Sunday, March 16, 2008

The Twelve Apostles

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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.

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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.

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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...

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

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

2 comments:

gonoles84 said...

Well, you could've just used a spatula and turned the old couple over so they got an even burn. I would've poked 'em.

Vampire Hours said...

I think it's illegal to poke the elderly while they are in the midst of suntan turnover time. I'll have to check that....