Drove straight through Apollo Bay (because I was sick of high priced towns) towards Lavers Hill. Half way along there was a detour to another lighthouse so I thought I may as well check it out. As I was leaving Apollo Bay I thought I'd check the petrol levels. Now, the petrol gauge in the car has a history of just staying on 0. Halfway to Melbourne we realised that if you hit the dash then it starts working again, without fail! I try to avoid hitting it too much in case it just stops working for good, so I usually just remember where abouts it should be and check it when I think its getting low.
Anyway, I gave it a bash and it went up to 1/4 full...'should be fine' I thought....well I must have been on a fucking hill or something cos as I went on it got lower and lower very quickly! Unfortunately I turned off towards the lighthouse before I noticed this. About 6km down the 12km road I looked at the petrol gauge and it was down to under 1/8! I thought maybe there would be some petrol at the lighthouse and it was only 6km so I carried on at about 30km/h trying to keep the revs as low as possible. Got to the lighthouse and not only could no one sort me out with any petrol, but you had to pay a stupid amount of money to see the lighthouse!
So I drove back to the ocean road ridiculously slowly and got to the intersection. 22km back to Apollo Bay or 29km to Lavers Hill....So I headed to Lavers Hill. Now the name should have given it away but I was surprised by how hilly the road there was! I was driving up the hills and putting it in neutral to roll down the hill. Imagine the most winding road you've ever driven and multiply it by 10 and this was what the road was like....but then I didn't want to waste any speed so I had to roll down at top speed all the way! Luckily there wasn't any traffic on the road so I didn't cause any tailbacks.....but this is why I didn't wanna get stuck....It was 35 degrees, my fone had no signal and there were random animals everywhere!
Finally got to the last hill and the car was having trouble so I put my foot down to give it an extra boost to the top....nothing happened....by the time I made it to the top I was doing about 5km/h and seriously thought I was gonna have to get out and push! Rolled into the petrol station and bought some ridiculously priced petrol but I was on my way again....thank god!
Lavers Hill to Princetown took me off the coast and into the country. The green hills and lush forests were a world apart from the white sandy beaches and blue seas I had got used to by now..... Other than nice countryside, there wasn't much to see so I motored along to Princetown. Once I was there I decided to try a spot of fishing so bought a rod and tackle and spent the afternoon on the pier. I didn't catch anything for ages then seemed to snag some seaweed. As I was dragging it in I saw a small stingray....I began to admire it and then realised that it was attached to the end of my rod! Thoughts of Steve Irwin entered my mind so I asked one of the locals to help me out. He had some special glove, so unhooked it and chucked it back in. I was trying to catch something I could eat but I didn't have any luck so it was pasta for dinner.
Princetown to Port Campbell was back by the sea again and it was definitely the most spectacular for views. It is also the stretch of road that is home to the most famous attractions of the Ocean Road, the Twelve Apostles. They are amazing rock formations, up to 45 meters high, that have been carved out of the cliffs by thousands of years of sea erosion. Other rock formations include elephant rock, the razorback, the loch ard gorge and various others that were all amazing to see (I'll get pics up in a few days cos the internet is playing up!).
After seeing all that I was at the end of the road and ready to go back to the flat and get a proper shower! The road back was long and straight and pretty boring....but I did go through the town of Colac (you may have heard of it if you watch Neighbours!).
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