A fairly late start had us ready to hike at 08:00. Our mission was a 4km return trail to The Pinnacle, one of the many summits in the Grampians. This took us first through the Grand Canyon, and then up through a cool and narrow 'tunnel' to the top. The summit was rocky and breezy, with views over the bush and of a man made lake in the distance. Once back down, we headed straight for the award-winning cultural centre, to learn a little more about aboriginal culture. Here we heard some locals playing the digeridoo too.
Lunch was had at Tower Hill - actually a 4 km diameter volcanic crater. Our lunch spot was pretty parkland with the luxury of a BBQ, which we used to cook sausages on. The park also boasted plenty of Emus, who were very interested in our BBQ. So much so that one of them managed to grab one for itself, straight of the hot plate! As I'd had my fill of sausages by then, I found this pretty funny. The best way to get rid of the emus was apparently to raise your hands in the air and run after them. I thought our guide was telling us this in order for us to look as stupid as possible, but it actually did seem the most effective way to get rid of them!
On the way to the loo I was excited to see a Koala. It looked very cuddly indeed, with grey fur and a really sweet face. Koalas have been known to slash open humans before - so however cuddly the look, don't cuddle one...
After lunch, we finally reached the ocean! Martyrs Bay was our first chance to stop and have a real look at the coastline, which boasted stunning cliffs, empty (closed) golden beaches and a rough but blue sea. The Grotto was next - a hole formed in a stack, giving a beautiful 'window' type view to the ocean and sky beyond. London Bridge was slightly different in character, formed from the water eroding through a cave in a longer stack, giving a bridge-type look.
We spent more time at Loch Ard Gorge. Many years ago, a ship was wrecked there, and two survivors managed to clamber their way out of this vast but spectacular gorge. I suppose it must have looked different in their day, but it would still have been quite a feat!
The Twelve Apostles are one of the main draws of the Great Ocean Road, and are a line of eight stacks of rock. There were originally nine stacks (odd, I would have thought from the name that there would be twelve!), but one collapsed into the sea a few years ago. We got a good view of the stacks from the lookout, before descending Gibsons steps to the beach to watch a cloudless sunset behind the most eastern apostle.
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