GETAWAY TURNS 30
GREAT OCEAN ROAD A FAVE FOR OUR CATRIONA
CHANNEL 9 Getaway presenter and Little River local Catriona Rowntree has revealed that the Great Ocean Road has made the show’s top 10 travel spots on the 30th season special.
Rowntree said after more than 20 years on the show, she was incredibly grateful for the experiences and support the show had received.
“I find myself almost teary when I watch the show and I look at the journeys that we’ve gone on,” Rowntree said. “After the year that we’ve just had, the gratitude levels are through the roof.”
She declared her love for the
Great Ocean Road ahead of the big reveal of Getaway’s top 10 destinations on Saturday at 5.30pm.
“I’ll never forget the very first time I stuck my toes into the sand at Bells Beach,” she said.
“I’ll always treasure that moment and I thought, ‘This is something every Aussie must do’.”
Rowntree said she couldn’t drive past Freshwater Creek without stopping for a coffee, but also recommended horseback riding at Blazing Saddles in Aireys Inlet and a visit to Petticoat Creek, where there is a small beach she is almost hesitant to let the world know about.
“I remember going there on New Year’s Day and my now husband was able to catch a crayfish and it was heaven on Earth,” she said.
Rowntree said she admired the work that went into maintaining all the natural beauty along the Great Ocean Road.
“It is very difficult to maintain something that is of a world standard for that many years,” she said. “I definitely want to … sing the praises of that volunteer, of that community member, of that councillor.”
Rowntree said she was around 24 when she first started working on Getaway and “just hoped and prayed I could make it to the end of the sixweek contract”.
“As long as people keep watching the show, then I am grateful to do it,” she said.