First we will start with a gallery.

Disclaimer: I apologize for typos. After a very long day, we have just arrived to our hotel and I’m trying to get my thoughts out before I pass out.

We awoke to our last day in Melbourne this morning and packed up our things. I was sad to see this room go. It had been a great apartment and space for us for the past six nights. Especially for me when I needed to heal up from my illness. Jacob said he was ready to get started on the next leg of our journey and that he felt we had done a good job of seeing the sights of Melbourne.

We checked out of the hotel and we were on the road again. The lanes were narrow and there were lots of trucks so it was kind of stressful (for me), but we made it safely along. A short time later we stopped and got gas and snacks before getting back on our way.

Today we drove The Great Ocean Road. This 243 kilometer stretch of road runs along the south-eastern coast of Australia and is known for spectacular views.

We had picked out a few of the places we’d like to see and decided to take our time and stop at any of the scenic viewpoints we wanted.

Right away there were amazing views, the road was right along the water and you could see the ocean stretch for miles along brown rocky cliffs.

We first stopped at the Split Point Lighthouse in Aireys Inlet. We walked a dirt road up to the lighthouse and took a few photos from the viewpoint. It was quite warm already and the sun was shining.

We headed back to the car and on to the next destination. We passed through Lorne, which was a very busy little town. Tourists were everywhere. We decided to continue on a bit and planned to stop at Apollo Bay for lunch.

We pulled over a few times and took some photos of the scenery along the way.

In Apollo Bay we stopped at the Scorched Grill. Jacob got a burger and I got a chicken sandwich. The food was delicious and the cashier was a character. He was loud and boisterous and greeted us, g’day! After we ate we walked around the trails for a little bit and then headed back to the car.

Our next stop was the Cape Otway Lighthouse. We had read this was a must-see stop. Jacob turned off the main road and on to a twisting and narrow road. He had to hug the side of the road to let other cars by. Each side of the road was canopied by eucalyptus trees and there were signs to watch for koalas. Not far in we started to see them way high up in the trees napping. The further we got, we saw more people pulled over looking at the koalas. We stopped and snapped some photos too.

When we got to the end of the road and found the parking lot for the lighthouse we stopped and decided to walk to the viewpoint. We were both a little disappointed. We didn’t know the view would be from so far away. Otherwise, you have to pay $20 each to go up the lighthouse or get near it. This lighthouse is significant because it is the oldest one in Australia still in operation.

After that slight disappointment and after swatting many bugs from our eyes, we got back in car to drive the 12 twisty, narrow kilometers back to the main road. On the way, we saw more people out looking at koalas so we got out of the car and looked too. I’m so glad we did! We saw multiple koalas, a few taking naps, but we also saw one actively climbing and eating leaves. It was so cool to be so close and to see this with our own eyes!

From there we knew how to spot them so we kept seeing a koala here or there the rest of the drive.

Our last few stops along the road included the Gibson Steps, The 12 Apostles, The Arch and London Bridge. You can see photos of these above. Each location we were completely swarmed with bugs. They kept flying in our eyes, mouths and noses. It was also close to 90 degrees, so the flies loved that even more. We both felt we would have enjoyed the views quite a bit more if we’d not been hydrating the entire fly population.

The views were amazing, don’t get me wrong – totally worth it. And the crowds weren’t bad either.

By this point Jacob had asked, does check-in close at the hotel? I hadn’t thought of that so I called them. Well… check-in closed at 9 and we were almost 3 hours away still.

We made sure to see all the sights we wanted to along the Great Ocean Road before hightailing it toward Mount Gambier. Our eta when we started was 8:58 p.m. The hotel said they could make accommodations if we were late, but we really wanted to try and get there on time!

It was a race against the clock. Our cell reception kept cutting out so we didn’t know our exact ETA and we couldn’t call the hotel. The sun started to set and we started to see signs warning us to watch for kangaroos.

All of a sudden Jacob yelled, “roo!” and I said, “what!?” He said there was a kangaroo off the left in the brush and it hopped away! After that we started seeing them all over the place. It was so cool, but also terrifying because Jacob was speeding and we didn’t want to hit any of them. We saw a family of 5-6 off the side of the road, we saw a few individual kangaroos just watching cars go by and later we saw another group of three. I tried to get pictures but it was too dark and we were going too fast. Maybe we can spot more tomorrow!

With just 15 minutes to 9 p.m. I got enough cell service to call the hotel and let them know we’d be there soon. We arrived at 9:02 p.m. It is late and I’m ready for bed.

Tomorrow breakfast and then Adelaide.

Until then!