Travel: 12 Apostles Australia

The picturesque beauty of 12 Apostles! The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of the Port Campbell National Park, by the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. Their proximity to one another has made the site a popular tourist attraction. Currently there are eight apostles left, the ninth one of the stacks collapsed dramatically in July 2005. 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 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 50 metres high. Now because of this erosion there are fewer than ten remaining. 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, despite only ever having nine stacks.

The 12 Apostles was one of the best works of nature I have ever witnessed in my life. It was hours of travel by road from Melbourne City but it was all worth it. This place is indeed one of a kind. It's the top 1 on my list to visit in Australia. What made it even more exciting was my helicopter ride experience where I had the 360 degrees view of the place. It was truly unforgettable!