SIGHT TO SEE
THE TWELVE APOSTLES , AUSTRALIA
These iconic limestone stacks are an unmissable stop on the Great Ocean Road , says Emily Lush
The Twelve Apostles pierce the choppy waters of the Southern Ocean like stony fingers reaching toward the heavens . Visitors can admire the grouping of limestone pillars when travelling the Great Ocean Road , a 150-mile scenic highway that wraps around the southwestern coast of Victoria , Australia .
They ’ re located within Port Campbell National Park , a wonderland of vertiginous cliffs , pretty islets and billowing blow holes . The stacks , formed over millions of years by thrashing winds and pounding waves , are laced with millions of marine fossils . The tallest stack rises up an impressive 150 feet .
The Eastern Maar and Wadawurrung peoples , the traditional custodians of these lands and seas , place great spiritual significance on the site . It was first surveyed in 1798 by the English navigator George Bass , who christened the rocks and nearby Mutton Bird Island ‘ the Sow and Piglets ’. A push to energise tourism along the newly completed coastal highway saw it rebranded with its Biblical moniker in the 1920s . But it was always a misnomer : there have only ever been nine pillars at most in the cluster — although just seven stacks remain today after a pair crumbled away in 2005 and in 2009 .
More than two million people head to the site each year , placing it among Australia ’ s top three natural attractions . The pillars can be found 170 miles west of Melbourne , with new clifftop boardwalks and cantilevered platforms permitting a closer look . Farther away , Castle Rock Lookout has views of the Apostles plus a glimpse of its next-door neighbours , Gog and Magog — two more curious formations that sit off the coast . Visitors can also descend the nearby Gibson Steps to admire the Apostles from the beach .
ESSENTIALS
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The Twelve Apostles Viewpoint can be reached in less than four hours by car from Melbourne via Torquay and the Great Ocean Road . For a different perspective and a chance to spot additional ocean stacks , book a 15-minute scenic flight over the Shipwreck Coast with a local outfitter . image : GETTY
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