Description of the attraction
The Great Ocean Road and the 12 Apostles Rocks is one of Australia's most memorable landmarks, most often featured in travel brochures. The 243-kilometer road winds along the southeastern coast of Victoria between the small towns of Torquay and Varrnambul. In 2011, the road was added to the Australian National Treasure List.
For the first time, the idea of building this route appeared back in 1864, but a full-fledged project appeared only half a century later - in 1918. And the construction itself lasted from 1919 to 1932 - the road was built by 3 thousand soldiers who returned from the First World War, and today it is considered a memorial in memory of them and their comrades who did not return.
Much of the Great Ocean Road runs right along the Southern Ocean coastline, offering breathtaking views. The landscape is especially picturesque - between the town of Anglesey and the Bay of Apollo. Another noteworthy site is near the town of Lorne, where mountain streams and waterfalls cut through the rolling hills. The road also passes by the Otway National Park, where rare plant species from the tropical forests of southern Australia are found.
But, perhaps, the main attraction of the long path is the famous Twelve Apostles - limestone cliffs that grow directly from the ocean. They are located off the coast of Port Campbell National Park between Peterborough and Princeton. Once these rocks were called "Pig and Piglets", but in 1922, to attract tourists, they were renamed "Twelve Apostles", despite the fact that there were 9 rocks here, not 12. In 2005, one 50-meter rock collapsed under the influence erosion that has eroded it for thousands of years. Sooner or later, the waves and wind will complete their work, and the remaining 8 "apostles" will also be buried in the depths of the ocean. In the meantime, up to 2 million tourists a year come to see this amazing creation of nature!
