The Nomadic Explorers | Australian Travel Blog

After our visit to Hopkins Falls, we went to my favourite place along the Great Ocean Road: Bay of Islands Coastal Park. It is a small bay near Peterborough, with attractive rock stacks and cliff formations. The Bay of Islands Coastal Park is essentially an extension of the more famous Port Campbell National Park, but it's similarly spectacular and much less crowded. Some people say that the view across the Bay of Martyrs (especially as sunset) is one of the most spectacular coastal scenes in Australia.

Driving along the road between Warrnambool and Terang, it's not immediately apparent that there is a charming waterfall just a few kilometres off the highway. At only around eleven metres in height, the Hopkins Falls are never going to rival the sheer magnitude of Niagra; nevertheless, the river never fails to impress with its rocky path to the wide drop into the pool below, surrounded by reeds and scenic pastures.

One of the things in our 'to see and to do' list was to visit Allansford Cheese World. It is located in Warrnambool and operated by Warrnambool cheese and Butter Factory. There is a perfect local history museum with an extensive collection of farm implements and household items from everyday life. The museum demonstrates farm life from the early 1900's.

Here you are some photos of the "Twelve Apostles" and "Gog and MaGog" rock stacks at sunset. You can reach "Gog and MaGog" from Gibsons Steps (only a 2 minute drive from the Twelve Apostles). Please note that the car park near Gibsons Steps has a limited capacity, so be prepared that you'll probably need to park further the road.

We were a bit tired after a long Great Ocean Road trip, so we skipped Teddy's Lookout and Kennett River Picnic Ground stops and headed directly to Apollo Bay to have a lunch. We spent couple of hours sitting next to the water, having rest and discussing where will be our next stop.

Our first stop was at The Great Ocean Road Memorial Archway, which was built to commemorate the 3,000 returned soldiers from WW1 who built the Road between 1918 - 1932. Before the road, travel between the coastal settlements was far from pleasant. As an example, in the 1870s, a trip from Lorne to Geelong was long and arduous via a rough coach track through dense bush to the railway at Winchelsea. Previously the ocean supplied the link to the outside world.

In April 2013 we went to Sydney for 2,5 days. Initially we planned to be there 3 days, but the air-company made some changes into itinerary, so we had less time than expected. Anyway, we had a great time catching up with friends, walking and relaxing.

Last autumn we went to Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show - one of Victoria's hallmark events. It is a must-see flower and garden extravaganza for all, in full bloom at the World Heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens.

Maroondah Reservoir Park (or Maroondah Dam as it’s more commonly known) is located not far away from Healsville Sanctuary zoo. It is part of the water catchment area for Melbourne's water supply.