My updates are sort of scattered at this point but after Melbourne we headed out for the Great Ocean Road. The Great Ocean Road is a stretch of coastal highway that runs from the famous surf town of Torquay to Port Campbell on the south coast of Australia.
As we headed south we stopped in Geelong for a day of jet boating and a helicopter ride over Corio Bay. Both activities were super fun and I really enjoyed my first time in a helicopter.
Then we headed to Torquay where the famous Bells Beach surfing spot is located. This beach is engrained in surf history and hosts the longest running surf competition in the world. Unfortunately the day we were there the surf didn’t live up to its massive standards and we missed the big Rip Curl Pro surf competition by about a week- but it was still a cool place to visit. One surfer declared it, “God’s gift to surfers.” And we had a blast acting out the final scene from Point Break (although that was technically filmed in Oregon).
The Great Ocean Road definitely lived up to its name. The winding road twists and turns
around the costal cliffs offering stunning views of the turquoise ocean and large swells. We got to check out the Cape Otway Lighthouse, the oldest operating light station in mainland Australia, and had fun dealing with the extreme heights on the Otway Fly skywalk- the biggest and longest suspended walk in the world. Plus the best part was seeing koalas in eucalyptus trees!!! They have to be one of the cutest animals I have ever seen and all I wanted to do was cuddle one. Although I was informed they aren’t the 
friendliest animals and would probably rip my eyes out if I went up to one… Yikes! We found three sleeping peacefully in a tree as nocturnal animals do during the day but we managed to shake the tree to wake them up. TYPICAL AMERICANS!!! Oh well it was much more fun when they were awake and the little, fluffy, Yoda looking creatures put on a great show climbing around and eating leaves.
Finally we got to Port Campbell and the highlight of the Great Ocean Road- The Twelve Apostles. The 12 Apostles are these freestanding rock formations that stand about 45 meters high. There are actually only 6 apostles left because the sea and erosion have caused half of them to crumble. I also really liked a place called the London Arch, which was formerly known as the London Bridge, but it too fell back in the 90’s and stranded 2 tourists and their car. I thought man that must have sucked but not as bad as if they had been driving out to the lookout point when it came down. They wouldn’t have had a chance!
