Australia’s Crumbling Coast

Standing on the edge of a cliff, the powerful force of Victoria’s rugged coastline is captivating. Australia’s most travelled (and also most scenic) stretch of road, winds along the coast and ends for many at the 12 Apostles in Port Campbell National Park.

We challenge any geographical destination to offer a spectacle as this; standing on a wooden bridge jutting out above Australia’s roughest ocean.

Overlooking massive sandstone rock faces, Oliver, (BISON’s photographer) fixed his camera on the stacks of rock that had broken off the mainland. Through the natural course of time Victoria’s coastline was changing, it seemed rapidly. Just 15 years ago another of the site's main attractions, the London Bridge, fell into the sea. Tourists at the time remained trapped on what was left of the bridge, and had to be rescued.

We noticed a reflective, somewhat silent mood had filled the air. A number of people silently arrived to experience a sunset at the 12 Apostles. Hushed discussions surrounding the latest event of yet another apostle crumbling. A few people pointed to the pile of rubble that remained after the collapse.

Oliver kept shooting as the light changed, and the apostles began to glow. Locals and tourists alike were struck by the rock formations' beauty.

It’s hard to pin point exactly what it is that draws so many people each year. Is it the open space, is it their sheer size, or is the realisation that people are so small in the grand scheme of things?

Looking around, we noticed people from all over their world; Japan, America, Germany, Russia and the ever present surfers that ‘came down to just watch the sunset’.

The sky changed from deep blue, to a hazy pink, then to a remarkable purple. The enormity of these giants rising from the sea becoming more apparent as darkness fell.

There is a tranquillity captured in a frozen moment only to be broken by a child that asked, “What are we waiting for?”