Great Ocean Road - Port Campbell to Port Fairy - Day 3

February 24, 2016

We were up early so we could backtrack a few miles to view a few of the 12 Apostles along the coast since it was too late to stop last night.  The Alcove Cafe was our choice for a cup of coffee and breakfast this morning.  The "Flat White" coffee is the drink of our choice and it really hit the spot this morning.  They had a sign up that read "Size does matter, who ever orders a small cup of coffee" and that was very true today.  Coffee refills are not free here but the coffee is strong enough that one cup will do the job.

Flat White coffee

Alcove Cafe

  After breakfast we drove to the Information Center (Tourist Center) to pick up maps of the area.  The center had free wifi available and there were a few people sitting around on their laptops, ipads, etc using the service.  Very few restaurants, coffee houses, etc have free wifi available so these centers are a nice feature.

Port Campbell has a small beach and sheltered harbor along with a few restaurants and cafes.  We drove to a lookout and around the town to see what there was to see there.  Since it is a small place, there wasn't a lot there other than the harbor.

Port Campbell Harbor

Then it was time to backtrack a few miles to the 12 Apostles information center.  There wasn't much there other than a small cafe, souvenir shop and bathrooms.  I had checked on Google Earth the night before for the location of a particular Apostle formation called the Bakers Oven since it wasn't marked on any maps we had.

There was a dual purpose to this visit of the Bakers Oven since it was very beautiful and also a geocache.  I had to answer a number of questions about the size of the cache and also have a picture taken with the GPS and myself in view of the island. (Find 1486)  The small gravel road leading to the area wasn't marked and if you didn't know it was there you pass on by.

Bakers Oven

Bakers Oven

The London Bridge arch collapsed January 1990 while two people were standing on it.  They heard some cracking noise and the section to the left of the picture below collapsed.  They managed to get to the right side and waited 3 hours for a helicopter to arrive and rescue them.  Nothing exciting like that happened while we were there, but that was fine with us.

We saw a number of camper vans decorated like this on our trip.  I think there is a company that rents them since they looked like they were decorated by the same individual.

Bay of Martyrs stacks are at the end of the Apostles stacks near the town of Peterborough which is a small fishing village.  It was a rainy and foggy day when we were there, but there was a beauty to the area all the same.

Bay of Islands

The relentless sea at work

We saw the sign for the entrance to viewing "The Arch" and pulled into the parking lot.  There was a boardwalk leading to the Arch and it turned out to be a long walk down many steps.  It was an easy walk down, but an entirely different story walking back to the car.  We were both winded and thankful we hadn't walked even further down to the sea.  It was worth the walk to enjoy the view of the Arch. though.
 

The Arch

There are many dairy farms in the area as you go inland.  The dairy farms have large herds of milk cows and it looks like a lot of the milk is sent to the Allansford Cheese World.

Cheese World promotes the local dairy industry through offering tastings and sales of award winning cheddar cheeses produced across the road at the Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory.

The business  promotes local gourmet products to the visitors who stop here on their way along the Great Ocean Road. Educational information on the local dairy industry both past and present is offered through a modern cheese making video filmed in the factory and a walk back in time through the local history museum.

The museum houses artifacts, photos and personal items belonging to early local dairy farming families. The factory was first established on this site in 1888 and has continued to grow to become a major contributor to the local economy.

In 2015, the factory collected three major national awards at the Dairy Industry Australia Association Dairy Product Competitions; the coveted Chair Hansen Cup and Trophy which recognizes the highest scoring cheddar cheese and the Tetra Pak Perpetual Trophy for the highest aggregate score for cheddar cheese.

 

We stopped for the free cheese tasting and liked a couple of them but were limited to what we could add by weight since we were flying back.  So we didn't buy any.  It was the end of the lunch hour and we managed to order a couple sandwiches (not very good) and two milkshakes.  (very good).  When was the last time your milkshake was served like this?

We continued on to Port Fairy to get a room for the night.  For a change of pace we got a cottage at a "Caravan Park" (RV Park) and settled in.  It was similar to park models at US RV parks and was nice enough.  Since it was midweek, we were able to get a unit.  We got settled into it and then drove around and scoped out the town. 

Gerry sitting on the porch

We drove downtown looking for a restaurant and wound up at a Chinese restaurant.  The food was pretty good, but not exactly like we are used to.

Oh, yes Gerry kept telling me to keep to the left and then found many signs to point out as we drove along.  It seems that many others have the same problem remembering to keep to the left.

  It was a long day and we saw a lot of beautiful scenery along the Great Ocean Road.  I wish we had more time and the opportunity to take our time and enjoy the sights even more.  

That was our day, how was yours?