Great Ocean Road running challenge - Port Campbell to Nirranda

I've reached Port Campbell, some 117 miles into my epic journey.  Port Campbell was settled in the 1870s, and named after Captain Alexander Campbell, a whaler and colonist.  Today it is described as "a colourful and lively seaside village, home to plenty of vibrant shops and galleries to explore, with an atmosphere of a safe haven on the edge of wild nature".  To get here, I've had to run past the Loch Ard Gorge, named after a three-masted clipper built in 1873 (which itself was named after the Scottish lake Loch Ard.)  The ship left for Australia in 1878 with a cargo full of luxury items, reaching the Australian coast after a three month voyage.  Sailing into thick fog, the Captain came in far too close to the coastline, becoming yet another ship to hit the reef and break apart in these waters.  Of the 37 crew and 17 passengers, there were only two survivors (Tom Pearce and Eva Carmichael), alongside a porcelain peacock model that amazingly survived intact ,and is now on display at the Flagstaff Maritime Museum in Warnambool - it is estimated that the model has a value of around AUD$4,000,000. 

Loch Ard Gorge

From this disaster, the gorge gets its name, as the cliffs on each side provide a lookout over the shipwreck site.  From here one can see Mutton Bird Island, which hosts some 12,000 mutton birds through the Australian spring and summer.  a short walk from the gorge is the Tom and Eva lookout, which once looked over the Island Arch limestone rock formation, until its collapse in 2009.  Now only two large pillars remain, which have been appropriately named Tom and Eva.

Beyond Port Campbell, I pass a series of natural rock formations, including London Bridge, a stunning natural promontory which spectacularly collapsed in 1990, leaving a chunk of land isolated in the ocean.  Two unfortunate tourists where on the far side of the land when it collapsed, and had to wait hours for a helicopter rescue.  Juicy rumours then began to circulate in the press that the couple of strandees were actually conducting an affair in this isolated spot, and that the collapse of the land blew their cover in explosive style.  This stretch of coastline is also home to a feature known as The Grotto, a sinkhole, cave and archway rolled into one.  I like the sound of the Grotto - from sea-level, you can look straight through the archway and observe the calm, clear waters of the rock pools, in complete contrast to the crashing ocean waves sitting just behind.

London Bridge

The Grotto

Moving on ever westwards, I run through the fishing and holiday village of Peterborough, before reaching the Bay of Islands, a 20-mile stretch of coastline offering astounding ocean views, where the Southern Ocean has carved spectacular rock stacks and sheltered bays.  Here, I'm in an Aboriginal cultural landscape, where age-old traditions are still practiced, and the community's strong connection to the land and water is maintained.  This part of the coastline is also home to the rare black-faced cormorant, as well as some unusual flora, such as the sun orchid and spider orchid.

The Bay of Islands

I finally crawl into the tiny settlement of Nirranda, a mere 15 miles from my finish line.  In the course of my virtual run, I've achieved a sense of what this stretch of coastline is all about - it speaks loudly of the power of nature and the sheer force of the Southern Ocean, be it through its easy ability to down ships on a whim, or to erode mighty cliffs into dust.  Living here - be you human, plant or animal - requires a certain amount of tenacity, perseverance, and a will to keep going.  In this sense, I feel like this matches my own resolve to run this challenge, to hop upon the treadmill day-after-day, each time chipping off a little piece of my total - it's almost as if the challenge is the Australian coastline, and my trainers are the ocean.  That's certainly my mindset as I head into my last week, knowing that with each passing mile, a mighty chunk of the remaining road falls away.  I've got to complete this run by Saturday 26 June, at which point I'm going to raise a beer and have my own virtual party - see you all in Allansford!