the seagulls in melbourne are crazy. once, while i was eating breakfast at fed square, a seagull swooped from behind me, tore off a chunk of bacon from my sandwich and flew off. crazy seagulls! anyway, john decided to share his lunch with them.
check out the scrambling for free food action. you can even see john’s potato wedges in midair.
took a short trek to the port campbell lookout point. if you examine the pic properly, you’ll be able to pick out a pink house…that’s where i stayed. that’s ocean house backpacker’s.
the sand was so soft, i sank in an inch with each step
mia’s drive parked in the middle of wilderness
we climbed up on a cliff to get a better view
mia in action!
me trying hard to get more pics of myself :p
mia and i set our alarm for 5am. we have seen the sunset, and now we’re determined to see the sunrise. 5.20am, we were out of the house. sunset was 6.21am. spend a day in port campbell and you’d know half the people in the town, and all there is to know about port campbell. we are practically semi-locals.
it was still dark when we reached the 12 apostles, and we were the only ones there. sunrise at the 12 apostles, did i ever think i’d be able to witness this? the answer is no, yet here i am. life is just full of good surprises, if your heart is open for new experiences. and standing before this dawn, my heart is wide open.
two hours later, we head back to port campbell, grabbed breakfast to go from our favourite cafe. (yes – spend a day in port campbell and you’ll already be able to have a favourite cafe) tom drew us some obscure roads on a map, he promised wild kangaroos – if we kept quiet enough that is.
so picture this – two girls, sandwich in one hand, coffee in the other, sun in our eyes. we are cruising in a dinky jeep, windows down, dirt road ahead. the tyres inch the gravel path with a satisfying crunch. mia juggles her drink, sandwich and steers with her knees. i am trying to read the dubious map. we gossip about tom. (small town habit grows fast on us) sometimes the jeep heads towards the bush – she lets me steer us to safety. i am on kangaroo patrol – instead, i count how many wild bunnies i see. i see six! then in a blink of an eye, a wild kangaroo hops past our windscreen and disappears into the bushes. that, was our only kangaroo sighting.
it was a beautiful day. blue skies, and fluffy clouds, happy sun. buoyant, we drove along the coast and make all the stops we see. the great ocean road is like a treasure nook – there are many secret pockets and if you had the time to explore you’d uncover many a gems. bay of islands, bay of martyrs, crofts bay east, the grotto, london bridge, the arch. i looked at the map so many times i’ve got the places memorised. we passed peterborough again and held out breaths while driving pass the town – it was that small.
indeed self drive is the best way to explore the great ocean road. i saw so many sights that i would’ve missed in a regular tour. we hiked up a cliff and was rewarded with some really picturesque sceneries.
then we met john, an englishman. he was doing all the stops we were doing as well, so we striked a conversation with him and invited him to join us for lunch. john had an inspiring story to tell. three years ago, john was diagnosed with cancer. at the lowest point of his battle with the disease he found himself on the floor, crawling, losing hope. the tears fell and his eyes caught sight of a magazine that was on the floor. there was a picture of the 12 apostles. in that moment, he challenged himself. he made a promise that he will visit the great ocean road if he won the battle with cancer.
three years later, cancer free, he was there with us. just him, and his big bike. we had lunch at port campbell, and his 12 apostles dream was just round the corner. john was emotional. he won his fight for cancer and the reward he promised himself was close at hand. and i, touched with the story of his struggle, felt honoured to have shared that moment with him.
by then it was 3.50pm. my bus is picking me up at 4pm. reluctantly, i hugged mia and john, then mia again, and left port campbell. a friendship formed so quickly and already we had to depart – i hope to see mia again sometime in the future as i really enjoyed the two days that i spent with her.
(two days later after that meal mia emails me an update – she and john took a helicopter ride for an aerial view of the 12 apostles. i wished i was there with them)
into the sunset, i sat in the bus back to melbourne city, pondering about life, fate, luck and adventure.
