After not too bad a night, we set out to Gibson's Steps with the idea of walking down onto the beach and seeing a couple of the stacks from a different perspective. Unfortunately the steps were closed; no reason given so we can only assume it was because of the strong winds blowing.
We then went back to the main viewing area where the colour of the water was just amazing. These might get a bit repetitive, but I couldn't help myself!
It was a
bit of a Machu Picchu moment, when you're standing in front of something you
know so well from magazines and suddenly you're seeing that very same view with
your own eyes - quite amazing.
And thanks to the wonders of timed exposure you don't even have to rely on a passing oick to take a photo for you (I was actually asked several times to take photos for other people on their phones - I declined on the basis I wouldn't know how to use a phone camera - they then asked Ian, so probably got what they deserved).
The 12 Apostles are probably the most iconic stacks on the GOR, but there are plenty of other things to see in the close vicinity:
Loch Ard Gorge (named after a ship that went down near there).
It was a fair walk down to the beach but as with everywhere we've visited the infrastructure was superb with very sturdy wooden steps and good height handrails.
At the back of the cove, the rock formation was quite interesting. not stalactites but very similar
London Bridge - pre 1990 was a double spanning bridge connected to the mainland (not my image)
The span nearest the mainland collapsed unexpectedly in January 1990 leaving two tourists unharmed but stranded on the outer span; they had to be rescued by helicopter.
How it looks now
The Grotto - it was quite a long walk down to this particular formation and we waited an absolute age for this woman to get out of the way. Firstly she had her husband/boyfriend take about 50 shots whilst she was sitting on the fence - each one she reviewed and altered her pose slightly. In the end he wandered off (fed up I should imagine) but she carried on taking yet more pictures of herself. In the end I lost the will to live and took my shot anyway.
It may have been a long walk down (and even longer back up) but it was worth it.
Wow, what a great morning.