I said goodbye to Matt early this morning, as he needed to get back to the Big Easy for work. What a terrific time we had together. Couldn’t have been better or more fun. His visit was perfectly timed, after my first two weeks and before weeks four and five. Thanks, Matt. You are the perfect travel companion.

The Great Ocean Road, a 150 mile stretch of Victoria’s coastline in Australia’s south, is mind-bendingly beautiful. A stunning drive that rivals Big Sur but is of course different, it winds through and over cliffs, dunes, forests and small towns that dot its path. It overwhelms and overloads one’s senses after a while, but in really good ways.

Torquay is the starting point when driving west. Surf shops, endless rolling waves and smiling Sunday morning surfers were everywhere.

Catching rides on a stand up paddle board – pretty cool.

Just south of Torquay:

The Twelve Apostles, rock formations named after you know who, in Port Campbell National Park. Rather iconic, although the weather wasn’t ideal for photographing them today.

Cliff formations in Port Campbell NP. These were absolutely magnificent.

A really fun day with lots of coastal driving. Heading towards Adelaide and then Ayers Rock and possibly Darwin. I’ll be figuring out logistics in the next several days. There’s so much to see here that it’s a bit overwhelming. Everywhere I’ve been has been mesmerizing. I’ve never been anywhere before where it’s all stupendous, but Australia fits that bill. Just magnificent in every way, including the people, food and culture.