In between becoming a new dad, I've been getting on with my running challenge, even though I've not been able to blog as frequently as possible. I've been moving on though, heading ever west towards my final destination, the town of Allansford.
Fifty-six miles into my route, I arrive at Apollo Bay, a town surrounded by rainforest plateau and rugged coastline. This part of Australia tells a dark tale of the Gadubanud Tribe, indigenous people who were wiped out in the late 1800s, with the arrival of white settlers. The story goes that a surveyor, George D Smythe, led an expedition into Gadubanud territory, in order to arrest a warrior called Meenee Meenee (the only Gadubanud person named in documentary sources), who was wanted for killing one of Smythe's men, James Conroy. Smythe's expedition included members of the Wathaurung people, and when the party came across Gadubanud people at the mouth of the Aire River, they massacred them with guns and tomahawks, in what became known as the Blanket Bay Massacre. Further attacks followed, with the consequence that the Gadubanud were completely destroyed.
The whole of the Great Ocean Road is a shipwreck-spotter's paradise, and Apollo Bay is no different. Here lies the wreck of the SS Casino, sunk in 1932 as it approached the town's pier in heavy swells. The boat struck the seabed several times in trying to reach the pier, before the Captain attempted to beach the ship as a last resort. At this moment, the ship tilted and capsized. Locals scrabbled to help the stricken vessel, including a heroic farmer who rode his horse into the surf, but in reality they could do little to help those on board. Ten of the 17-strong crew perished, and it was later discovered that the ship anchor's fluke had pierced the hull, causing the ship to sink. The wreck is now a diving site, and part of the Underwater Discovery Trail.
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| The SS Casino |
Moving on from Apollo Bay, about 13 miles west I hit the most southerly point of the trail, punctuated by the glorious Cape Otway Lighthouse. Known as "the Beacon of Hope," Cape Otway was the second lighthouse ever built on mainland Australia, and is Victoria's oldest working lighthouse. Since its decommission in 1994, the light has been replaced with low-powered solar bulbs, emitting three white flashes every 18 seconds. Nowadays, it's a popular vantage point for whale watching during the winter months, as migrating whales swim very close to the shore here. In addition to a stunning lighthouse, the road here gives way to the Otway Ranges, now part of the Great Otway National Park, which stretches from Torquay to Princetown (sounds a bit like Dartmoor, right?) The Ranges are known for their diverse landscape, with tall forests, fern gullies, waterfalls, lakes and rainforest. Around 106 million years ago, the coastline here was part of the Antarctic Circle, and home to the unique Leaellynasaura and Timimus dinosaurs. Nowadays it's home to kangaroos, echidnas, platypus and koala.
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| Cape Otway lighthouse |
Clocking off another 30-odd miles, I arrive in the town of Princetown, and the opportunity to see one of the great natural wonders of Australia, the 12 Apostles. These magnificent limestone stacks were formed by twenty million years of erosion, separated from the mainlaind by the slow, steady work of the Southern Ocean. The 12 Apostles were originally named The Sow and Piglets by British explorer George Bass in 1798, but were renamed in 1922 as the 12 Apostles, even though there were only nine stacks. Two of these have since collapsed, and it is expected that eventually all will be lost to the ocean, although new ones will be expected to form. It's a reminder that the coastline here is an ever-evolving feature.
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| The 12 Apostles |
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