Farewell Great Ocean Road - Hello Roly Poly Rob

Although the weather we've experienced on the southern coast has been pretty average, we've been lucky in that most of the rain has occurred overnight, allowing us to enjoy our travels during the day.  Last night was no exception.  The rain bucketed down and the wind buffeted our little van while we were all tucked up inside, warm and snuggly with the heater blasting.  Yup, we had power!  Power and shower sites tend to become quite a luxury after a few days and nights of bush camping!  And our $10 electric heater has paid for itself ten times over already!

Despite another late night we were packed up and on the road by 9.30am.  Must be some kind of a record for us of late.  Our first stop was Loch Ard Gorge, just a few kilometres further along the Great Ocean Road.  Loch Ard Gorge was named after the clipper Loch Ard, wrecked here in 1878.

There are some great walks on offer here, but it didn't take long for us to realise, after leaving the warmth of the car, that these walks were going to have to be brisk.  It was FREEZING outside!

Jarrah trying to rug up!



Our first walk was to Thunder Cave. 

It was once again a breathtaking experience to see the rugged power of Mother Nature, but at the same time quite nerve wracking to be so close to such a sheer drop into the icy waters of the Southern Ocean, with three bouncy, inquisitive young boys in tow.  We got out of there quick smart.

Next stop was the site of the Loch Ard Wreck.  This is a great shipwreck tragedy and the story goes something like this...

On the night of 31 May 1878 the passengers aboard the Loch Ard were holding an end-of-voyage party. They had left the Port of London on 2 March and had spent a long ninety days at sea. They expected to arrive in Melbourne the next day.  

It was misty and visibility was poor. Captain Gibb was anxious.  At midnight 18-year-old Eva Carmichael and her sister Raby went up on deck to strain through the mist for a glimpse of land, but could see nothing. They rejoined their parents and four younger sisters and brothers, who had retired for the night.  

Just after 4 a.m. the haze lifted and the crew saw the tall, pale cliffs of the Victorian coast less than 2 kilometres away. Captain Gibb tried desperately to turn about but there was not enough space to maneuver so large a sailing ship, particularly with the wind and current against her.
 
There was pandemonium as the thirty-six- man crew struggled to launch the lifeboat, the passengers screamed in terror and the ship disintegrated. Eva was swept into the sea by a huge wave. She could not swim and clung fiercely to a piece of broken mast.  For four hours she held on.  

At the entrance to a long, narrow gorge, Eva’s mast jammed against some rocks. She saw a figure on the distant beach and screamed for help.  It was Tom Pearce, a young apprentice seaman. Tom was badly bruised and cut by wreckage, and it took him an hour to swim out to Eva and pull her ashore.  Tom took Eva to a cave on the beach and, finding a case of brandy, broke the bottle and made her swallow some.   After a rest, Tom climbed the cliffs and raised the alarm.

The wreck of the Loch Ard caused a sensation.  Of the 54 people on board, Tom and Eva were the only survivors. Tom was eventually presented with a medal by the Humane Society. The couple were the subject of intense public interest and romantic speculation, but Eva returned to her extended family in Ireland and Tom went back to sea. They never saw each other again.  

Very few bodies were recovered from the wreck. A sad but impressive funeral was held on the cliff top above the gorge.

Loch Ard Wreck site

The sheltered beach with the gorge in the background

The Loch Ard Gorge is one of twenty-five wreck sites on the Historic Shipwreck Trail between Princetown and Port Campbell.  We descended the jarrah steps to the beach 20 metres below, and with the cliffs towering above us, it was hard not to imagine how wild and dangerous it would be here during a storm.

 The cave where Tom and Eva sheltered

Much of the remainder of the day was a spent marvelling at any number of incredible vantage points along the GOR.

London Bridge

 

On the evening of 15 January 1990 the main arch connecting London Bridge to the mainland cracked and fell into the sea.  Fortunately nobody was injured.  There were two people, however, temporarily marooned on the new island until help arrived a couple of hours later!

The Grotto

 

Bay of Islands

 

Cheese World

Ok so this isn't a GOR lookout but having missed lunch, we were all ravenous.  Cheese World was a disappointment but all the Cs did the trick (coffee, cheese, chips) and we were soon back on the road once more.

After a short stop at Warrnambool for restocking of all the foods that didn't start with 'c', we drove the final kilometres of the day into the small rural town of Yambuk.

Yambuk Historic Inn

 

We received the warmest welcome from Roly Poly Rob the Publican and couldn't resist his invitation to dinner

Gotta love country pub grub!