Bottles off the Great Ocean Road
Behind Victoria’s world famous Great Ocean Road lays another country.
A slight ripple on the water gives it away, though it could be a duck, a grebe perhaps? The small hairy back moves purposefully forward, dives and disappears. Not a duck or a grebe. It’s a platypus.
They’ve survived for millions of years by practicing stealth tactics. Foraging in clean deep water for snails, insect larvae and worms, a little brown platypus is nearly impossible to spot in evening light. It takes a keen eye. Our guide, Brian Jackson, runs daily eco-tours out of the tiny central Otway Range’s regional town, Forrest, to nearby Lake Elizabeth. After years of spotting platypus, he has become an expert in platypus’ clandestine ways.
Paddling quietly in canoes, Jackson knows the secret spots where this lake’s colony of approximately a half dozen platypus prefers to feed. We sit and wait in the gloaming. Not a bad way to spend an evening. The platypus sleeps tucked away deep and invisible in its extended riverbank burrow, feeding on average for three hours at dawn and three hours at dusk. Apparently they’re more active at dusk. We’re four passengers in two canoes sitting in absolute silence while Jackson guides us on several circuits of Lake Elizabeth’s placid waters in search of one of the world’s oddest creatures.
The lake itself is an anomaly. Its waters were formed by a landslip in 1953 when the Upper Barwon River changed its course. In 1953 the lake’s average depth was approximately thirty metres. Now it’s five metres. No one knows exactly when the platypus took up residence. Dead tree trunks rise up like ghosts. Steep banks offer platypus excellent opportunity for burrowing and cover. The lake is well off the beaten track, is secluded and peaceful.
And yet, the two principle Great Ocean Road towns, Lorne and Apollo Bay are less than fifty kilometres away as the crow flies. Travellers in their hundreds of thousands use the Great Ocean Road, so much so that it has entered the ‘Australian Bucket List’ of innumerable international visitors, rivalling the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru in popularity.
The country beyond the Great Ocean Road remains largely unexplored, as does the Bellarine Peninsula. The ferry between Queenscliff and Sorrento transports vehicles and passengers on the hour every hour. Touring drivers intent on giving Melbourne’s traffic congestion wide berth choose the ferry option across The Rip, the entrance to Port Phillip Bay, whose waters encircle the Bellarine Peninsula while they speed on to The Great Ocean Road. Most visitors don’t know about Port Phillip Bay’s rich biodiversity or maritime history.
Cruising on the bay in a small boat proves more interesting than I first thought believable. Within minutes of leaving Queenscliff’s Boat Harbour, we’re joined by a small pod of Bottlenose Dolphins.
Port Phillip Bay’s Bottlenose Dolphins have been recently classified as a separate sub-species. With only 150 dolphins, give or take a few, their limited numbers along with their newly appointed biological identification has ensured Endangered Species status. Seeing them while they swim around our little boat is a rare treat.
We head out to South Channel Fort, a rocky fortified islet whose position at the southernmost extent of Melbourne’s main shipping channel guaranteed strategic importance, particularly during the years between the Boer War and WW1. Though the fort’s cannons were never fired at enemy boats, for several decades up to one hundred soldiers were permanently stationed there. Abandoned after WW11, the South Channel Fort is now managed by Victorian Parks and Wildlife and is open to a few qualified registered tour operators. The island has become an important breeding habitat for little penguins and migrating sea birds.
Queenscliff is the gem of the Bellarine Peninsula though its neighbour Point Lonsdale competes on equal terms. They’re both quiet seaside towns packed with living history. The towns’ grand old hotels of yesteryear when a trip from Melbourne to Queenscliff for a summer holiday was proof of having made it in the social climbing stakes are still grand in looks but not as busy as they once were, perfect for travellers pursuing quality down time instead of non-stop activity.
Avoiding the increasingly heavy traffic on the Great Ocean Road, I drive inland to Birregurra en route to Forrest. Rolling countryside, refreshingly green again after years of drought, recedes into the distant low rising Otway Ranges. There’s little traffic on the roads passing through tiny hamlets of Deans Marsh and Barwon Downs and the driving is pleasantly effortless.
The Otway Ranges is the rainiest place in Australia. Note it’s not the wettest. Far north Queensland’s rainforests are wetter. It rains approximately 280 of 365 days per year in the Otways. A fairly constant drizzle which is a result of mist rising from the Southern Ocean meeting the Otway Range’s V shaped topography. The funnelling effect creates precipitation filled clouds that linger over the central ridgelines. The northern side of the Otways is usually dry, as are the beaches on the southern side. In the middle between Forrest and Gellibrand south to Beech Forest and Cape Otway itself, the weather is normally wet.
This unusual topography has blessed the Otway Ranges with stunning wet sclerophyll rainforest. Though logging has taken its toll, remnant stands of towering Mountain Ash interspersed with Australian Myrtle Beech, ferns and rare flora exist in pockets, protected mostly by the Great Otway National Park.
The Otway Fly opened earlier this decade to help educate visitors about the wonders of the Otway Range’s ecology. Located outside the hamlet of Beech Forest, the Otway Fly is open year round all day. While treading metal boardwalks suspended at tree canopy height is interesting, I’m taken by the notion of flying through the canopy instead.
A zipline began operating soon after January 2011. Hanging from a thin cable, zippers speed from tree to tree, stopping just long enough to unhook gear from one zipline to another, an exhilarating way to get up close and personal with the rainforest, adrenalin rush included.
Two guides accompany ten zippers at all times. Their knowledge of Otway biodiversity is impressive and I’m charmed by their genuine enthusiasm for both the contemporary adventure travel aspects and the immemorial impact the ancient forest has on us all.
During the longest zip, 120 metres from tree to tree, I have a flashback to the previous evening when I was canoeing on Lake Elizabeth looking for a platypus. The contrast between these two activities is remarkable, slow paddling one day, fast flying the next. No beaches. No crowds either. And I’ve got used to the constant rain.
Naked Facts:
Getting there:
Road access to the Bellarine Peninsula and Otway Ranges is easy. The closest airport is at Avalon with several Jetstar flights from various capital cities. Alternatively, Melbourne’s International Airport at Tullamarine is approximately 2 hours drive from Queenscliff or 2.5 hours to Forrest.
Booking:
Check www.dolphinswims.com.au for information about cruises on Port Phillip Bay. Dolphin swims and trips to South Channel Fort run twice daily from October until May.
See www.platypustours.net.au to check out Bruce Jackson’s Otway Eco Tours, including evening canoe trips on Lake Elizabeth.
The Otway Fly is open daily. The zipline has become very popular and bookings are essential. See www.otwayfly.com.au for more information.
Staying there:
Tarndwarncoort Homestead five kilometres from Birregurra is a heritage listed farming property in a beautiful rural location. The eight bedroom homestead can easily accommodate large family groups. A two bedroom cottage is also available for accommodation. Self catering is the way to go though owners, the Dennis family, are happy to stock the larder with advance notice. See www.tarndwarncoort.com for more information.
Number 35 B & B in Point Lonsdale has four large suites. Excellent breakfasts are included. See www.numberthirtyfive.com.au for bookings.
The Mantra Erskine Beach Resort in Lorne is well located in this busy holiday town. Tennis courts, ocean frontage and indoor swimming pool are added bonuses. See www.mantraerskinebeachresort.com.au for bookings.