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The Great Ocean Road is a beautiful drive along the coast of Australia, passing through some absolutely beautiful bays and views of that bright blue water.
* We stopped for a few minutes here and there at some rather famous surfing areas, though the weather was quite changeable and not many surfers were around. Still, the view was spectacular.
Among the great water views, we did make a quick stop in a little bay area that was infested with these beautiful, brightly colored birds.
If you paid a few dollars for some birdseed, these bright little creatures showed no fear and were quick to jump into your hand, or on your head and shoulders. In my case, one landed on my umbrella.
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Pretty fantastic, and of course the pictures just don't seem to do it justice. Yes, those ferns are much bigger than my 6ft tall.
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By now, the day tour is only about half over. The highlight of the Great Ocean Road is the natural formation called the 12 Apostles. At this point, there are only about 8 actually standing, but these natural forming rocks are pretty incredible and fun to see. The water is very choppy, and the wind never ceases to blow, so it's easy to see how these formations can appear as often as they do along the coast. This area is also fairly famous for being the cause of a lot of shipwrecks.
It was here that we took a helicopter ride over the coast. Do you hate me yet? It was fantastic! The not so fun part was the very attractive Australian man who had to take our weight before we could get on. Not feeling great about myself having just eaten a really meaty sandwich in this moment. What can you do?
It was only about a 15 minute ride from take off to landing, but oh so much fun. Each helicopter fit about 6 people plus the pilot, and they had about 3 helicopters running. If I every strike it rich, a helicopter will go on my must have list.
From here, we hit one more beautiful and treacherous bay called Loch Ard Gorge. A ship wrecked here leaving only 2 survivors. A very tragic and dangerous part of the ocean.
It was also here, that one of my awesomely bad movies was filmed. The movie name is The Pirate Movie. Not only was it filmed in this little cove, but it also had a musical dancing number with umbrellas.
I happened to have an umbrella with me. I couldn't resist doing a few poses. I felt like an idiot the entire time, but I knew I'd regret it if I didn't. I'm a true nerd at heart. What makes me feel better is knowing that if a certain person or two had been there with me, they would have been doing the same thing with me. That's a true friend.
One last stop to one more bay and our long day along the coast was at an end. Frolicking along the coast sure does get exhausting.
