With full hearts we bid farewell to our friends in Adelaide, rented a car, and drove along the Great Ocean Road towards Melbourne. This beautiful road is reminiscent of Highway One on the California coast. It similarly hugs the coastline and provides breathtaking views of the ocean and pounding surf.
A particular highlight of the Great Ocean Road is the Twelve Apostles section which is a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of Port Campbell National Park. Each stack is referred to as an ‘apostle’ and eight of the original nine apostles remain. It’s a bit curious how the area came to be referred to as twelve apostles (since there were never twelve limestone stacks), but no one seems particularly bothered about it, and neither were we. It is a breathtaking sight, that’s for sure!
Amidst the many blessings of traveling is the opportunity to visit with dear friends who live far away. While in Melbourne, we were delighted to have dinner and a leisurely evening walk near the river with Janine and Steve Ryan. Janine is a friend from California who fell in love with an Aussie and the rest, as they say, is history.
While in Australia, we took the opportunity to purchase a couple of Aussie hats which will serve as wonderful souvenirs for years to come. On Monday, January 6, we fly to Nelson and head towards the Marlborough wine region on the South Island of New Zealand.