05.08.10

A much sunnier day today...windy, but nice. Our first stop was to another hike through the bush. This forest was popular because of the giant trees in which Aboriginal tribes have used as shelter. In this particular part, there are fallen trees everywhere. The other trees then have to grown around this massive trunk, which makes their roots really tall. It is absolutely incredible to see a giant tree and all its roots on the outside. I just couldn't believe how strong they must be without the ground to keep them steady. The fallen tree trunks were everywhere, and all covered in so many other forms of life. Like Lucy had said, its sad to see a tree die, but its incredible how the body is used to sustain life of so many other creatures!
At one point John was taking a picture of me inside one of the giant trees when we heard the cracking and splitting of wood...and then boooom...this deep growling bass of a tree hitting the ground! We had just heard a tree fall!!!! I couldn't believe it! My heart had stopped, it was the strangest sound. The way it just smacked the ground, and the deep low boom it made kind of just shook my body. It was AWESOME!
Well, we then made the hour trip down the famous Great Ocean Road to see the 12 Apostles. It is considered to be one of the 7 wonders of world, so you can only imagine my anticipation. We started to hike to the cliffs edge, when I turned the corner and there it was...exactly like what you see in books and on TV, right in front of me. I was so astonished, it took my breath away. I was so overtaken by emotion, I didn't know what to do with myself.
My dream of traveling and seeing the world has a small check list of the things I want to see and do. The 12 Apostles being one of them. I guess that after seeing them with my own eyes really confirms that my dream are coming true. I was seeing the world, day by day, and becoming a more seasoned traveler. This moment meant so much to me; it's hard for me to put it into words.
Unfortunately, the 12 Apostles has dwindled down to 7. Where the water meets the land is actually a massive cliff and is made up of inlets. The waves and salt slowly start to erode the walls of the cliffs. Hitting the sides at 60 waves per minute, you can begin to see that the erosion happens rather quickly. It eventually carves through both sides of the inlet making a cave, or rather a bridge. Eventually the bridge collapses creating the massive rock stock which make up the 12 Apostles. These lone standing stacks eventual fall after the erosion continues. Even though the 12 Apostles are now 7, there are new rock stacks that are slowly being created.
We walked a few more paths to see other rock stacks and got to see the stages of the inlets turning into rock stacks. It was pretty wild to say the least.
The day was amazing, but given all the hiking we did the day before, my calves were shot, so we called it a night and headed home. (Mind you, hiking in the mountains is all up and down, and at a pretty steep incline. Not to mention that you have to walk down a long ways in order to see a waterfall, so walking back up all those steps gets intense. Bush walking is not for the weak!)
The next day we got up early to head home. It was mothers day and Lucy wanted to rush home to her kids. It was a lovely weekend, and was a great way to cap off all our wild adventures so far in Melbourne.