Holding on to an upturned lifeboat, in heavy fog and battling an unrelenting swell, a young English sailor called Tom Pearce got his first blush of Australia from the water after his ship hit a reef and sank on June 1, 1878.
Pearce was amazingly tossed on waves through an opening in the soaring cliffs at Cape Otway and made it through the wreck of the Loch Ard, washing up on the sand inside a canyon, later called after the unfortunate ship. Fast-forward 138 years and this treacherous and wildly gorgeous stretch of coastline is still placing on a relentless program this bright spring early morning Lorne accommodation. It's tough not to think of young Tom and 19-year-old Eva, the only other survivor of the wreck, as we base on a cliff looking down on that canyon, its rich yellow beach and the well-known 12 Apostle limestone stacks in the distance. When they were included the water they likewise became immersed in the story of Victoria's Great Ocean Road, their tale informed to this day on signs along the cliff-top trails, eight kilometres from Port Campbell. Considered as one of the most magnificent coastal drives in the world with lavish great ocean road accommodation, the 243-kilometre touring path has likewise been called the world's longest war memorial, having actually been built by returned World War I soldiers and committed to the fallen. To mark its 30th birthday this year, Scenic has launched a new 11-day Victorian Discovery trip taking in this significant coastline. The trip-- a big salami from Melbourne-- goes to the popular surfing beaches around Geelong and Lorne before heading to Loch Ard Gorge and the Twelve Apostles, Warrnambool, the health spa town of Daylesford and historical gold rush city of Ballarat. At the Museum of Australian Democracy (MADE) in Ballarat we see the original Southern Cross flag as our guide regales us with the heroics of Eureka Rebellion leader Peter Lalor. Stories of fortunes made and lost, grand structures rising, bars burning down and Lalor's journey from rebel gold miner to Speaker of the Victorian Parliament include depth to the sight-seeing around the town built throughout the Victorian gold rush. In Geelong, the National Wool Museum is custodian of among our country's most important narratives. It commemorates the essential role played by wool farmers in turning early Australia from a country of failing crops into an export powerhouse. Step-by-step, a mix of antique equipment and new innovation tells the story of how Australia rode to economic prosperity on the sheep's back. Our guide brushes us up on our primary school history lessons as we walk through an exhibition demonstrating how fleece becomes fabric, explaining how farms in this part of Victoria throughout the flourishing 1860s produced a few of the finest grade wools in the world. To this day, the very best quality wool available is still known as Geelong grade in wool-classing circles.
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