The Great Ocean Road, Partie Deux

Now where was I…?

Oh yea! Before we knew it, the grey and orange clouds were upon us. [Jaws music, etc, etc…]

We were plunged into an orange fog, and I’m sorry to say I was far too intrigued to take any pictures… It was like flying amidst sepia-toned clouds, minus the altitude. Before we knew it, we were on the other side. And not ten minutes later? Was this:

The next stop was something I’d been looking forward to since Clancy announced it that morning – a koala park! Nice shades, Curtis the Koala... teehee...

Did you know koalas are one of the few species in Australia that has virtually ceased evolving due to a lack of predators? (Though, this is not to ignore the fact that they are very much endangered by diseases and urban expansion.) Koalas subsist on a diet entirely of eucalyptus leaves, which contain 70 percent water and virtually no nutritional value. That's why they are so lazy!

We were lucky to find a koala perched in a low tree, and I was able to get surprisingly close.

This is me with my koala friend. He needs to learn a thing or two about friendship, because last time I checked, friends didn’t let friends wear white bras under black dresses.

All throughout the koala park, beautiful, vibrantly colored parrots dotted the lush green and brown trees. And if you had food (I borrowed a handful off another tourist), they would swoop down and eat right off your hand! Not a good place to be if you were recently freaked out by the movie Birds.

After the koala park we piled back into the bus and headed to our next stop, a lovely beach town, for our picnic lunch.

Next stop: the rainforest! Now I’ve seen big trees before, at the Redwood Forests in San Francisco, but I’m telling you, this rainforest had BIG TREES. Exhibit A:

And keep in mind, by "regular size tree," I mean the kind you can barely wrap your arms around.

Having worked in the forest–or bush, as he calls it–for much of his life, Curtis has seen a lot of trees. But these big guys had him stumped. (Sorry for the terrible pun... it was too bad good to pass up.) Here are Curtis and I, being dwarfed by phenomenally huge trunks.

After the rainforest we headed to what had to be the most breathtaking, beautiful string of stops on the trip, the Twelve Apostles. I’m smiling just thinking about them (and the absolutely exhilarating, body-buzzing helicopter ride we took above them). Here’s a sneak preview:

Bye for now!

the traveling stahr…