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.