This image is included in a gallery "Most Outstanding Landscapes in the World" curated by mark doyle.

A stone throw's distance from the 12 Apostles is a sightseeing stopoff called Gibson Steps. Reaching the beach surface via 86 steps, two huge limestone stacks, referred to as Gog and Magog by locals, are towering into the sky at an arm's length. Surveying these stacks at such a close distance, visitors are easily "dwarfed" if not enthralled.

Gog and Magog are names that appear in the Old Testament and in numerous subsequent works, including the Book of Revelation and the Qur'an, sometimes indicating individuals and sometimes lands and peoples. Sometimes, but not always, they are connected with the "end times", and the passages from the Book of Ezekiel and Book of Revelation in particular have attracted attention for this reason.

Gibson Steps --- originally built by the Aborigines, subsequently maintained by Hugh Gibson of the Glenample Homestead, are a steep and slippery flight of rocky steps, giving access to a wild, kelp-covered beach beneath the 70 metre cliff.

Looking beyond the horizon is Great Australian Bight.

According to Alison Dods of Parks Victoria, Gog is the male and the larger stack, whereas the smaller one is Magog and is the female.

Tags:   Gog and Magog Gibson Steps Port Campbell Victoria Australia Travel HDR CPL filter Scenics,not justlandscapes! Landscape wide angle lens cloudless blue sky water reflection Summer morning shadows shades geo tagged Geological feature limestone stacks cliff face seascape sea cliff seaside sandy beach Nature National Geographic closetonature Concordians sea stacks Gibson Beach full frame uncropped rock erosion in gallery horizon Great Australian Bight wet sand white sea waves ocean GrandeMareGroup foamy waves Great Ocean Road geo-site side-lit waterscape

© All Rights Reserved

This image is included in 2 galleries :- 1) "Cliffs" curated by Corentin Grosset and 2) "The Best of Nature and Landscape 5" by Thomas Luckman.

"London Bridge" is a tourist attraction along Great Ocean Road, about 10 minutes drive from the Port Campbell Township. The Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage listed 243 kilometres stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Allansford.

The "bridge" joining the arch crumbled on 15/1/1990. Now only the arch is standing to brave the waves and tides and winds and harsh Australian sun. It is now called London Arch.

It was a mild morning: the wind was gentle and the temperature was timidly cool. This was taken about 22 minutes before sunrise. The thin, long clouds in the distance appeared golden. The sun would rise (5:57am) from the left-hand side. Looking beyond the horizon is Bass Strait.

( Explored : Apr 15, 2023 #72 )

Tags:   London Bridge Port Campbell Great Ocean Road Grande Mare Group seascape Long exposure HDR at dawn Nature National Geographic closetonature Concordians Scenics,not justlandscapes! geo tagged Geological feature Victoria Australia Summer morning Port Campbell National Park full frame uncropped landscape horizon London Arch rock erosion crumpled arch Allansford Torquay travel before dawn Australian National Heritage Bass Strait sea cliff headland sandy beach foamy white waves in explore explored pink sky low tide in gallery cliff face wide angle lens golden hour side-lit waterscape

© All Rights Reserved

This image is included in a gallery "Favourite Landscapes" curated by MK Hardy.

The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of Port Campbell National Park. Their proximity to one another has made the site a popular tourist attraction. Currently there are eight apostles left but the name remains significant and spectacular especially in the Australian tourism industry. The apostles were formed by erosion: the harsh and extreme weather conditions from the South 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 45metres 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 were the Piglets); after which it was renamed to The Apostles for tourism purposes. The formation eventually became known as the Twelve Apostles.

It was a fine evening. The sea was calm. The sunset time was 8:27 pm, and this was taken at 9:11 pm, long after sunset. The afterglow from the left hand side conjured up much magical effects on the sea mist and clouds. The cliffs along the coast are still visible. From this position we can make out 5 intact Apostles in silhouttes and 1 fallen Apostle (crumbled on 3.7.2005). Looking beyond the horizon is Bass Strait.

Tags:   12 Apostles Twelve Apostles Great Ocean Road Grande Mare Group Summer evening Princetown HDR after sunset Nature National Geographic closetonature Concordians Landscape night scene after glow wide angle lens sunset clouds misty sky haze Port Campbell geo tagged Geological feature limestone stacks limestone rocks Scenics,not justlandscapes! seascape horizon Bass Strait Sow and Piglets Victoria Australia Travel sea shore sea cliff Long exposure magical effects seaside plants in gallery silhouttes calm sea full frame uncropped fallen apostle Port Campbell National Park rock erosion tourist attraction beach not explored side-lit waterscape

© All Rights Reserved

This image is included in a gallery "Paesaggi 20" curated by
Stefano Bacci.

The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of Port Campbell National Park. Their proximity to one another has made the site a popular tourist attraction. Currently there are eight apostles left but the name remains significant and spectacular especially in the Australian tourism industry. The apostles were formed by erosion: the harsh and extreme weather conditions from the South 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 45metres 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 were the Piglets); after which it was renamed to The Apostles for tourism purposes. The formation eventually became known as the Twelve Apostles.

It was a mild evening. There were occasional thin clouds. The mist around the area made it rather atmospheric in the setting sun. From this position we can only see 5 Apostles in silhouttes. Looking beyond the horizon is Bass Strait.

( Explored : Jan 17, 2023 #53 )

Tags:   12 Apostles Princetown Port Campbell Great Ocean Road Grande Mare Group Nature National Geographic closetonature Concordians Scenics,not justlandscapes! Summer evening backlit blue sky Sunset limestone stacks geo tagged Geological feature super wide angle lens HDR coastal vegetation Landscape thin clouds silhouette Victoria Australia 5 Apostles full frame uncropped sea stacks travel rock erosion Sow and Piglets sea cliffs horizon Bass Strait on rushing sea waves evening clouds evening mist seascape in explore explored in gallery side-lit waterscape

© All Rights Reserved

This image is included in 3 galleries :- 1) "2022 12 27 Di acer2" curated by BAKAWI, 2) "Paesaggi 20" by Stefano Bacci and 3) "Sunset/Sunrise 24(702" by DAN VARTANIAN.

This was taken on a fine summer's evening, moments before the sun disappeared from the horizon. The sea was relatively calm and only an occasional gentle breeze turned up to break the serenity. It was cloudless, hence the sky was a pure golden-orange.

Previously known as Island Archway, they are about 160 metres from Loch Ard Gorge. The arch collapsed in June 2009 and the two remaining rock pillars have since been officially named Tom and Eva after the two survivors of the Loch Ard shipwreck.

Australian's European history has numerous stories of shipwrecks, and one of the worst tragedies was that of the Loch Ard, wrecked on Mutton Bird Island reefs in 1878, just off the Shipwreck Coast in Victoria, Australia.

The Loch Ard was an iron-hulled three masted clipper ship, whose name came from a lake just west of the village of Aberfoyle in Scotland. It was on a non-stop voyage from London to Melbourne with passengers that included members of the Carmichael family. Three months out from London, after days of fog and haze, Captain Gibb had trouble calculating his position for the critical pass into Bass Strait's western entrance (a 90 km passage between the coast and King Island). On the 1st June, 1878, the captain tried to take evasive action when he saw how close they were to the cliffs. This was to no avail when the ship struck the reefs of Mutton Bird Island, just off the coast. The mast and rigging smashed, some of it onto the deck and trapping some people, others were washed overboard, then the ship began to roll. It took only fifteen minutes for the Loch Ard to sink. Of the 54 passengers and crew, there were only two survivors, Tom Pearce, a member of the crew and 18 year old Eva Carmichael, who was travelling with her family. Tom, clinging to a overturned lifeboat, was washed into a deep gorge, that now bears the name the Loch Ard Gorge. Eva, who could not swim, managed to cling to some wreckage from the ship, which drifted through huge twin cliffs into a small bay of the gorge. She was very exhausted, and Tom saw her in the waves and despite being exhausted himself, swam out to rescue her, and after an hour long struggle managed to bring her safely back to land. Tom took Eva to a cave at the end of the gorge, then climbed the cliffs to get help, not seeing the steps that were already cut into the cliff face. He ran into a party from nearby Glenample Station who returned with him to rescue Eva. After their recovery they never saw each other again, as Eva returned to Ireland and later married. Tom eventually became a ship's captain. (Sourced from Internet)

( Explored : Dec 29, 2022 #166 )

Tags:   Eva and Tom Port Campbell Victoria Australia Summer evening summer sunset HDR mauve sky blue sea Nature closetonature Concordians Grande Mare Group Scenics,not justlandscapes! Landscape wide angle lens limestone stacks Rock formation rock erosion calm water backlit Island Archway National Geographic Geological feature geo tagged sea cliff coastal flora seascape shadows Lord Ard Gorge horizon Bass Strait Great Australian Bight South Ocean golden orange sunset in gallery serenity spinifex grass minimalistic surrealistic aquamarine sea in explore explored waterscape

© All Rights Reserved