Busy busy bee. I went through a lot in work plus a long vacation. Needless to day I didn't have time to edit and write. However I always make time until I finish. Watch out for more!
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Melbourne. It was a very hot summer day. The sky was completely cloudless and the sun's light felt like someone kept slapping my face. So I put my trustee sunblock on to keep the various damaging effects of the sun away hoho.
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| The only sunblock I use. |
I had used various sunblocks before, but after breaking out like a prepubescent kid in high school after using a very bad yet popular sunblock, I am glad I found this. I have been using it since I started working back in 2010 I think. Safe to use on face and body and it really protects you like a concrete wall over the sun.
It was a long trip to where we were going and we really didn't know how to get there so we asked around a gas station.
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| Visitor Information Center. Where asking questions and all the maps are free. |
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| Fruits! |
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| The nice lady giving us direction. |
The information center was very helpful and we were glad to know that talking to them, the map, and the brochures they gave us were free.
Looking at the map it didn't seem far at first but then she gave us timeframes in going there and we really got an idea of how far it was.
We drove for a few hours after the information center and it was high noon when we reached just before the entrance of The Great Ocean Road.
We stopped to explore a nice cove with a lighthouse called Split Point Lighthouse in Anglesea.
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| Split Point Lighthouse on the top left. |
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| The beach right below the lighthouse |
It was high noon. The sun was scorching, the sand burned as we walked barefoot towards the beach and yet the closer we got to the shore, the colder and stronger the wind blew through our bodies. Hot sand but cold air, it was a strange feeling.
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| A couple and their family on the beach. |
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| Friends waiting for me to finish taking pictures :P |
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| Pants folded up, feet on the sand. |
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| Nice view of the beach and the lighthouse. |
The sands of the beach, of course, can not compare to the fineness and whiteness of the sands of Boracay. But the beach was absolutely pristine, the waves were raging, the shore extended as far as the eye could see even beyond the cliffs far into the horizon. And the smell of the air coming from the sea was cool and fresh, reminiscent of the beach my family and I used to go to when I was a kid.
After all the admiring and reminiscing, we proceeded to climb to the lighthouse as all the other tourists did. It looked so near but it was father and higher than it looked...
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| A great view of the Anglesea river delta and the town. |
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| A friend climbing to the lighthouse. |
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| Detour to the Loutit-Bay lookout. |
And then I admired some more...
Going up towards the lighthouse there were amazing views. You could see the town of Anglesea, its river, plus the sea, and where both the sea and river meets - the river delta. Climbing under the blazing sun without an umbrella or hat was totally worth it with those views!
We then took a short detour from climbing to see what was in Loutit-Bay Lookout.
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| The rocky shore viewed from the lookout. |
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| The beautiful turquoise sea and its strong waves. |
At this time I was already really really in awe with all the beauty I saw. I felt very grateful for the moment and was amazed at how beautiful the place was.
After the detour we proceeded to climbing up again towards the lighthouse...
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| Getting ever closer towards the lighthouse. |
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| Sign pointing towards the lighthouse. |
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| Wouldn't you just want to go through this path? |
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| Reached the lighthouse! |
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| View from the lighthouse looking down towards the shore. |
When we reached the lighthouse I just took a picture of it looking from directly below it and then took a picture of what was below it and then we found another path leading towards another lookout...
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| Going down towards another lookout. already an amazing view. |
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| A bunch of people also admiring the views. |
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| A lady taking pictures just like me. |
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| Going down and back to the car. |
After the second lookout we were really hungry already and went back to the car. Still even going back the views did not get old. The place was just gorgeous.
From the car we headed farther into The Great Ocean Road but not before taking a picture of this...
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| Nice |
The sign of The Great Ocean Road was full of tourists, very full. We practically had to wait in line just to take a picture of the sign. Was it worth it? Yes! haha
After the sign we went to a town called Lorne and ate at a restaurant called The Bottle of Milk.
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| The Bottle of Milk Menu. |
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| Took a bite then a picture. |
By the time we got to the restaurant I was hungry enough to forget to take a picture of the food! haha hence the bite on the burger.
It was a very good and famous burger restaurant never running out of customers. They even have their own website. We had to wait for people to finish eating before we could actually get a table to sit down and enjoy our meal!
After Lorne we couldn't get any farther into The Great Ocean Road because we were running out of daylight. So we decided to head back to the city.
We stopped for gas and some refreshments because it was a very long trip, but then I was introduced to this ice cream...
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| The Golden Gaytime |
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| Expensive? It's cheap compared to all the other ice cream on the shop! |
The Golden Gaytime. It was very delicious. Nothing like I have ever tasted before. It had a vanilla ice cream as a core, covered in toffee ice cream, covered in chocolate, covered in cookies! damn!
Overall, the trip was the most amazing I have ever had. Looking back, thinking of all that I saw going to and being in just a small part of The Great Ocean Road, I thought of how many more truly beautiful places there are in the world and in Australia and how I would love to see and experience them all.
It was a challenge taking pictures in a place where the sun was the brightest I have ever seen but it was a learning experience especially with such a beautiful place.
There are many places in the world that advertise themselves as being the best or the "creme de la creme" but for a road trip adventure, The Great Ocean Road is truly one of the true best. It renewed my love of the world. It completely fed the wanderlust that consumes me.
An unforgettable and beautiful experience I will never forget.
Until my next trip, Goodbye!
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A very special thank you to Tricia Nicolas Kapunan and Maybelline de Guzman without whom this trip would not have been possible.
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