Victoria Day 5 - The Arch / London Arch (London Bridge) / The Grotto

Assalamualaikum. G'Day Mate!

Previous post (here).

Next destination was the London Arch also previously known as London Bridge. Albeit already seeing so many limestone stacks & results of gradual erosion process...we didn't feel bored at all. In fact, we're in awed still. Lagi bila tengok ombak ganas memukul batuan tu semua. Allahu akbar. Sampai sekarang semua tu fresh lagi dalam ingatan. Sound of the waves hitting the shores or the rocks, cool wind blowing from the sea. Angin ganas menampar muka harus dilupa jangan. Rosak tudung-of-the-day tau tapilah sweater penyelamat. 

Kerana trip ni sudah bertahun ke belakang, so marilah layan gambar jak. Mau explain lebih-lebih, banyak sudah fakta ke laut. What to do lah kan, masa semua fakta masih fresh tuan rumah perasan-sibuk. 

30 July 2015

The Arch

"Monumental natural rock arch with waves crashing below, a popular stop on the Great Ocean Road."

#3 Kalau banyak masa haritu, memang boleh lepak lama sikit sini. Layan ombak rindu, angin & view penuh ketenangan ni (minus angin penampar yang sekali sekala datang menerpa)

#4 We didn't go to the Lower Viewing Platform because of its steepness & unstable condition (truth was; we're just that lazy for another date with the stairs)

London Arch

"London Bridge pre-1990 was a double-spanning bridge connected to the mainland. The stack was created over hundred of years; with the weaker layers toward the base being eroded by wind & water to form the two bridges. The span closer to the shoreline collapsed unexpectedly on 15 January 1990, leaving two tourists whilst uninjured; stranded on the outer span before being rescued by police helicopter. No one was injured in the event. Prior to the collapse, the arch was known as London Bridge because of its similarity to its namesake."

The Grotto

Didn't spend much time at the London Bridge platform view. We made our move to our final destination; The Grotto before we embark in a two-hours journey to Grampian. 

Honestly speaking, lepas baca plaque ni...ingat ok, done. Semua visible from the viewing platform. Boleh lah teruskan journey. Then Ms G told us about the staircase leading down. Ok, another flight of stairs we said. Suddenly

"Alang-alang sampai, alang-alang final spot...turun jaklah. Tengok apa ada sambil bergambar" 

Ms H finally bersuara; which surprised us sebab bab mendaki ni normally dia pemenang kategori 'Malas'

Jadinya menurut perintah jaklah dua wanita jelita. Why not, right? Berbekalkan 'alang-alang si Ms H', we descended the stairs. Expecting nothing. 

"Part-blowhole, part-archway, part-cave, it offers a peaceful place to enjoy the sea views and soak in the wonderful things nature is capable of. Essentially a sinkhole; an often overlooked attraction because of it being at the end of the route"

#8 Memang view biasa-biasa jak kan dari atas therefore we didn't expect anything extra-ordinary down there

#9 Same view from the other platforms

#10 Literally dragging our legs to go down

And it hit us when we reached the ground. Subhanallah. Ntah berapa kali ulang ayat ni bila nampak view di bawah. We're out of words, really.

My pictures simply didn't justify the beauty of this place. So beautiful, enchanting. So surreal.

#11 Tolong menolong. Ambil gambar kawan yang saiz tripod, berdiri di tangga lah untuk dapat angle cun

#12 Double Three (belum habis wish diri sendiri walau sudah bertahun berlalu)

#13 The Grotto; Great Ocean Road truly just saved the best for last!

#14 If we came during sunrise or sunset (with permissible weather of course), we would be able to catch the Australian sun reflecting gold & pink off the rock pool through that archway

We spent quite sometimes down here. Thumbs up for Ms H persistence we got to explore this beauty. So anyone heading to Port Campbell National Park, silalah 'paksa' diri & head down the staircase to explore The Grotto at eye-level. Totally worth every steps going down the wooden staircase! I promise, u won't regret it.

Tiba masa untuk gerak to our next destination. Set GPS to our accommodation terus. Senang kerja. On the way kalau mau singgah mana-mana, boleh stop kejap. Janji final destination adalah tempat berehat di malam hari.

#15 Australian winter view along the Great Ocean Road

#16 We won't be having this kinda pose-siring-kereta-sewa kinda picture if it weren't for her suggestion. Thumbs up lagi sekali!

#17 Also this pose-atas-GOR picture. Berbaloi Ms H kerja menggodek instagram orang. Macam-macam idea dia ceduk. Harap aku, memang krik krik.

#18 Last view of the ocean. Alhamdulillah

#19 Last view of Port Campbell town from up the hill before we bid goodbye to this charming town

#20 Ocean view no more. Sekarang masuk area kampung (tapi jalan tip top still). Kiri kanan hijau walaupun winter

#21 In the middle of no where

Adalah kami stop at this small town to refuel. Sempat singgah toilet tapi ndak sempatlah mau bergambar bagai. Angin kuat, rasa anytime boleh diterbangkan (confident gila ayat, walhal berat berkilotan). Mula ada plan mau singgah untuk ngopi tapi cafe macam ndak mengundang, and masing-masing pun ndak sabar mau buang diri atas katil hence initial plan tunda ke hari lain.

#22 Sihat-sihat bebiri di luar kota ni. Pun ndak berhenti masa ni, layan view dari jendela cuma

#23 Canola field tapi sebab belum musim so ndaklah meriah sangat canola-nya

Ada berhenti tepi canola field ni tapi gambar ndak menepati piawai blog (gituuu), simpan kenangan diri sendiri jaklah. Kah kau sudah delete, Bie? 

Overall puas hati trip meredah GOR ni. Walaupun first time ber-road trip bersama. Alhamdulillah Allah mudahkan semua. Adalah few hiccups here & there (manusia pun namanya, haruslah drama berterusan). Kalau diberi peluang untuk ulang benda ni pun, aku tetap mau pi sama dua minah jelita tu. And lagi dua yang ndak join haritu, hai Ms C & Ms P! Cuma part bijak TERtinggalkan barang dalam bas tu boleh ganti kejadian lain. Tapi kan, thing happened for a reason. Always! Husnuzon sama Allah. Boleh jadi Dia delaykan masa kami untuk pick up kereta sewa mainly to save us dari benda ndak elok. Far worst than barang tinggal & lambat pick up kereta. Allahu akbar *sob* 

Cerita Grampian (Day 6) will be continued in my next entry. It isn't long before I could wrapped up my Down Under trip stories. Kali ni memang ndak kan dapat bentang budget bagai sebab segalanya sudah tiada dalam simpanan. Almaklum, update tertangguh-kan. 

Wassalam.

eryantierdabdulkarim