Australia, Great Ocean Road

I have always had a great desire to visit the Great Ocean Road. I am however a little worried today. The Great Ocean Road, which starts in about an hour from Melbourne is the Worlds largest war memorial built by the survivors of the World War I in honor of the Australian soldiers who lost their lives during the war. As you may know, the main battleground for he Australian soldiers in the World War I was Galipoli in Turkey. I hope that I am not drawn into unpleasant discussions during our tour composed of 13 people with me being the only Turkish in the party. We are luckily in agreement with the Australians about the destructiveness of the war and that there are no rights or wrongs in the war. Our tour is more focused on the natural beauty of the Great Ocean Road, which is almost 250 km long, as opposed to the unfortunate events of the past. One of our many spots along the road includes a rain forest visit. At separate stops, we also get to see koalas and kangaroos, which are both species special to Australia. The most famous stop on the road is the 12 Apostles, which even though is home to 8 rocks is named as 12. I learn that this is an intentional choice to link the area to Jesus’ Apostles and increase the tourist attention. My favorite stop along the Great Ocean Road is the Razorback, a rock, which looks like cut with a razor and where you can hear the continuous splash of the ocean waves on the rocks. Our tour takes around 14 hours, which is not surprising given the length of 250 km. 

In addition to day tours, you can also discover the Great Ocean Road by walking if you are not short in time and can devote at least a week to the area. The Great Ocean Walks, even though it is stated that the walk is not as scenic in every section, is a week long trip starting on Apollo Bay and ending at the 12 Apostles where you cover different sections every day and spend the nights at camp grounds.