out that night into this very odd town for dinner. It was fine, then we walked down the road to find a happening bar. While walking in front of a masonic temple we heard loud music coming from what seemed like the alley. We continued on and after turning the corner we heard it louder... we inquired and found an opening with loud music. There was a sign that hung in the alley with creepy spray painted writing that spelled out "thirsty?" We were, so we went on. The door guy told us we were welcome, but it probably wasn't going to be our crowd. We entered into a room full of screaming, hands in air, church goes and a band on stage singing songs with lyrics such as "praise him, praise him, he is great." We had seen that horror movie before too, and in agreement with the door man, quickly exited.
We found another bar that seemed more our style. We got a drink and a big guy came up super friendly and had a chat with us. It reminded us of a small town Texas bar... for the Irish. There was a team of rowdy netball player there. If you are unfamiliar with the game netball, it is a women's game that is like basketball with not backboard where contact is not aloud AT ALL. You are not even aloud to play defense, it is stupid.
This particulat netball team was extremely trashy... and drunk. We chatted with a few of them, they came in flocks. Some came up to talk with us and other left, then the same ones would come back, some would stay, some would go, it was interesting. Then one whispered into my ear "oh my god, he is so sexy, I don't even know what to say, he is the sexiest man I've ever seen" talking about our friend Ian. Lucky for him he had a good excuse... and girlfriend. This girl was CRAZY and kept coming over throughout the night as her friends tried to pull her away... and she struggled to get Ian to take her home. He was a real good sport. Another girl who was probably the best looking, but just as trashy stayed around a lot and when she ran out of things to talk about we found out what Australians think of black people.
Ash is black. We found her quite entertaining, in an extremely disgusting racist way. She had no censor. She told us about black people in America (in strong, drunk Aussie accent): "Oh yeah, all you Americans just eat cheeseburgers all day long wif eight patties and lots of cheese, and all the black people sell crack and have guns. They just sit in bed all day with a bucket of fried chicken running down their face..." It was fairly extreme... but we had a good time at her expense after this display. Ash wasn't offended, we all had a good laugh.
(Mother, grandma, etc. you might want to not read this part as it is distasteful and graphic). When I said she had no censor... I meant it. Not even a black censor bar when all the booze gave her shirt anti-gravity. She was not to be outdone by the girl who was in love with Ian. She followed quickly behind her friend. We were having a great time... and I think everyone else was jealous. That wasn't the end of their rowdiness though.
(Mother, grandma, etc. you may continue) Another team of netballers (who were quiet and reserved) came in and all sat around a big table in the middle. The rowdy team couldn't keep the shit talking down though and it came out rapidly in full force. It got to the point where one girl stood up on the table and started kicking the other teams drinks off at them. She was escorted out promptly. Then it was getting late... so we headed back to the hostel.
We arrived, same creepy crowd downstairs + band playing right below our room. We went upstairs and there was a weird guy standing in front of a door... not entering, and asked us how we were doing. We were all a bit tipsy at this point and a bit skeptical about our surroundings. The fact that only one of our windows had a cage over it and the other window didn't lock well didn't ease our discomfort any. It was pretty trippy. However; I knew that Derek would be tripping more than I would be... so after lying awake for a bit I went to sleep. I awoke in the morning to confirm my suspicions. Derek was awake on watch and slept only a couple of hours... that silly boy.
We set out again to surf with the whales! This time it was even colder, it actualy got warmer when we got into the water. Bad sign. We swam and swam and the waves crashed and sent us back. I got to one point where I looked up at a wave cresting in front of me and directly behind it I saw a blowhole spout up out of the water. I decided this was close enough for me. WHALES ARE HHUUUGGGGEEEE. Much bigger than I could fathom. I turned around and returned back to warm myself in the car. Ian and Derek stayed out for a bit longer.. unsuccessfully.
The rest of that day we drove up in the Grampians Mountains, which were cool, then headed back to Melbourne for the final two days. We saw a kangaroo in Grampians and Ian went out to get a closer look, eventually forcing it to stand up and start scratching it's stomach and genitals at Ian... we thought he was done for. Luckily he came back to us and it turned and walked away. We also saw an Emu with it's children, and echidna which are real cool, and some neat things along the way. We talked about science, evolution, and the ever expanding Earth. It was a good time. That night we got drunk and played numerous games of pacman and galaga. We spent the next day exploring Melbourne and then returned home safely the following morning.
Now starts my two weeks completely full of work, which will suck. Then I'm pretty much done. My birthday is tomorrow, Dad is coming to visit a little after we finish school, we will see the reef with him then head to New Zealand. Blickity Blou.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
The Great Ocean Road part 2 of 3 (read part 1 first, they're long)
If you are reading this as the most recent post, read the post below first. It is part 1 of 3 of our Great Ocean Road Trip. This is part 2 of 3.
The drive to the apostles was about an hour. We took off early in the morning and upon the advice of some fellow backpackers we took a long, slow detour to investigate "an open field filled with kangaroos." We followed the directions excatly and arrived at a trail labeled the same as we had been told. After morning hiking for a few miles (morning hiking is not so tight) we didn't see any kangaroos... or a field... or anything. We ran into another hiker coming back from the end of the trail and were sad to find out that there were no kangaroos... no field... just a beach. We had seen plenty of beaches by this time, so we set back for our car, all uphill. It was not an enjoyable detour.
We pressed onward to our destination though and arrive we did!!! The 12 Apostles are AMAZING. There aren't 12 of them anymore, more like 7 1/2, but they are awesome. They are these giant rocks sticking out from the middle of the ocean right off the coast. They are gorgeous and really a site to see. You should see them before they become the 6 apostles, then the 4 3/4 apostles, and eventually the apostle (see, not as cool). Anyway we spent a while there and it was worth the whole trip and the kangaroo detour. Then we set off to the next town we were staying in 20 minutes up the road. We went into a cafe/bar and were seated. We looked at the menus and realizing they were far too expensive we decided to head up the road for something cheaper. We got some flake (shark) and chips, which is much better than regular fish and chips. We hung around a bit and then headed back to the apostles for sunset.
They were BEAUTIFUL at sunset. The sun hadn't come out much during our trip, but it peaked through the clouds a little bit just for about an hour for our amusement. A big rain storm looked like it was coming so after filling our memory cards with redundant pictures we started back to the car. We stopped at one point to take a few more pictures and Ian sparked up some convo with a guy that was waiting with his camera and tripod set up. He said that if we waited 'till sundown that we would get to see penguins coming back from hunting. We were totally game! So we waited... and waited... and waited... and it got colder... and then finally when it was just about too dark to see anything these little black balls came out of the water and walked up across the beach into there homes. It was cool, but too dark to take any pictures. Apparently they leave in the morning and spend all day swimming and fishing and come back at sunset. They swim 500 kms a day! Eat your heart out Michael Phelps.
The next day is a long story... so it is in part 3.
The drive to the apostles was about an hour. We took off early in the morning and upon the advice of some fellow backpackers we took a long, slow detour to investigate "an open field filled with kangaroos." We followed the directions excatly and arrived at a trail labeled the same as we had been told. After morning hiking for a few miles (morning hiking is not so tight) we didn't see any kangaroos... or a field... or anything. We ran into another hiker coming back from the end of the trail and were sad to find out that there were no kangaroos... no field... just a beach. We had seen plenty of beaches by this time, so we set back for our car, all uphill. It was not an enjoyable detour.
We pressed onward to our destination though and arrive we did!!! The 12 Apostles are AMAZING. There aren't 12 of them anymore, more like 7 1/2, but they are awesome. They are these giant rocks sticking out from the middle of the ocean right off the coast. They are gorgeous and really a site to see. You should see them before they become the 6 apostles, then the 4 3/4 apostles, and eventually the apostle (see, not as cool). Anyway we spent a while there and it was worth the whole trip and the kangaroo detour. Then we set off to the next town we were staying in 20 minutes up the road. We went into a cafe/bar and were seated. We looked at the menus and realizing they were far too expensive we decided to head up the road for something cheaper. We got some flake (shark) and chips, which is much better than regular fish and chips. We hung around a bit and then headed back to the apostles for sunset.
They were BEAUTIFUL at sunset. The sun hadn't come out much during our trip, but it peaked through the clouds a little bit just for about an hour for our amusement. A big rain storm looked like it was coming so after filling our memory cards with redundant pictures we started back to the car. We stopped at one point to take a few more pictures and Ian sparked up some convo with a guy that was waiting with his camera and tripod set up. He said that if we waited 'till sundown that we would get to see penguins coming back from hunting. We were totally game! So we waited... and waited... and waited... and it got colder... and then finally when it was just about too dark to see anything these little black balls came out of the water and walked up across the beach into there homes. It was cool, but too dark to take any pictures. Apparently they leave in the morning and spend all day swimming and fishing and come back at sunset. They swim 500 kms a day! Eat your heart out Michael Phelps.
The next day is a long story... so it is in part 3.
The Great Ocean Road Part 1 (long entries, read in pieces if you wish)
For our spring break adventure we took to the streets in a rented car headed southeat out of Melbourne. The trip started out fairly nice, it doesn't turn into the Great Ocean Road until about an hour or so out of the city though. I made a couple CDs to last us the trip and it was a good thing because that road is long!
The Great Ocean Road is magnificent. On one side of the road is an endless view of beaches, cliffs, and rocks along side a beautiful ever expanding blue ocean. On the other side are rolling green grass hills at some parts and Tree covered forresty hills at other parts. We took our time leisurely stopping in a few beach towns and at a couple of points to hike to a waterfall or two. It was a beautiful and equally relaxing way to travel.
On our first day we even came across a Koala Bear up in the trees jumping around so we stopped for a bit to photograph it. We stayed for two nights in Apollo Bay YHA, which is by far the nicest hostel we've stayed in, touched, or even seen. It is only a few years old and has two kitchens, super nice rooms, bathrooms, everything was perfect. Derek and I played a game of Bocci Ball against the other two guys who came on the trip with us (Ian and Ash). Of course we put our powers together to destroy them in back to back games and become the champions of Bocci Ball and $10 apiece richer.
After staying one night we went out in the day for what we were told was a really great hike by some Montanian tennants of the hostel... but after the hour long trek along the beach with no changing scenery we decided these girls had probably only just started there Aussie travels. When we got to the end there was a sign that the Great Ocean Walk was just beginning... we had trekked through the sand for miles only to come to the beginning of the good part. Never listen to American girls (I know, duh right?). We checked out a big pasture splotched with sheep. It was pretty neat. Ian decided to try for a closer look and almost stepped right on this giant snake! Luckily he didn't. We snapped a few pictures and headed back to the hostel.
When we returned we jumped in the car and headed 20 minutes up the road where the ocean and forrest turns into rain forrest. It was awesome! If you've never seen trees covered in fur that are tall enough to where you can't see them anymore you are missing out. We did a little hike, then headed off to Triplet Falls. A tour guide told us how to get there and it sounded like it was about 5 minutes away. So we started off still not having gotten lunch because we figured it would be pretty quick and there would be something to eat in the town along the way. Once again we were wrong... and hungry. The road there was RIDICULOUS. It weaved back and forth over and over and over again. It was beautiful out the windows, but the dirt road didn't have straight aways lasting more than 20 meters. At least we weren't driving.
We arrived at the falls, they were cool but not worth it, then we went back to the hostel. We were talking to some people who had just come from the other side of the road and they told us of a place where you could surf with whales. It sounded tight, so we added it to our agenda for the upcomming couple of days.
We awoke the next morning and headed out to the 12 apostels... continued in part 2.
The Great Ocean Road is magnificent. On one side of the road is an endless view of beaches, cliffs, and rocks along side a beautiful ever expanding blue ocean. On the other side are rolling green grass hills at some parts and Tree covered forresty hills at other parts. We took our time leisurely stopping in a few beach towns and at a couple of points to hike to a waterfall or two. It was a beautiful and equally relaxing way to travel.
On our first day we even came across a Koala Bear up in the trees jumping around so we stopped for a bit to photograph it. We stayed for two nights in Apollo Bay YHA, which is by far the nicest hostel we've stayed in, touched, or even seen. It is only a few years old and has two kitchens, super nice rooms, bathrooms, everything was perfect. Derek and I played a game of Bocci Ball against the other two guys who came on the trip with us (Ian and Ash). Of course we put our powers together to destroy them in back to back games and become the champions of Bocci Ball and $10 apiece richer.
After staying one night we went out in the day for what we were told was a really great hike by some Montanian tennants of the hostel... but after the hour long trek along the beach with no changing scenery we decided these girls had probably only just started there Aussie travels. When we got to the end there was a sign that the Great Ocean Walk was just beginning... we had trekked through the sand for miles only to come to the beginning of the good part. Never listen to American girls (I know, duh right?). We checked out a big pasture splotched with sheep. It was pretty neat. Ian decided to try for a closer look and almost stepped right on this giant snake! Luckily he didn't. We snapped a few pictures and headed back to the hostel.
When we returned we jumped in the car and headed 20 minutes up the road where the ocean and forrest turns into rain forrest. It was awesome! If you've never seen trees covered in fur that are tall enough to where you can't see them anymore you are missing out. We did a little hike, then headed off to Triplet Falls. A tour guide told us how to get there and it sounded like it was about 5 minutes away. So we started off still not having gotten lunch because we figured it would be pretty quick and there would be something to eat in the town along the way. Once again we were wrong... and hungry. The road there was RIDICULOUS. It weaved back and forth over and over and over again. It was beautiful out the windows, but the dirt road didn't have straight aways lasting more than 20 meters. At least we weren't driving.
We arrived at the falls, they were cool but not worth it, then we went back to the hostel. We were talking to some people who had just come from the other side of the road and they told us of a place where you could surf with whales. It sounded tight, so we added it to our agenda for the upcomming couple of days.
We awoke the next morning and headed out to the 12 apostels... continued in part 2.
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