The Twelve Apostles are located near Port Campbell on the south-western coast of Victoria in South-eastern Australia. They are considered to be one of the biggest attractions in the country. They fall entirely within the borders of Twelve Apostles Marine National Park. This natural phenomenon is situated on the border between the Bass Strait, which separates the mainland from Tasmania and the Great Australian Bight, which is part of the Indian Ocean. The Apostles rise to a height about 50 meters next to the steep and eroded limestone shore of the state.
They were formed 26 million years ago under the influence of large ocean waves, tossing directly into the 60-70 meters high red rocky shore.
Under the power of nature these fragile rocks are now eroding by about 2 centimetres per year. In July 2005th one of the nine existing boulder was completely destroyed. Therefore, nowadays there are only 8 of these 12 magnificent rocks and 4 of them have already fallen.
Besides the beauty of The Apostles, this coast offers stunning bays and extensive beaches, covered with fine orange sand. Despite their beauty, these beaches are not quite suitable for swimming.
The ocean surface here is rare calm and swimmers conditions are often quite risky. Therefore, this area is usually calm and there are not many people, so you can be alone with your own thoughts, enjoying the beauty of nature.
These inaccessible rocky shores and rising from the water limestone blocks are home to a wide variety of sea birds. The local area is quiet and very picturesque. Major cities in the region are missing, and the largest city in Victoria – Melbourne is about 180 km from here.
Standing on the ocean shore, before your eyes will reveal an incredible view. The scenery is most beautiful at sunset when the orange rocks are dyed in even more saturated hues.
The Twelve Apostles (or at least those rocks which remained and still resist the fury of nature), have voiced and strange names. Some of the more famous are London Bridge, Baker Oven, Thunder Cave and The Sentinel Rock.
What is the future of the Twelve Apostles? Unfortunately, in the future probably the eight remaining limestone colossus will be hit by the same fate as those four, which no longer exist.
That could happen today or after a million years, but surely someday the power of erosion will prevail. You might be wondering what this picturesque coast will looks like in the future?
Unrecognisable or maybe not much different compared with today? Only one thing is certain – strong winds and powerful ocean waves will continue to delve into the rocks, forming strange new relief forms, while the old rocks will continue to deteriorate.