After a night in “Sounds of the Sea” B&B, I’m ready to make them my primary form of accomodation. What’s not to like about lazily rising at 10 to find a full breakfast magically appearing as soon you step out the door?

After dining, I set off once again. As I was about to pass yet another brown sign, I remembered someone saying that not all of the Twelve Apostles could be seen from “terra firma.” I decided to pull in.

That sign read SCENIC HELICOPTER RIDES 300m.

Strapped in, helmet on, mic positioned, I was ready to talk to my fellow passengers — and the pilot, who first took us for a different perspective on London Bridge:

…and then told us that when the “bridge” portion collapsed in 1990, it stranded a couple on the new island. Hours later, a park service helicopter rescued the pair but not — the pilot claims — before TV helicopters broadcast their faces to a viewing audience that included their respective spouses. Whoops.

Then we moved on down the coast:

In that last one in particular, you can see a grey stripe jogging roughly parallel to the ocean’s edge. That, folks, is the Great Ocean Road — which after landing, I rejoined in the Falcon to see some of these sights from ground level:

This included, of course, the Twelve Apostles group itself, which is the second-most photographed attraction in Australia. (You can guess the first.) There are actually 16 formations, making the name a bit of a misnomer. However, it was probably chosen not for its accuracy, but for its comparative dignity when compared to the original “Sow and Her Pigs.”

This entry was posted on Monday, November 24th, 2003 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Travel.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.