Monday, June 8, 2009

MY WORLD ~ 29 The Twelve Apostles

To see the bigger picture, just click on it!



When travelling between Adelaide and Melbourne
there are two main alternatives. You can either go
some 700km by the direct route along the Duke's
and Western highways or take the much longer and
slower but more scenic route along the coast. This, even
when pushing along, takes three full days and if you
wish to explore a little more, a good week.

These photos were taken near Port Campbell in
Victoria along The Great Ocean Road, in an area famous for
its sandstone coast sculpted by the sea into freestanding
columns, bridges, caves, blowholes and grottos.
In one bay stand the Twelve Apostles.



We unfortunately had a rather dreary, overcast day
that was not ideal for photography. Even so, the
scenery was quite impressive.



The wear and tear on the coastline in the last twenty
years has been so dramatic that some of the landmarks
were quite confusing...are these part of the Apostles or not?



Even London bridge, which was a large arch across the
gap, has gone leaving but a remnant like the famed
bridge at Avignon.
The story goes that, although there were warning signs
that the bridge was unsafe to walk upon, some bright spark
landed a helicopter on its most vulnerable part and oops...
that was the end of the bridge. If the story is true, I hope
he had not switched off the engine yet!



The whole coast is littered with shipwrecks, blowholes
erupting quite startlingly out of the depths far enough
from the sea so you can't see it, as well as many caves
and this delightful grotto with a view.
Someday I hope we will find the time to go back again
with my present camera and a lot more time.

For now, leave me a sign of life and click on the Logo
to see a great deal more of the world.

To Klaus and the team, hats off for providing this meme.

61 comments:

Jedediah said...

Those are impressive photos, the last one is my favourite. I had actually heard about the London Arch before and from what I've read, it collapsed on its own, but trapped two tourists on the far end who then had to be rescued by helicopter.

Maria said...

What a wonderful coast! Your pictures are so beautiful, despite the weather!
Thank you for sharing!
Mr Linky is lazy again today :)

Dale Forbes said...

aaah, now I know why I recognize that one beach. took a few moments. but British Airways had an ad a few years ago set on that beach with tons of "extras" and those wonderful rock structures in the background.

wonderful images!

Dale

btw, thank you for visiting and commenting on my blog

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Those are amazing pictures.This would be a great place to see in person.Thanks for sharing just a little part of your world.

Esther Garvi said...

Wow, what a place! When you mentioned a seven week tour, I was smiling big time. Seven days of discovery! Mmmmmm!! :-)

SandyCarlson said...

All of these are marvelous, but the last one takes my breath away.

Pam said...

Nature sure has a wonderful way of creating magnificent sculptures. This coastline is beautiful.

Dina said...

What an exciting coast!

Titania said...

That is a beautiful area of Australia. I guess one should see it once like Capri! I would love to go and take my time to see these natural wonders.
mine is on thisandthat.)

Babooshka said...

Oh the last one just had me sighing. So idyllic. I do like bridge myths too as you probably know.

Luiz Ramos said...

Beautiful natural sculptures and shots.

Guy D said...

Simply fascinating, I would love to see those in person, but your great photos are the next best thing.

Have a fantastic week
Guy
Regina In Pictures

willow said...

Fabulous with the grey skies. Sometimes I prefer grey to blue.

Sylvia K said...

What fantastic shots of an incredibly beautiful coast! And I always enjoy and learn from the information you include -- so interesting!

Have a great week, Arija!

George said...

I'm glad you took the scenic route on your trip. The scenery (and your pictures) are just spectacular.

susieofarabia said...

Wow, Arija! Great post! Really interesting info and beautiful pics - especially the last photo is amazing!

Janie said...

Interesting story about the demise of the bridge...
Great photos of some very impressive scenery. I love the last picture best.

Cedar ... said...

I enjoy clicking on your photos to see them larger in all their details. That is such an interesting post.

Steve B said...

It looks like a magical place.

alicesg said...

They are very beautiful part of the nature. I visited them in 2005, love the scenery. But I was attacked by swarms of houseflies...lol. I should not go there during summer.

Lantaw said...

Wow! what great views! well done.

Elisabeth's bright side said...

I hope you will find the time for the next trip soon, this was spectacular. "The wear and tear" of the coastline is scary.

Sally in WA said...

Such a beautiful coastline! Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos.

Wren said...

Fabulous photos! It sounds a most phenomenal bit of seashore. I can't imagine not taking this scenic route given the opportunity.

Kelly said...

...what a gorgeous place.....I really enjoyed this post (and would definitely like to see it in person!).

Gaelyn said...

I'd take the scenic route too. Love the sculpted sandstone. To bad about the arch. Sure hope you can return. Another place to add to my Australia list.

Carolyn said...

Arija, what a most beautiful coastline and your photographs are stunning with great composition. Thank you for sharing this wonderful part of your world with us.
Blessings and smiles

Small City Scenes said...

Wonderful pictures. the coastline is great. I specially like your last picture best---well i think they all were best.

Regarding the red in my garden--I think you are right. I do need some cheering up and I think that is why i have chosen so much red. As a child I didn't want to wear red because i thought it brought attention to me so now I guess i do want attention. HA!! MB

2sweetnsaxy said...

Beautiful photos and wow, what a location to visit. I'm so glad you shared these.

Wolynski said...

Sometimes an overcast day is better for photos than a sunny day. Beautiful shots.

LadyFi said...

I love the drama of the shots!

Maria Berg said...

Thank you for taking us around - hopefully one day I will see it IRL.
In a few years when I have my 40 birthday we will go the hole family for a few months to Australien.

/Maria Berg, Sweden

postcardsfromwildwood said...

Hello Arija, These are beautiful photos of beautiful country. Your love of the land shines through in every post and throughout your beautiful blog. Please come over to mine where I have an award waiting for you. You'll find it here: http://postcardsfromwildwood.wordpress.com/2009/06/09/another-great-day-for-the-isle-of-wight/
Enjoy!
Janice.

Canarybird said...

Great photos of a beautiful coast Arija! Thanks for posting these.

Jo said...

Arija;) this is stunning photography as always. Thanks for sharing. (((Hugs)))

MedaM said...

What a wonderful area! I would definitely choose the route along the coast to enjoy that natural beauty. Those sandstone sculptures look so beautiful and impressive. All your photos are fantastic. I am simply delighted with them.

fishing guy said...

Arija: I must say that this is an interesting place and you took some really neat photos.

Strawberry Jam Anne said...

Our son and his family live in Adelaide and one time when we were visiting we did the trip from Adelaide to Melbourne and saw the Twelve Apostles - magnificent. Great pictures. A x

barb said...

I'd want to spend days and days there. It's spectacular.

I can't believe some bozo thought it was OK to land a helicopter. OMG.

Carver said...

I think your photographs turned out great in spite of the weather and time limitations. Great post.

erin said...

most lovely captures of the coast...that last with the reflection is awesome...thanks for sharing it with us.

Annie said...

Ah, yes, this is a place I would live to visit some time...one day when I am visiting family in Melbourne maybe!

Thanks Arija. Great shots!

Indrani said...

Great shots really!
My eyes were stuck at the last shot. :)

Unseen Rajasthan said...

Very Impressive !! The Photos All are Simply Amazing And Well Captured..Thanks For Showing Us The Beauty..Also I Have Started My Own Website And Would Like You To Have A Look At It.I Would Love To Have Your Comments On That Also.Unseen Rajasthan

Vicky said...

such a beautiful place! I actually wanted to visit the 12 apostles during my stay in Melbourne last year, but the trip was canceled because it was raining so heavily and we were forced to do something else.
anyway, hope to see it next time round.
thank you for sharing.

Karen said...

Beautiful photos, especially that last one. I love the colours of the sandstone and the reflections in the water..

Mother nature is a marvellous sculptor, isn't she !!!

VALKYRIEN said...

Very impressive photos - and coast! First i thought it was from Portugal, it looks a bit like the some of the coast there.

Very beautiful, would have loved to visit!

Gattina said...

It must be a beautiful country ! My son has travelled through for 6 weeks by plane and car and he brought back thousands of pictures !
The Morrocans at least in the South are not very friendly (except the Berbers) what a difference with the Egyptians who always have a smile for you ! I had one who spat almost on my feet because he thought I had taken a picture of him, but I only had photographed the street !

Celeste said...

What a wonderfully dramatic place, I do love rock that has been carved by water, it forms such unique shapes.

maryt/theteach said...

A wonderful series of photos of the place where you live... :)

Marja said...

Had some computer problems Hope it works now. Have to tell you that your photo's are unique. It makes me want to go over the ditch and look at it myself

Paul said...

excellent pics!

Barb said...

Beautiful seascapes, Arija. The reflected arch is just fantastic!

Kathiesbirds said...

Arija, wonderful photos, wonderful post! How interesting!

Ebie said...

The views are so breath taking. I specially love the the last photo, like a window to your beautiful world.

Glennis said...

I have not been to the 12 Apostles but have heard they are very impressive, and your photos show thats very true, hope I do get to see them one day.

Isabel said...

Impressive place, Arija. It reminds me of an area in the south of Portugal called Praia da Rocha, but like your Twelve Apostles I visit it now and erosion has taken its toll on all those beautiful formations.

Danielle said...

What a beautiful place! Nice pics!

Leora said...

Those names are so incongruous with the lovely natural scenery you are displaying! For London Bridge, I expect formal and stodgy. Looks like a great place to visit, photogenic.

Michele said...

Oh neat, we don't have a coast here so I find these absolutely delightful!! How I would love to visit there one day... I hope to visit the Ocean once more someday.

Frank said...

This series is magnificent. As others have commented about their cities and countries, we don't have a coastline like this on the Gulf of Mexico so your photographs are so spectacular and interesting. Thank you for sharing with us. I will visit again soon.

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