In the Land of Oz

Weekend Highlights

I had an incredibly busy weekend without any internet access to blog, but here are the highlights:

On Saturday morning, I attempted to learn to surf at Anglesea Beach with the rest of my class. Fortunately for me, the water was very calm, eliminating the possibility that I would injure myself or someone around me with my complete lack of aquatic coordination.

I spent the afternoon soaking up a little sun at Torquay Beach. There was a light shower, which is somewhat unusual in Victoria this time of year, and then I saw the most breath-taking and beautiful rainbow arching over the beach while the sun set.

On Sunday morning, I traveled down the Great Ocean Road, the world’s largest war memorial, which was built for those who died during World War I.

Because of its popularity as a tourist destination and its many twists and turns, there were numerous signs like the one to the left, alerting visitors that Australians drive on the left-hand side of the road.

We stopped along the way at the Kennett River Koala Walk to see, what else, koalas. Even though they sleep for twenty hours a day, one koala came down to the lowest branches of its tree and was kind enough to pose for photographs.

Our next stop was Maits Rest Rainforest Walk to observe the different vegetation of one of Australia’s many ecosystems.

In the afternoon, I saw the Twelve Apostles, a collection of limestone rock stacks formed by erosion.

Originally known as the Sow and Piglets, the name was changed to attract tourists, even though there are less than twelve formations.

The last stop of the day was Loch Ard Gorge. The formation is named after a ship which ran aground on June 1, 1878. Out of the 51 people on board, there were only two survivors, named Tom Pearce and Eva Carmichael. Both were 18 years old at the time. Tom washed ashore, heard Eva’s cries for help, rescued her, found help nearby, and never saw Eva again.