I have been to Great Ocean Road & 12 Apostles with my friends last year in December, 2011. We were going on a road trip. We hit the road for a day of driving to see the 12 Apostles along the Great Ocean Road. It was a very long day trip down and back from Melbourne to the destination. We depart from Melbourne by 6 a.m. early in the morning to avoid the traffic congestion as we decided to go during weekdays. The drive from Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road takes about 8 hours. It was the longest road trip that I have ever been which it took approximately 7 or 8 hours round trip, depending on how long you would stop in every spot. It was a very scenic drive in Victoria, Australia. There are actually quite a number of sightseeing spots that you might be interested to stop by such as London Bridge, The Grotto, Loch Ard Gorge etc.
The Great Ocean Road is a 243 km stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warnambul. The road was constructed to provide work for returning soldiers and dedicated as a Memorial to those killed in the First World War. It is one of Australia's great scenic coastline drives. The Twelve Apostles are a collection of limestone stacks off the shore in the Port Campbell National Park. Their closeness to one another has made the site a popular tourist attraction. Originally the site used to be called The Sow and Piglets until the name was changed in the 1950s to the more impressive "The Twelve Apostles" to lure more visitors.
After few hours of driving, three and a half hour to be exact, we stopped at our most-awaiting destination, 12 Apostles. It was a beautiful drive along the Great Ocean Road. The wind was really strong that day and it became even colder. In this moment, I can't wait to expose to sunlight to get some warm. We climbed up the mountain and reached the cliff top. Standing at the edge of the cliff, we could see the waves below. Due to the too much water crashing into the limestone, The Twelve Apostles can form an arch on the rock. They are giant rock stacks that rise majestically from the Southern Ocean. The Twelve Apostles are the remnants from constant erosion of the limestone cliffs of the mainland that began 10-20 million years ago.
The 12 Apostles are spectacular and well worth a visit. I feel so lucky to have seen The Twelve Apostles. However, there are no longer 12 Apostles. There are only 8 Apostles left now and still standing following the fall of one of the big ones in 2005. Few of the Apostles collapsed few years back due to erosion. They are being eroded continually. Some of the Apostles have been eroded and collapsed into the ocean. Still worth seeing though. Despite the almost 8 hours driving of 1 hour of actually viewing, it was so incredibly worth it.
References:
History and Heritage, Great Ocean Road. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.visitvictoria.com/Regions/Great-Ocean-Road/Activities-and-attractions/History-and-heritage.aspx
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