The Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage listed 243-kilometre (151 mi) stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool.
The road was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and is
the world's largest war memorial; dedicated to casualties of World War I.
It is an important tourist attraction in the region, which winds
through varying terrain alongside the coast, and provides access to
several prominent landmarks; including the nationally significant Twelve Apostles limestone stack formations.
The Great Ocean Road, officially starts at Torquay and travels 243 kilometres westward to finish at Allansford near Warrnambool, the largest city along the road. The road is two lane (one in each direction), with the majority covered by an 80 kilometre per hour speed limit.
The road is considered a tourist attraction in the area, in which much of the road hugs coastline affectionately known as the Surf Coast between Torquay and Cape Otway and theShipwreck Coast further west of Cape Otway, providing visibility of Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean.
The road traverses rainforests, as well as beaches and cliffs composed
of limestone and sandstone, which is susceptible to erosion. The road travels via Anglesea, Lorne, Apollo Bay, and Port Campbell, the latter being notable for its natural limestone and sandstone rock formations including Loch Ard Gorge, The Grotto, London Arch and The Twelve Apostles
The city of Geelong,
close to Torquay, experiences great benefit from Australian and
international visitors to the road; with Geelong Otway Tourism affirming
it as an invaluable asset. The Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) listed the road as the state's top tourism experience in its Victoria 101 survey, based on spots recommended by members and the public on what they would recommend to visitors. However, according to a survey performed by the Surf Coast Shire, residents have expressed concern that there are not enough safe crossings along the road.
Besides standard vehicular travel, a 45 kilometre section between Lorne and Apollo Bay is used for the annual Great Ocean Road Marathon, first started in 2005. As of 2012,
the marathon record of two hours, 27 minutes and 42 seconds set in 2011
is held by James Kipkelwon, of Kenya. James Kipkelwon also won the
event in 2012.
Origin Wikipedia...
Post a Comment