Step by Step Plan for a Great Ocean Road Australia Trip

About 10 or 20 million years ago, the limestone rock that would form a great plain bridging the present-day Australian states of Victoria and Tasmania began forming from marine skeltons, like shellfish and calcium rich algae. About five million years ago, the sea level dropped and the plain was exposed; as the sea began rising again 18,000 years ago, the spectacular cliff formations you can see now on the southern coast of Australia west of Melbourne began to be formed by the battering of waves and the seepage of rain through the limestone.

A drive down Australia's Great Ocean Road will bring you to Port Campbell National Park and the wow-wow-holy cow limestone rock formations (check out cliffs at sunset photo above) on its coastline. Some famous formations include the Twelve Apostles and London Bridge (five miles from Port Campbell), partially known for a local legend:

Apparently a couple, married, but not to each other, decided to dally in Port Campbell, perhaps thinking of remote privacy. While they were walking on the London Bridge, which once looked like the arched formation above, part of it (yes) fell down. Helicopter rescues were called for by others, and news teams showed up -- and the couple made the evening news.

In a more sobering legend, a sad shipwreck tale concluded at what became known as Loch Ard Gorge, where, following the wreck of the Loch Ard in 1878, a young sailor, Tom Pearce, swam back to sea (after already safely reaching land) to rescue an Irish lass from the waves. The two lone survivors huddled in an inlet overnight before Pearce scaled the cliffs seeking rescue. The emigrant girl, Eva Carmichael, lost her family among the 52 souls who perished on the Loch Ard. Part of this coastline is called the Shipwreck Coast; more than 700 ships have been lost along Victoria's shores.

Next: the 12 Apostles.