On Monday, John drove a rental car so we could leisurely stop and see many of the less-traveled sites along the 150-mile stretch of the Great Ocean Drive from Geelong (I was incorrect in my past pronunciation key; it’s JUH-long) to Warrnambool which borders the Southern Ocean. All of the photos I posted yesterday come from that drive.

I must say that the geographical diversity within that area of Australia proved to serve us with the most rewarding day of the trip. From the sandy beaches to the rocky cliffs to the damp rain forests to the limestone formations rising out of the sea, there’s no better day that I can ever remember in all our travels. And because we drove rather than join a tour bus, we stopped at so many quirky and amazing places.

The most unusual spot? Carisbrook Creek with its tourist-stacked rock towers. The most awesome spot? The Twelve Apostles monolithic towers jutting out of the ocean floor–although only eight formations remain. And the most unexpected stop? To take a photo of a koala sitting in a small tree at the edge of an aromatic eucalyptus forest. I saw his bottom poking out and yelled to John, “Stop!” Mr. Koala blinked at me as I came around the tree to see his face. I could have reached up to touch his face!

The wonders of God’s handiwork amaze me.