Unite Vegans (Part 4)
Lorne is the first little seaside village James and I drive through. It's really cute with little shops lining the main street passing through, and we pass by Scotchman's Hill. The turquoise waters are glittering, and there are white and purple agapanghus in full bloom on the other side of the curvy road.
The sign reads, "Drive on LEFT. AUSTRALIA."
I've thought about renting a car here, but think it would be challenging for me to be driving the car on the left side of the road, while I'm sitting in the driver's seat on the right side of the car. "It might derail The Silent Project; I might have to scream," I'd scribbled to Kat earlier when I'd walked to her side of the car to get in on what would've been the American car passenger seat, and she'd laughed and said, "You can drive, if you like." She laughed so much, and I had a silent chuckle, too.
James is quite a good driver, maneuvering the van along the twisting highway. I'm on the ocean side as we head from Melbourne to Adelaide. Lucky me!
Yes, indeed. Lucky me.
Wongarra Land Protection area is another sign. We're headed toward Apollo Bay where we'll see some of the Twelve Apostles. Lonely Planet explains, "The lonely Twelve Apostles are rocky stacks that have been abandoned to the ocean by retreating headland. Today, only seven Apostles can be seen from the viewing platforms." They're eroding and changing and new ones are forming. Change is inevitable. It's the only constant.
The guidebook continues, "The Twelve Apostles are not 12 in number, and, from all records, never have been. From the viewing platform you can clearly count seven Apostles, but maybe some obscure others? The Apostles are called 'stacks' in geologic lingo, and the rock formations were originally called the 'Sow and Piglets.' Someone in the 60s thought they might attract some tourists with a more venerable name, so they were renamed 'the Apostles.' Since apostles tend to come by the dozen, the number 12 was added sometime later. The two stacks on the easter (Otway) side of the viewing platform are not technically Apostles 00 they're Gog and Magog [religious nomenclature]. The soft limestone cliffs are dynamic and changeable, constantly eroded by the unceasing waves-- one 70m-high stack collapsed into the sea in July 2005 and the Island Archway lost its archway in June 2009. If you look carefully at how the waves lick around the pointy part of the cliff base, you can see a new Apostle being born. The labor labour lasts many thousands of years."
Foamy white waves are crashing against the rocks, as we drive high above on the cliff-edge road. I'm aware of gratitude for the people who built this road, toiling to allow for the opportunity to traverse and enjoy these spectacular vistas.
Time to return to the now and take in the scenery.
Carisbrook Falls, the sign reads. James turns in. There's a path. We're off to explore.
Photo: Kaci with Justin and Jordan from Vegan Style
