Cape Otway

It was a cool and sometimes drizzly day but we decided to embark on a tour of parts of the Cape Otway National Park. In these areas if you wait for a perfect day you will miss on seeing anything if you only have a short visiting time.

We had followed a decline in the path into Elliott River and reached this small stream running through the forest. As you can see there are many ferns growing in the damp atmosphere of the forest.

The path arrives at a fork and one must make a decision! The left fork leads to Shelly Beach. This is a very small beach and is devoid of shells. I am puzzled as to the name for the beach? The sea was very quiet today but I can imagine waves pounding the sandy beach on wild days.

We back-tracked along the path from Shelly Beach and then followed the path option to the right. Along the way we caught this glimpse of the southern coast and Cape Otway through the trees.

Very close to the mouth of The Elliott River there is a small but pretty waterfall. There is a track that will take you to the falls.

This is the unspectacular entry to Bass Strait by The Elliott River. You can make it out through this pile of rubble.

About 10 km further along the Great Ocean Road you will arrive at the entry to 'Maits Rest'. This is a small reserve very close to the main road and it is only about 20 to 30 minutes to walk through. What this park lacks in distance it makes up for in being a great example of a temperate rainforest. You are walking through a forest of massive tree ferns. This photograph is of the beginning of the path, I didn't take my camera into the walk as it was very wet and there was a drizzle of rain.

We arrived at the Cape Otway Lighthouse only to discover that there is a substantial fee to enter the grounds to get a close-up view. A fee that we and many others were not going to pay. Hence, all you get is this far of photograph from a distant look-out point. The lighthouse sits on the most southerly point of the State of Victoria. We did hear later that if you tell a little white lie and state that you are from the town of Colac or some other nearby town you will be granted free entry. We never got to test that theory.

As you enter the Cape Otway National Park, there is a large colony of Koala. Some are photogenic, like this one, and struck a pose for the many cameras.

Another Koala wondering what I am doing at the base of his/her tree.