This morning we were up and organised early as we had to collect the hire car from the other side of town! We had planned on using the free tram to get us there but after waiting for a while at the tram stop, we wondered if we were perhaps too early for it! After checking, we realised that it didn't start until 10am, which is when we had to collect the car! OOPS! So we had a mad dash across town to ensure that we made it on time, and we did....just!
Our little car for the next fer days is Hilda, another Hyundai Getz, red and automatic! We went and collected our stuff from the hostel and set off on our way towards the great ocean road! First stop was in Geelong which was not far along the highway. It was a pretty standard town, as they all are here, and we drove along the esplanade and found some lunch. We didn't stay long before continuing our journey! We stopped in Torquay which is the official start of the great ocean road and is home to many of the big surfing brands. We walked around the cliff top overlooking the beaches but we weren't that impressed, perhaps because we have seen such nice ones on our way down the coast. We also stopped in Anglesea and thought the same! From there we continued on to Aireys Inlet and visited the lighthouse there. Unfortunately the weather changed and became very wet, cold and windy so we didn't last long looking around in our shorts and t-shirts!! There was also the memorial arch for the workers who built the road just outside the town/village.
Next stop was Lorne to see some waterfalls and for some much needed coffee! The falls were reasonably impressive and the walk down to them was nice, even if it was wet! The coffee..did the trick!
Along the drive we stopped at various lookouts to take pics. It didn't strike us being particularly amazing, it seemed very similar to what we had seen in Queensland!
Our stop for the night was in Apollo Bay in an odd and old style hostel! We weren't particularly impressed so its a good job that its only for one night! It was a nice little seaside town so we had to have fish and chips for dinner! They were fresh so very yummy!