Twelve Apostles

The Twelve Apostles of the Great Ocean Road are a famous natural wonder.

The extraordinary rock formations are the remnants from constant erosion of the limestone cliffs of the mainland that began 10-20 million years ago.

The limestone was created through the build up of skeletons of marine creatures on the sea floor. As the sea retreated, the limestone was exposed.

The stormy Southern Ocean and blasting winds gradually eroded the softer limestone, forming caves in the cliffs. The caves eventually became arches and when they collapsed, stacks of rock up to 45 metres high were left isolated from the shore.

From the lookout, you can see a number of the twelve apostles, the others are located behind the rocky headlands that line the Victoria coastline. Originally the Twelve Apostles were named the "Sow and Piglets" - the sow was Muttonbird Island, the piglets being the smaller surrounding rocks.