Last weekend Ross & I headed down to Port Campbell with the aim of paddling around some of the gorgeous sea cliffs and caves of the Port Campbell National Park. We have been down this way a few times before, touring and for the Great Ocean Walk. Somehow, though I didn’t take many pictures of some the really famous sites like Loch Ard Gorge and the Twelve Apostles. This time, however, the weather was great, I have my new(ish) camera and we had to spend a lot of time looking at the ocean, trying to judge whether or not it was safe enough to paddle out.
Since I first visited this coast, I’ve really, really wanted to kayak around the stacks and through the arches.. It was, in fact, one of the main drivers of getting a kayak that we could easily carry down the steep cliffs to launch from the small bays and coves.
This is the exit to the Gorge. The shore itself is at the back of the gorge which extends almost as far again past the right border of this image. The only access is to paddle out from the shore through the rough water at the bottom right where the gorge is very narrow. Even a small swell bounces the waves through that narrow entrance turning the water into a boiling, white mess.
A north wind had been blowing and had softened the big surf that batters this coast and causes the erosion that formed this amazing coastline. Still, it was still very rough and a bit scary getting through the gorge entrance, and we didn’t stay out too long or go too far. BUT, we did get through the arch!
Hopefully next time the swell will be less and we can go further. We’d also like to dive on the wreck of the Loch Ard, the clipper wrecked near that archway in 1878, for which the gorge is named.