After a refreshing night's sleep in an actual bed, we set off from Torquay toward the Great Ocean Road. The trusty Visitor Center ladies had given us a list of noteworthy stops along the way, including some seemingly random (yet very specific) directions to places we could spot some wildlife - one of the things I was most looking forward to in Australia.
The first little side trip was a golf course in the town of Anglesea, where kangaroos are rumored to hang out. This one we nearly bypassed, unsure whether it would be worth the detour, but that nagging "what if we miss out" feeling made us pull over and go back. We found the course and wandered around the outskirts - sure enough, there were kangaroos everywhere! Viewing wildlife on a golf course, a place I usually associate with devouring an area's natural landscape, was a strange experience - though the kangaroos seemed more comfortable with people than they ever would have been out in the wilderness. They were hanging out near us in the trees, hopping across the fairways, and perking up their ears when the big lawnmowers passed by. We later learned that there are estimated to be up to 1,000 kangaroos living on and around the course.
The next stop was near Kennet River, on a small side road we headed down in search of koalas. Following the gravel road past a few country houses, we drove at a crawling pace, peering into the trees. Before we saw any koalas, we spotted a car parked with people nearby, pointing into the eucalyptus trees above. Once we saw one koala, we saw many....all perched up in the branches, most sleeping though the mid-afternoon heat, some waking up occasionally to munch on some leaves. I found myself having that overcome-with-cuteness feeling, the one usually reserved for dogs and babies.
The end of our Great Ocean route was Port Fairy, where we settled in to a quaint YHA hostel run by a friendly couple. The hostel is located near a nature reserve, Griffith Island, where we were told the animals are most active around dusk. After another sleeping bag-less camp night and long car day, I was exhausted and tempted to stay in for the night, but went out to explore anyway.
As I walked to the reserve, still feeling somewhat unmotivated, I was reminded of a conversation I had with the Kellers on the night before I left for this trip. It was about how some of the greatest travel moments happen when you take an opportunity to do something, despite the fact that you didn't feel like doing it at all. That hike was one of those moments.
It was dusk, and the weather was gray and misty. Halfway through the trail around the island, I still hadn't seen any animals. It was getting darker, and I thought maybe I'll just give up and come back in the morning. But when I stopped and sat on a bench to remove a rock from my shoe, I looked over and saw a wallaby about 12 feet away, staring right back at me.
Griffith Island is also home to a colony of thousands of short-tailed Shearwater birds (aka 'mutton birds'). The beach looked like a bird graveyard of sorts - I walked among bird remains in varying stages of decomposition, beaks and feathers poking out of the sand looking slightly eerie in the fading light - though a plaque is there to reassure visitors this is all part of the natural process of the colony. At the end of the trail, I ran into a handful of other people from the hostel who had gathered to view the thousands of birds return to the beach after sunset every night.
The next morning, a rain set in that wasn't going anywhere anytime soon - so neither were we. We booked another night at the hostel, and spent a lovely day in bookstores and cafes, reading and eating lots of carbohydrates. That was a much needed day of relaxation before heading back to Melbourne to return the car.
The Great Ocean Road trip was definitely scenic, but the best part about the experience was that we took our time - the detours are what made the journey memorable.
