Geological marvels

Mt Gambier to Apollo Bay

We had toast for brekky and set off at around 9am, what a record! It was cool, drizzly with low cloud and a little windy. It was time to quickly explore Blue Lake (a lake in an extinct volcano which for some unexplained reason turns blue in summer and reverts to grey in winter).


The first tour at Tantanoola Caves was set down at 10.15am, which we made with a few minutes to spare, dodging the logging trucks along the way.

Tantanoola Cave is a dolomite cave (there are 2 of this type of cave in Australia, most have limestone formations). It was discovered by a local boy looking for rabbits in 1930. This cave is predominantly one large cavern, although there are narrow passages leading off to other areas which are not open to the public. It’s quite decorative with the added colour from the dolomite giving a warmer glow.



After our little detour, we headed back through Mt Gambier on towards the Victorian border. The kids did the obligatory walk across the border/pose at the border thing, in the drizzle. It was a fortuitous stop as J needed to empty his seemingly small bladder, again.


Then it was on to the Great Ocean Road, one of the world’s scenic drives. Along the way we spied a wind farm through the mist and drizzle.


After passing Warnambool, the coastal scenery comes into play. The area is known locally as the shipwreck coast. There are high cliffs (up to 70 metres) with wild seas (especially during our traverse) and several areas of stone pillars in the ocean. Of course there are many vantage points just off the road, if I had been prepared to brave the wild weather – I decided to take the comfortable way out to stay in the car and hope that we could get close enough without the need for a hike.


There were a couple of places I insisted on braving the elements; Loch Ard Gorge (shown in the movie “Dinosaurs”), where a ship was wrecked in 1878 and all but 2 souls were lost. If it had not been for the gorge, they would not have survived due to the high, inaccessible cliffs and lack of shelter.

We took a short walk to view the Island Arch.


We were fortunate to see it at all at high tide under gale conditions, with massive white water, wind and driving rain. I also managed to kill my first umbrella!

Oh fun! Wet adults, wet kids and a fogged up vehicle!

Next stop was the “Twelve Apostles”. There used to be 12 stone pillar islands in the ocean at this point, although erosion has seen the number reduced over the years. The tallest of these is 45 metres. By the time we arrived it was getting quite late and the light was not good. It was still blowing a gale and raining on and off. We were joined by a few other tourists as silly as we were – we’re here, we’re going to see it!


It was around 5.30pm and virtually dark when we left. Oh joy, driving 100km in the dark with wind, rain coming straight at the windscreen, and running in rivers down the strange road surrounded now by rain forest.

We made it to Apollo Bay and sat down to spaghetti on toast and some preserved peaches as we couldn’t be bothered going out in the lousy weather again.