A few months ago my darling friend Zara and I had a work shift together and she was bursting to tell me about a camera (an old film camera) that she had bought. We chatted about photography for a while and then at some point one of us suggested going on a photography trip together. Whichever one of us suggested it, the other was eagerly on board and we began to figure out a weekend that the two of us could hang out for the day taking pictures. After a few reschedules we finally found ourselves in possession of a weekend that was mostly just for us. A single day had morphed into an overnight stay in the van, stealth camped somewhere on the coast.
We set off around 3.30pm and our destination goal was the 12 Apostles. Initially, I wanted to do some Golden Hour sunset photos there but because our whole trip was about photography we decided to take the scenic route instead of the direct one. We started in Geelong and navigated as best we could using tourist signs (they were lacking in some key spots) to head towards the Great Ocean Road. We got there eventually and on arriving at the official start of the road we spotted a gorgeous lighthouse. Both of us decided that it was a detour worth taking.
Because we had arrived to late in the day, the light was nice and soft, the parking restrictions didn’t apply and we had the place mostly to ourselves. The stop was a town called Aireys Inlet and the lighthouse is called the Split Point Lighthouse. It was gorgeous and later after leaving we were ecstatic to find out that it is THE LIGHTHOUSE FROM ROUND THE TWIST. Can’t believe that of all the lighthouses to stumble across on a meandering road adventure that we just happened to decide to detour to, we went to The Lighthouse of our childhoods. What a blast!
I snapped away in the drizzling rain and so did Zara on her new digital camera (the battery draining fast on hers). On the way out we heard an incredible bird call that I’d never heard before. A bit of googling tells me it was a Rufous Bristlebird. The call it made was absolutely gorgeous.
Back in the car and we made it to Lorne by sunset. We stopped at the supermarket for snacks and wine. I was hoping for a stunning sunset but the light and the clouds didn’t quite line up for what I wanted. We decided to push on a little further. Even though we’d been in the car for hours, we were still literally no closer to the 12 Apostles. That felt ridiculous but we kept meandering along the road. It was wet and dark so we drove as carefully as possible. After a while longer we arrived at Apollo Bay. Both of us were famished and tired and we spotted some other campervans pulled in to some public car parks by the beach. We joined them, got some takeaway noodle and snuggled up in the van for the night, listening to the sound of the waves making thunder on the sand and drinking wine out of tin cups that I had collected from fuel stops on my trip across the Nullarbor.
– L
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