Ok, I’m officially in “blog mode” since I’ve been negligent over the past few weeks. I’ll go head and start with January 26th, our first Australian Holiday – AUSTRALIA DAY!
It is essentially the equivalent to our 4th of July in the US; so in honor of our new country of residence, we decided to do a little sightseeing down the Great Ocean Road. The majority of the drive is on a two lane highway that cuts around mountains, small beach towns, and there are heaps (Australian word) of scenic overlooks. As usual, I had to pee every 45 minutes which can be a challenge in Australia. There are about 25% as many exits off of the interstate...and even fewer of those exits have gas stations, fast food restraunts, or any other establishment that may have a bathroom. As I started to get really squirmy, we saw a sign for Cape Otway Lightstation and decided there was a good chance of it having a respectable restroom. Turns out, Cape Otway is the home of Australia's most significant lighthouse. Who knew? Apparently, when you have that kind of accolade, it deems a $15 admission fee. So, thirty dollars later, the lady at the counter hands us each our 'trail map' and I go speed walking out the door to find the bathroom. The map that we were given looks like it was designed by a kindergartner, so I'm following the cartoon characters to the bathroom sign on the other side of the cafe. As I turn the corner, I see two fly infested port-o-johns. Seriously??? I wasn't willing to risk being arrested for squatting behind the large anchor memorial in the courtyard....so I just got it over with. During my 30 second speed pee, I also eliminated the possibility of getting a coffee at the cafe that was located dangerously close to the 2 mobile ceespools. Since we had already invested $30 bucks in this pit stop, we decided to get our money's worth and take a look at this famous lighthouse that was so important that it was named MOST SIGNIFICANT. Ok, I'm going to save everyone the disappointment that I felt. To put it in perspective, the Cape Otway lighthouse tour drummed up the same kind of excitement you feel leaving a dentist appointment with no cavities. Don't get me wrong, we had a good time and made the best of it, but I'd really like to see the criteria for how to get labeled "most significant" in Australia. I'm sure I could get it for something. BROOKE WHITNEY, THE MOST SIGNIFICANT BLOGGER IN AUSTRALIA. Riiiiiiiight....
It is essentially the equivalent to our 4th of July in the US; so in honor of our new country of residence, we decided to do a little sightseeing down the Great Ocean Road. The majority of the drive is on a two lane highway that cuts around mountains, small beach towns, and there are heaps (Australian word) of scenic overlooks. As usual, I had to pee every 45 minutes which can be a challenge in Australia. There are about 25% as many exits off of the interstate...and even fewer of those exits have gas stations, fast food restraunts, or any other establishment that may have a bathroom. As I started to get really squirmy, we saw a sign for Cape Otway Lightstation and decided there was a good chance of it having a respectable restroom. Turns out, Cape Otway is the home of Australia's most significant lighthouse. Who knew? Apparently, when you have that kind of accolade, it deems a $15 admission fee. So, thirty dollars later, the lady at the counter hands us each our 'trail map' and I go speed walking out the door to find the bathroom. The map that we were given looks like it was designed by a kindergartner, so I'm following the cartoon characters to the bathroom sign on the other side of the cafe. As I turn the corner, I see two fly infested port-o-johns. Seriously??? I wasn't willing to risk being arrested for squatting behind the large anchor memorial in the courtyard....so I just got it over with. During my 30 second speed pee, I also eliminated the possibility of getting a coffee at the cafe that was located dangerously close to the 2 mobile ceespools. Since we had already invested $30 bucks in this pit stop, we decided to get our money's worth and take a look at this famous lighthouse that was so important that it was named MOST SIGNIFICANT. Ok, I'm going to save everyone the disappointment that I felt. To put it in perspective, the Cape Otway lighthouse tour drummed up the same kind of excitement you feel leaving a dentist appointment with no cavities. Don't get me wrong, we had a good time and made the best of it, but I'd really like to see the criteria for how to get labeled "most significant" in Australia. I'm sure I could get it for something. BROOKE WHITNEY, THE MOST SIGNIFICANT BLOGGER IN AUSTRALIA. Riiiiiiiight....
Although the lighthouse wasn't life changing, we did have our first wild animal encounter on our way back to the highway. Ok, maybe encounter is a strong word - but we did see some KOALAS! They looked so cute sitting up in the trees and I was tempted to climb up and try to pet one until I caught a glimpse of their oversized claws. Yikes. As if they were reading my mind, they also started making this really low growling noise. I made a judgement call and decided to just take pictures safely from the ground.
We finally got on the road again and made our next pit stop at Gibson's Steps. This by far is my favorite place in Australia. It is truly breathtaking – and that is not a word I use very often! I'll attach some pictures, but I doubt that they will do it justice….you all should probably just come visit for yourselves!!! We wrapped up the day by visiting the Twelve Apostles national park. The views were great and it makes you truly appreciate what a beautiful place God has created for us!
More blog entries coming soon...
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