The Long and Winding Road

Memorial Arch, Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Those of you who know me well, know how paranoid I am about time and how terrible I am at timekeeping! The train I intended catching for Geelong was at 7:37. I set my alarm for 6am figuring that would be enough time for me to get up, showered, dressed and checked out by seven, at which point I would make the call about whether or not to catch a cab to Southern Cross Station, or just walk the 20 min route. As it turned out, I woke up at 5:15 and decided just to get myself out early. Wandering along the mostly deserted Southbank quayside I was tempted to get the camera out and shoot some of the pre-dawn lights. I was halfway along the front when I realised what had been niggling at the back of my mind. Music was being piped through the tan joys for the early morning joggers, power walkers and commuters. It was a nice touch... I arrived at SCS by 6:20 and was able to catch the 6:47 off peak service to South Geelong, two trains before my intended travelling time! ;-) Still, that gives me a whole hour to get lost to the Avis pick up.

As you leave the city and suburbs of Melbourne behind though, the yellow tipped grasses and deep red soil more commonly associated with the country becomes more evident. You also begin to get an understanding of how big the place is. Vast swathes of open flat ground lets you see for miles in all directions. The odd house or outbuilding dots the land but its the trees that dominate the three dimensional landscape, marking out the paddocks where the sheep, cattle and horses graze.

Some things are constant in the world, it would seem. Just as the train pulled into Geelong station the conductor announced that there would be a delay in getting to South Geelong due to a points failure. Doh! I popped into the station at GS to see if they had a map or information on how to get to Avis. Had the train not been delayed I would just have walked it but as it was, I only arrived a few minutes before I would have had I got the later service. When I asked the guy behind the desk hadn't even heard of the road I wanted to go to. Heh, he looked it up in the yellow pages and it was just on the bottom of the page. He advised a taxi. I agreed.

Picking up the car, I started on my way. First stop was Coles and K-Mart to pick up supplies. Then I was off. First to Queenscliff and then Point Lonsdale for the first two subjects in what was intended to be my mini mono project. You know, to compensate for all these wonderful blue sky, sunny days! ;-) Hahaha... To be fair, the sun did come out for a while when I was at Point Lonsdale (and also later at Split Point) and the shots of the lighthouses with the blue sky and white clouds will be nice in colour I'm sure, if I go that way with them. So far though, they are the best bets for any colour shots! How ironic! ;-)

Weather wise it was a mixed day. Mostly cloudy with a few torrential showers interspersed with some sunny periods. Typical Victoria. As I type (on Tuesday morning) it's light out but wet underfoot. More rain is forecast for today.

I stopped off at Torquay and Bells Beach on the way down the road to watch the surfers do their thing and got a few long shots from the headland. Then it was off down the GOR. The road was built by some 3000 returning servicemen to commemorate the casualties of the First World War. It was completed in 1932. The arch is actually the third to stand at this spot. The first was demolished as it was thought to represent a traffic hazard while the second was lost during a period of bush fires in 1970. The council only agreed to rebuild in 1983 after sustained local pressure. The sign is however is still the original. The 75th anniversary saw this statue commemorating the returning servicemen erected alongside the arch.

The road itself is amazing. Photographically, it can be very frustrating, especially at the start of the winding climb since a lot of the views are restricted by trees. It is the sort of thing you really need to do with someone riding shotgun. Driving solo requires a certain amount of concentration and I missed a few stops early on that would have provided some wonderful images. It was also getting dark by the time I got to the most interesting section of the road. A curse and a blessing. At least I didn't need to kick myself about missing lots of shots. I got a couple though, so hopefully there will be one that can represent my trip along this historical road. As a drive, it is sublime. Tight and twisty, up and down, it's a great wee adventure. Heh, in places its almost like playing Gran Turismo... in cheat mode! Almost every bend has a sign for suggested speed and the tightness and direction of bend. It's a very pleasant drive though, even in the dark. I loved it.

I arrived at my destination, Apollo Bay at around 7pm and was advised that I should really go out for dinner as soon as possible. It seems the town shuts down at 9:30! That was fine by me. It had been a long day and the wifi was free, so a meal and then back to the room to post and do a little catch up was perfect. Except Mother Nature had different plans! No sooner had my head hit the pillow and I started to have a look at my shots than...

I guess I was tired! :-) So no post last night and, I'm sorry to say, just the briefest of glances through your journals. Oh, and on day 4 I already had to sneak in the day 5-6 SD card. I think more supplies will be required at some point! ;-)

J, the compilation disks rock, btw! The first two were on through the day. Disk 3 gets its airing this morning. Thanks a lot for them! :-)

On another note, I'm really impressed with the accuracy of the GPS markers for the shots I've posted since arriving. I decided before I left to get a receiver and I've been shooting with it all the time. Heh, figured it would mean I didn't need to try and keep track of where everything was! :-)

Right, I'm off for a wee wander before starting my day on the road again.