Port Campbell - Apollo Bay

April 13, 2017

Here is another short review of my trip during the Mid Semester Break:

Since we were near the Twelve Apostles, we headed to the lookout early in the morning. We got to witness and enjoy a beautiful sunrise despite being tired.

It was a bit unusual to see so many tourists. Until now, we had been lucky that our destinations were not crowded, allowing us to fully enjoy the beauty. So, we shared the view with about 20-30 tourists - unusual, but it didn't bother us.

After sunrise, we returned to the hostel, had a peaceful breakfast, and quickly checked out before continuing the journey. Our next stop was 'The London Bridge', which is no longer a bridge but still beautiful to see. Honestly, all the rock formations reminded me a bit of Portugal, where I went on vacation last September. At least there were some similarities in the cliffs and the color of the sand.

We then went to the Arch, another viewpoint of a rock formation. Not easy to describe :) but you can see it in the pictures.

Another lookout was the Thunder Cave - a cave with access to the sea. The name originates from the similar sound that the waves inside the cave create. And indeed - standing at the observation platform and watching the waves crash into the cave, it sounds like thunder. At least it's a name that makes sense :D

A little further from the lookout, we went to the Sherbrooke River. It was a spontaneous decision to go there since it was quite a walk from the Thunder Cave. However, two tourists strongly recommended going there. Thank goodness :) A small hiking trail led through the greenery, and we reached a kind of beach. On our left was the open sea with strong waves, and on our right was a small river fed by the seawater, leading to a lake. We took the path to the left and reached a huge bay from which we could see the sea and the waves. It was impressive to see the waves break along the coast and how massive amounts of water piled up. Here, we could also get an idea and partly even experience how far the water can reach/flood the coastal area. We then discovered that the supposed lake was just another bay with access to the sea. Incredible how the masses shape the landscape.

After the lookouts, we continued to our next stop - the Treetop Walk. We had to pay $21.50 for admission. So, I was curious about what exactly awaited us. The path led us through the rainforest to a kind of bridge. From here, the Treetop Walk started. On the metal bridge, we gradually went higher and higher around various corners. We had a nice view of the huge trees - and huge is not even an expression. The trees grew very straight, had a light trunk, and only a few branches. Everything was green, and every branch was at the top or quite high up. Following the recommendation of the staff, we searched for koalas in the trees but couldn't spot any. Slowly, we became aware of how high we had come. We could not only see it but also feel it. The metal structure was shaking and bending with each step of the tourists. I started to feel quite queasy, even though I was sure that the facility is regularly inspected... There was a small tower, which Selina aptly compared to Rapunzel. Climbing up this tower was really fun. The spiral staircase was too narrow for two people to walk side by side properly, and the shaking didn't decrease. I was a little afraid of losing my phone, so there is only one photo at this point, which hopefully can illustrate the height. My GoPro was in charge of making the videos, which hopefully turned out well.

At the end of the Treetop Walk, which was a little adrenaline experience, we drove to Apollo Bay and checked into our hostel. Another exciting day had come to an end.