[G'day again! Sorry to have gone off the air for a while, but between small towns and long trains, we've been starved of internet access lately. Here's the next batch to keep everyone going while we get typing and get the entries up to date.]

We spent a couple of nights at Apollo Bay, which is located approximately half-way along the Great Ocean Road. The Great Ocean Road mainly hugs the coastline to the east of Apollo Bay, whereas heading westwards out of town it dips inland for a while as it snakes through the Great Otway National Park area. We thought it was nice to see some of the inland region too and enjoyed the change of scenery, driving through the bushland and stands of gum trees.

Apollo Bay itself is a smallish town with nice sandy beaches. There are several places to stay, but we decided on a newish motel – The Sandpiper – on the outskirts of town. It had been open for less than a year and offered decent sized rooms, free internet access via one terminal in the reception area and free laundry facilities. When you are on the road as long as we are, free laundry facilities are a big bonus! The town also houses several eating establishments. We particularly enjoyed the food at The Bay Leaf, a predominantly vegetarian place. If anyone is heading in this direction, we can recommend sharing a few of their ’small plates’ for a hearty evening meal.

We had a busy couple of days in the area. On the advice of a local, we took the walk to Marriner’s Lookout, which gave views across the town and out across the bay towards Cape Otway. The walk was a little steep in places, but it was also relatively short and so it wasn’t too much like hard work. The views from the top made it well worth the effort.

The Otway Fly Tree Top Walk – a steep canopy approximately 25 metres above the forest floor – was a must. The walkway itself is a 600 metre loop and also includes a spiral tower (height 47 metres and approximately 100 steps) and a cantilever section at 33 metres high. The owners reassuringly tell you that the cantilever is designed to hold 28 tonnes, equivalent to the weight of 14 elephants, though it did seem to sway a little with just us on it! We didn’t actually see any elephants, but did spot our first wild echidna on the trail out to the raised walkway.

We learned that there are only three of these forest walkways in the world – all of them in Australia. We now only have to return to Tasmania at some point to complete the set! (We did the Valley of the Giants walk in Western Australia on a previous trip).

Following the advice of our guidebook which described this as ‘compulsory’, we took the diversion from the Great Ocean Road towards Cape Otway. Almost immediately there was a yellow sign on the side of the road warning us to keep an eye out for cows, birds, koalas and kangaroos. Not long after, we were forced to stop the car by a koala crossing the road! As these animals are usually fairly lethargic, it was quite something to see one moving so far. Once it had crossed over the narrow road (stopping to gather its thoughts for a while half-way), it hopped up into a tree for a well-earned rest. It probably slept the remainder of the day to make up for it.

The Cape Otway Lighthouse stands on the headland of Cape Otway. This lighthouse, the oldest on mainland Australia, was built in 1848 and illuminates the treacherous strait of water between Cape Otway and King Island. This is the point at which the Southern Ocean meets Bass Strait, the coastline is rugged and the sea is pretty wild in all weathers. As well as the lighthouse, there’s a restored telegraph station and the remnants of a World War II radar bunker on the grounds. Even though it was a hot and sunny day, the winds were very strong up on the headland. It must be pretty bleak on a stormy day or night.

Apollo Bay is also the starting point of the Great Ocean Walk, which takes approximately a week to complete. We didn’t have time to even attempt a short part of this, but it’s good to leave something undone to give us a reason to return.