Great Ocean Road – Day 1 (January 23)

Sunday began our two day adventure on the Great Ocean Road. This is always one of my favorite trips because you get a chance to see some beautiful scenery. Our day started with about and hour and half bus ride to Ocean Grove. Ocean Grove is where we were able to do a two our surf lesson. This is always a highlight for the students. They now have the opportunity to say that they surfed in Australia.

Time to get the boards

The company West Coast Surf was excellent. Upon arrival everyone was given a wet suit and a surfboard. We then went down to the beach where the instructors warmed the students up and gave them some initial instructions and then gave them the chance to surf for about two hours. There were definitely some tired and sore people following, but everyone had a great time.

Better stretch before you surf

After our surf lesson we drove to Torquey where we met up with Phil and had a quick lunch. Phil then gave a quick history of the surfing industry for the area. Two popular surf companies were started here, Quiksilver and Rip Curl. It is also close to Bell’s Beach which is one of the oldest surf competitions.

Some last instructions

After our stop here, we finally started on the Great Ocean Road. For those of you who don’t know, the Great Ocean Road is considered one of the most scenic drives, but is also thought by some to be the largest war memorial. Following World War I it was envisioned to bring tourism to the area, but also a chance for veterans to get jobs. Millions travel the Great Ocean Road each year.

Time to catch some waves

We made a quick stop in Lorne and had a great view of the road from Teddy’s Lookout. We then hiked down to the beach from the lookout where our guide Rob gave a talk to the students about indigenous culture. Our students were quite lucky to have such knowledgeable guides about this  topic and Rob did a great job.

Beginning of Great Ocean Road

After our talk we continued on the Great Ocean Road until we reached the town of Apollo Bay and our hostel. The accommodations are great in a quaint little beach town. While some of us were preparing our BBQ dinner, many of the students went down to the beach for a game of beach cricket. The students all enjoyed themselves, well except for one. We had been having a relatively injury free course until one of the students hurt his knee diving after a ball. Following dinner we ended up taking him to the emergency room, but not a whole lot could be done other than crutches and some pain relievers. Hopefully nothing too serious was done.

Students at Teddys Lookout

View from Teddys Lookout

Rob talking to the students about indigenous culture