The Twelve Apostles are a beautiful, natural phenomenon.
The 12 Apostles are actually a collection of Limestone stacks that were once called the Sow Piglets.
The name changed to Twelve Apostles in 1950 to give it more of an allure.
However, even at that time there were only 9 left.
The 12 Apostles is a beautiful National Park along the coast of Victoria, Australia.
The Twelve Apostles are between the two towns of Port Campbell and Princetown on the Great Ocean Road. From Melbourne you can go there two ways. The quick way or the scenic way.
Because it would be a sin to not travel the Great Ocean Road when you are there, I am not even going to tell you about the quick way !
So, from Melbourne, drive over the West Gate Bridge, take the road to Geelong and from there follow the signs to the Great Ocean Road.
Then drive down that long, windy, but beautiful Great Ocean Road all the way to Port Campbell.
Travelling from Melbourne ?
I highly recommend making a visit to the Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles a two-day trip.
One day is possible, but I know a number of people who have done it, and they would all, knowing what they know now, do it in two days.
Especially as a driver the long, windy road is exhausting.
You need to be able to take it easy, take stops and enjoy the scenery. So do yourself a favour and make it a two-dayer !
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The 12 Apostles have become a well-known, extremely popular, tourist attraction. To further enhance their popularity for the tourist a Visitor Centre was built. From the Visitor Centre you can access a few viewing platforms for perfect photo opportunities of the Twelve Apostles.
Time has not been kind to these natural beauties and though some are still standing many have lost height, and a few have simply collapsed into the pounding ocean.
As of July 3, 2005, there are only eight left, when one of the nine remaining apostles collapsed into the sea. A local park ranger said the collapse only took seconds.
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It was reported that when the limestone stack collapsed it shook and shuddered before falling in onto itself.
There is an approximate rate of 2 cm of erosion each year caused by the sea.
So the coastline of Australia is constantly changing shape.
In hundreds of years the current Apostles will all have fallen victim to the powers of the ocean waters, but new Apostles will have formed where currently there is land.
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The area has got more to offer than the Twelve Apostles only.
Further down the road there is the magnificent London Bridge and the beautiful Bay of Martyrs to name a few.
And if the Twelve Apostles could speak, they would have many stories to tell, for example about the haunted day when the Loch Ard made its final journey in 1878.
The Loch Ard was a three-mast square-rigged iron clipper.
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The clipper had left England on March 1, of 1878 with 54 passengers and crew, also a cargo of over $100,000 dollars.
The Loch Ard was about to reach the end of its journey when tragedy hit. The captain was not able to calculate the actual position correctly to make it through the Bass Strait (also know as “threading the eye of a needle”).
The captain tried to save the boat but failed and only two survived the wreck.
As the ship sunk rapidly only Tom and Eva made it off.
Eva had used a chicken coop to stay afloat and Tom, seeing her, swam to her rescue. After getting them ashore Tom went for help. When others came it was the last time that they saw one another. Eva got married later after returning to Ireland and Tom sailed the seas as a captain !
You can walk the beach where Eva and Tom got ashore and witness the power from the waters as it pounds into the coast.
Every time I visit and walk that beach I feel very small and I wonder how these two people survived at all.
When looking for some place majestic and full of natural beauty the 12 Apostles have to be on your list of places to see.
And do not put off seeing these awe-inspiring natural giants, because one day the Twelve Apostles will be gone !
Wish to know more about the wonderful things to do close to Melbourne ?
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