Wolfgang's photos with the keyword: Victoria’s Great Ocean Road

Last view during twilight on the way back to Melbourne.

Queenscliff is a former 1880s seaside resort now known for its Victorian era heritage and tourist industry and as one of the endpoints of the Searoad ferry to Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula.

During our return to Melbourne we stopped man times to enjoy the amazing vistas to Victoria's coast, sometimes sand beaches mostly rock coast.

The great photographer was the famous "Mr automatic releaser".

They offer stunning beaches along Victoria's coastline, almost deserted.

The flight with an helicopter was the unforgettable experience and a view like out a bird eye to the twelve apostles rocks.

Just a few minutes before landing the chopper the pilot gave me one more turn along the south-west coast to enjoy watching the spectacular sea surf.

The wild and powerful Southern Ocean that sculpts the area's limestone landscape.

A helicopter flight here to view the Apostles from the air.

Nobody should miss an helicopter ride to get the real enjoyment of this natural wonder of the world.

The Great Ocean Road rejoins the coast and its famous and often photographed rock formations, The Twelve Apostles.

Outside 150 km from Melbourne.

This part of the Victorian coastline is known as the Shipwreck Coast and is responsible for the sinking of up to eighty vessels.

When you go along the tracks on the right hand side there are two of the rocks. The constant action of the sea on the limestone slowly wore down the rocky cliff, gradually leaving individual rocks. The cliff is still being eroded at a rate of about 2cm each year, and in the future is likely to form more 'Apostles' from the other rocky headlands that line the Victorian coastline.

The Parks Victoria has built boardwalks, tracks, and viewing areas to ensure to get spectacular views of the Twelve Apostles. We came late in the afternoon being sure to have good light for photographing.

The apostles were formed by erosion: the harsh weather conditions from the Southern Ocean gradually eroded the soft limestone to form caves in the cliffs, which then became arches, which in turn collapsed; leaving rock stacks up to 45 metres high. The site was known as the Sow and Piglets until 1922 (Muttonbird Island, near Loch Ard Gorge, was the Sow, and the smaller rock stacks the Piglets); after which it was renamed to The Apostles for tourism purposes. The formation eventually became known as the Twelve Apostles, despite only ever having nine stacks.

The stacks are susceptible to further erosion from the waves. On 3 July 2005, a 50 metre tall stack collapsed, leaving eight remaining. On 25 September 2009, three years after our visit, it was thought that another of the stacks fell, but this was actually one of the smaller stacks of the Three Sisters formation. The rate of erosion at the base of the limestone pillars is approximately 2 cm per year. It is expected however, that due to wave action eroding the cliff face, existing headlands will become new limestone stacks in the future.