The Twelve Apostles

A friend I met in Sydney (who happened to live in Melbourne), offered to take me up the coast to see a famous Australian landmark, The Twelve Apostles. It is a collection of immense limestone rocks that have become quite the tourist attraction over the years, although a few of the apostles have disappeared into the ocean over time. So, it's more like 8 1/2 apostles and some remnants. I offered to pay for gas, but Clint said he had a company car and that there was no need. When he pulled up, I had to get a picture of his vehicle. I've known people who had company cars in the past (lucky bastards), but had never seen one quite so subtley branded.



So, what we thought was an hour and a half drive, turned out to be a three hour drive ("a three hour drive...the weather started getting rough...") through the flatlands that is Australia's countryside. The country has been having a drought for the past seven years, so the landscaping is a bit on the brown/dry side.



Thankfully, Clint had air-conditioning (because it was about 100 degrees AGAIN) and a good stereo and music selection...so, between that and the conversation, the time went pretty fast. We finally made it up to the coastal area and stopped by a small beach town. It was much cooler here and quite beautiful. I saw this older couple sleeping on the ground (at least I think they were sleeping...I didn't poke'em with a stick or anything) and had to get a pic. It looks like the husband just said "Let's take a wee nap here, shall we, Margaret?". They obviously did...



After a couple other quick scenic stops to smaller cliff/cove areas along the way...





We made it to the 12 A's area...



And, I have to say...they were pretty spectacular.



As I stood there and took in the majestic scenery and several photos, I counted the rocks and could only see 6 1/2. I asked Clint if the other two had, perhaps, gone on holiday (the heat can be challenging, even for landmarks) and he said that the others were right behind us...over here.



There they were and it was quite a view too. Perhaps these two apostles were shunned because they didn't play sports well or graduate at the top of their element chart. Who knows? I found them to be very spectacular and special, on their own. We're gonna grab dinner one night if they ever make it to LA...

But the others were cool too...so I tried not to play favorites.



After a quick look inside the small visitors area for a brochure (not one in sight), we took a quick break and headed back to Sydney. As we got closer to the city, the sun started to set and the sky put on quite a display.





It certainly seemed like a fitting visual end to a Sunday spent visiting a few local apostles....