Cape Otway Diary - Day 5

On the edge of this vast land that we call Australia, on the south-eastern coastline, green, rolling, rugged hills meet the crashing blue surf of the Southern Ocean. These hills are known as the Otway Ranges. A grand road has been forged into the sides of these hills and along the curved, sweeping sandy bays - and this is The Great Ocean Road.

Capes are pieces of land that reach out into the ocean. They are wild places of bleakness and beauty, shipwrecks and fierce seas. The Otway Ranges curl down into Cape Otway - and it is here that Forest and I currently call home. It is indeed a beautiful and desolate place with only a handful of human inhabitants. The koalas on the other hand just love the Cape and their population is thriving. Perhaps because there are no people....?

This morning we walked through fields of sea grasses and scrub bushes, spiraling manna gums and fresh ocean air, in search of a hidden and wonderful place - the old cemetery of the early settlers to these parts. And why were they here these people of old - 150 to 200 years ago? Because of the ferocious seas of the Cape - to man the lighthouse.

The walk was quite long, but even after just a few days of being here and spending 95 percent of our waking hours outdoors, I feel vitality pulsing through my body. My legs powering me along the sandy paths with my precious passenger enjoying the views, and my dear soul-mate L by my side. So refreshing - so sweet and fully in the now.

The fields finally gave way to low bushes arching over a path. We turned a corner and there nestled in this coastal bushland were a tiny collection of sinking headstones and a memorial pillar to a group of sailors who perished 150 years ago on the Cape.

Cape Otway Cemetery

As soon as I turned that corner, the beauty and tranquility of this spot captured my consciousness and I was so touched by this peaceful place of history and loss.

Forest ambled happily around the graves playing, as L rested in the shade and I read the inscriptions. One grave had a particular impact on me - the resting place of two babies - both children of the early lighthouse keepers assistant, who were born a year apart and died as infants. So sad. I can't imagine the hardships of life that this family must have endured - and oh, that poor mother - losing two babes. Such tragedy. It happened so long ago, but now with a babe myself, it hurts me to think of this unknown lighthouse lady.

To get to our cabin on the Cape, you leave The Great Ocean Road and drives through Great Otway National Park. This afternoon we said goodbye to L, and Forest and I took our first walk in the rainforest of the park. Wondrousness! I am marveling in the miracles of our Mother Earth! This walk was such a contrast to our morning walk of dry, arid sparseness - here was verdant,lush fecundity. Layers of interacting plant life oozing potent energetic vibes. How I loved this place! Damp, dark, mossy - vibrant springy orange fungus, giant myrtle beech trees with cavernous openings in the bases of their trunks and root systems that look as though the elves have fashioned them for their beautiful nature palaces. We do not have these incredible trees in our rainforest home.

Great Otway National Park

This evening we returned to Apollo Bay and F played on the beach in the twilight. Such a lovely day.