Princetown, The Shipwreck Coast and Port Campbell

We settled in at The Princetown Recreation Ground and waited for the big blow that we knew was coming. All the powered sites were around the perimeter of the oval and open to the full force of the prevailing winds, we opted to nestle in under the protection of some bordering trees. Not having power meant we would be without heat, we got out all the blankets we had and managed to stay fairly warm. Even with the protection of the trees the van was rocking in the gale force gusts of wind. We didn't get to see much of Princetown, even though there is not much to see. Princetown does have a boardwalk through the nearby wetlands, that the residents are very proud of, but the weather was too inclement for us to follow the trail. I did not get the camera out of it's bag during the entire stay in the town. The only half decent day we experienced we took to the car and toured The Shipwreck Coast that begins only 6 km from Princetown.

The first viewpoint along the Shipwreck Coast is 'Gibson Steps'. This is the view from the top of the steps looking eastwards.

From the same vantage point at 'Gibson Steps' looking westward.

Gibson Steps are carved from the cliff face and take you down to the beach. Well worth the effort to get down there and back. The day was sunny in patches but still very windy. You needed to be well rugged up.

At the Twelve Apostles. These are two of the rock columns collectively know as The Twelve Apostles. We could only count 8 columns, the other 4 have been eroded away by the battering of the Southern Ocean.

This is what remains of the Twelve Apostles. I hope the photo is clear and sharp, it was extremely difficult to keep the camera steady in the wind.

We are now at 'Loch Ard Gorge'. At the entrance to this gorge is the place of the historic ship wreck of "The Loch Ard' that took so many lives. There were only two survivors to the tragedy.

This is the coastline looking eastwards from The Loch Ard Gorge.

Looking from the cliff top down to the very small beach area where the two survivors were fortunate enough to reach.

Another angle of the gorge entrance.

This is the view from the beach level looking out to the gorge entrance. There are signs aplenty, on the steps down to the beach, warning of the dangers in swimming in these waters.

The final Shipwreck Coast feature we visited was 'London Bridge'. This view is still very popular with travellers even though the main Arch collapsed around 1998 or so.

While touring The Shipwreck Coast we called into Port Campbell for lunch. This is the entrance into the port area. There is not a whole lot of protection from the open sea here.

A general view of the town precinct.

Looking back over the central picnic area towards the Surf Club.

Just through town on your travel towards the west, there is this lookout that provides a commanding view of the town of Port Campbell.