We ventured into the Reserve and were greeted by lots of kangaroos and wallabies.
We stopped by the Visitor Center and found this wallaby hanging out by the parking lot.
We were so excited then to see emus in the wild!
I went in for a closer look…see what happens next….
Oops! Not sure which one of us was more scared!
Overview of the Reserve. The geographical landform of Tower Hill formed 30,000 years ago, through volcanic activity that created the funnel-shaped crater and central islands that are seen here. Relics found in the volcanic ash layers indicate that Aboriginal people occupied the area at the time of eruption.
From here, we went on a short hike to Fairy Island.
On our way back to our car, mom spotted this guy running ahead of us! We’ve seen so many wild koalas in trees, but never one running on the ground! We chased after him, trying to grab pictures and video-so cool!
He put on more of a show with climbing the tree, jumping from one branch to another and reaching for nearby branches to get more eucalyptus leaves for lunch!
We headed back a little ways on the Great Ocean Road to hit a few of the things we missed after dark the night before. Our first stop was The Grotto. This geological formation was created when sinkholes in the limestone cliffs met with a receding cliff line. Below you can see the still, clear water of the Grotto in contrast to the ocean.
From here, it was off to the London Arch (formerly the London Bridge). The collapse of the London Bridge in 1990 was only a matter of time with the waves constantly attacking the coastline. In time, the second arch will collapse leaving two rock stacks like the Apostles. Eventually these too will erode away into the sea.
A sign along the way that is posted everywhere in Australia and cracks us up….that the second lowest fire danger rating is HIGH!
Our last stop before heading back along the shorter route back to Melbourne was The Arch, a natural rock formation formed through erosion.
Back on the road for a couple hours until we hit Ballarat. Here we are at the Sovereign Hill Lookout, on a clearer day, looking over gullies that were rich in alluvial gold when they were worked in 1853. They yielded up to 500oz. of bright nuggety gold for every foot mined. This was perhaps the richest patch of alluvial gold the world has ever known. The Victorian gold rush transformed Ballarat from a small sheep station to a major settlement. Gold was discovered at Poverty Point on 1851 and news quickly spread of rich alluvial fields where gold could easily be extracted. You can see how rich the city was in their well preserved Victorian era buildings.
Driving through Ballarat
We made it back to Melbourne around dinner time and settled back into our apartment.
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