The Great Ocean Road is one of Australia’s most famous routes. It offers amazing attractions at every bend as it winds its way along the coastline of Victoria. It’s an itinerary that takes in some of Australia’s best surf beaches, the truly magnificent rainforests of the Otway Ranges, the famous Twelve Apostles rock formation and the intriguing Shipwreck Coast.
Total drive approx: 350 kms
Day 1: Melbourne – Werribbee – Geelong 70 kms
The Victorian elegance of Werribee
To get the best out of this trip, you might want to leave Melbourne the day before you start off on your Great Ocean Road adventure and spend the night in Geelong, some 70 kilometres south-west of Melbourne.
This would give you time to stop off in Werribee – and the opportunity to discover the Victorian era in Australia at the elegant Werribee Mansion, a living postcard of the 19th century. For those who enjoy the good life and have a budget to match, The Mansion Hotel & Spa at Werribee Park offers five-star accommodation and a range of wellness packages.
Visitors with green fingers will want to explore the Victoria State Rose Garden in Werribee, which, with more than 5,000 roses, is one of Victoria’s hidden tourist gems. And then there’s also Werribee Open Range Zoo – a great idea if you are travelling with children.
To reach Werribee, leave the Princes Freeway at Laverton, turning off at the Point Cook exit.
Geelong on Corio Bay
Geelong has all the big city experiences in a small city setting. While there you could take a helicopter trip over the Surf Coast, or a seaplane ride to Warrnambool and back – a breathtaking preview of the great drive ahead of you. For something a shade more more sedate check out the impressively exotic array of Australian plants and trees at Geelong Botanic Gardens.
For many years, Geelong was the ‘wool centre of the world’. Those days are long gone, but for anyone interested in Australia’s history, it’s worth visiting the National Wool Museum. Set in an old bluestone wool store in Geelong's waterfront precinct, it takes visitors back to the heyday of the once all-important Australian wool industry.
You can delve into Aboriginal culture at Narana Creations, which displays a wide range of Aboriginal arts and crafts Entry to Narana Creations is free and the staff enjoy sharing their extensive knowledge of Aboriginal history and culture with visitors.
Accommodation options: Best Western, Mercure, Chifley, Comfort Inn and Four Points by Sheraton are among the hotel brands to be found in Geelong.
Day 2: Depart: Geelong O/night: Lorne/Apollo Bay Approx: 115 kms
It’s a twenty-minute drive from Geelong to Torquay, a popular holiday town recognised also as the surfing capital of Australia. Take time to discover Surf City Plaza, which is also home to the Surf World Museum - the world's largest surfing and beach culture museum.
From Torquay you begin your journey along the Great Ocean Road. How about this: the road was built between by Australian soldiers who returned from the First World War, and is the world's largest memorial dedicated to the casualties of that war.
Bells Beach -- a world class surfing destination
The Great Ocean Road has only two lanes, one in each direction: the ocean on one side and bush on the other. The advantage of setting out from the eastern end of the Great Ocean Road is that you’ll be driving on the side close to the sea.
A few kilometres southwest of Torquay is Bells Beach, where the Rip Curl Pro Surfing Classic has been an annual Easter event for more than half a century, attracting top class competitors from all over the world. For sightseers, Bells Beach is a great vantage point to watch great surfing action. And for experienced surfers who have yet to make the pilgrimage, Bells is an exposed reef and point break with excellent right hand breaks, which are at their best during autumn and winter.
Half way between Torquay and Lorne, you pass through the picturesque township of Anglesea. This is another favourite of the surfing community and has a well-patrolled beach. There is an abundance of native wildlife and flora nearby also, including many rare orchids and other native wildflowers – the best time to see them is in spring, which runs from September to November in this part of the world.
Between Anglesea and Lorne you’ll come to Eastern View, where there is a remarkable memorial archway and statue in honour of the men who carved the Great Ocean Road. More than 3,000 returned servicemen worked on the road for thirteen years from 1919. Authorities offered the soldiers hospitals and other fine buildings, but the loud consensus was no, an ocean road along the south-west Victorian coast would be their greatest memorial
The contrast between rugged coast and inland forest becomes more dramatic along the stretch of road from Torquay to Lorne. Erskine Falls is a worthwhile detour from Lorne, located at the end of a nine-kilometre drive on Erskine Falls Road. An easy walk brings you to a spot where you can watch the water cascade 30 metres into a spectacular fern gully, while a slightly more exerting walk takes you down to the base of the falls.
If you find it difficult to pull yourself away from the surfing attractions of Torquay, you could spend the night in Lorne. It is wonderfully located on the Erskine River, bordered by both the Bass Strait and the majestic state forests of the Otway Ranges. Or else you continue on to Apollo Bay.
Apollo Bay at the foothills of the Otways
Apollo Bay is about a one hour drive from Lorne, and is known for its excellent swimming and surf beaches. It also boasts a marina and picturesque boat harbour, which is home to the local fishing fleet.
The town centre features a good selection of restaurants and cafes overlooking a wide, grassy foreshore fronting the main swimming beach. A great place to chill out and enjoy a lunchtime plate of freshly caught crayfish.
A tip for foodies. Check out the Apollo Bay Fisherman's Co-Op at the pier. It’s a perfect one-stop seafood shop with an abundance of oysters, prawns and cooked crayfish (as well as an array of the freshest fish you are likely to find in this part of the world).
For those who enjoy a game of golf, both the Lorne Country Club and Apollo Bay Golf Club sit amongst some spectacular scenery. Both have demanding nine-hole layouts. Visitors are welcome, green fees are low and golf clubs are available for hire.
Accommodation options: Overnight choices in Lorne include theComfort Inn Lorne Bay View; and the Cumberland Lorne Resort The choice at Apollo Bay include Chris’s Restaurant & Villas, Beacon Point Ocean View Villas and Seafarers Getaway. Or how about an eco-lodge with Advanced Ecotourism Certification? That’s Great Ocean Ecolodge, located in a private conservation reserve just off the Great Ocean Road. Private bushland tracks give guests an opportunity to observe the local wildlife up close, or just relax beneath the eucalypts, watching the koalas high in the trees above.
Day 3: Depart: Lorne/Apollo Bay O/night: Warrnambool Approx 165 kms
The Great Ocean Road meanders inland from the coast for a while just after leaving Apollo Bay and takes you through the rugged Great Otway National Park, a place of towering rainforest trees.
There are two detours that are a ‘must’ while in the Otways: a visit to Cape Otway Lightstation (a good spot for whale-watching from May to October); and time out with Otway Fly Treetop Adventures at Weeaproinah (it’s pronounced "Wee - uh - PRO - oin - uh", with the 'oin' as in coin). Weeaproinah is regarded as the wettest place in Victoria, averaging nineteen hundred millimetres of rain a year – but don’t let that discourage you: this is, after all, an ancient rainforest region – and there not too many of them these days.
The Otway Fly Treetop Walk is an exhilarating elevated tree top walk through the rainforest. It’s 600 metres long and 25 metres high. For the really adventurous there is a 45-metre high lookout at the very top of the giant forest trees that is reached by climbing a spiral stairway. For even more thrills, the Zip Line Tour offers you a chance to really pump the adrenalin as you zip across the treetops -- a unique three-hour experience that gives a real bird’s-eye view of Otway’s breathtakingly spectacular forests.
Take a walk on the wild side
Continuing on, the road kisses the coast at Glenaire before once more heading deep into the silent forest.You rejoin the coast again just before Port Campbell National Park with its sheer cliffs overlooking offshore islets, rock stacks, gorges, arches, and blow-holes.
The park is home to several amazing rock formations, the best known being the imposing Twelve Apostles, enormous rock pillars reaching 60 metres up from the sea. Stop by at the informative visitor centre close to the Twelve Apostles.
Nearby Loch Ard Gorge is named after a clipper ship that ran aground on nearby Muttonbird Island back in 1878. The Loch Ard was approaching the end of a three-month journey from England to Melbourne. Of the 54 passengers and crew, only two teenagers survived: a ship's apprentice and the daughter of an Irish immigrant family. The gorge is where they drifted ashore, and their stories are told on plaques at Loch Ard Gorge.
This part of the Great Ocean Road is called The Shipwreck Coast, and not just because of the Loch Ard: it is the final resting place of more than 180 wrecks claimed over the years by the raging sea. Old wrecks still appear from time to time, like lonely ghosts -- you might be lucky enough to spot one from the lookouts placed at strategic points along The Shipwreck Coast.
London Arch is another of the area’s top natural attractions. The roaring Southern Ocean has taken its toll here also -- it was a double arch rock formation known as London Bridge until one arch collapsed in 1990.
Arriving in the small town of Port Campbell, call in at Loch Ard Shipwreck Museum which tells the story of the doomed clipper and five other shipwrecks along the coast. The Loch Ard’s anchor stands at the museum door. Port Cambell has a couple of restaurants and cafés with views of the beach, bakeries selling tasty homemade goodies and one or two galleries to explore. A good place for a snack or lunch break – meat pies or fish and chips.
While in Port Campbell, you might want to take a flight over the local coastal scenery with 12 Apostles Helicopters.
It is less than an hour’s drive from Port Campbell to the old whaling town of Warrnambool, which is now an important regional city. First settled in the 1830s as a whaling and sealing port. Warrnambool is home to award-winning Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, where you can relive the region’s seafaring histroy. Don’t miss the nightly sound and laser show, Shipwrecked, which tells the tale of the ill-fated Loch Ard.
Flagstaff Hill -- reliving history
From mid-June to early October, southern right whales frequent Warrnambool‘s Logans Beach to give birth to their calves. It provides a wonderful spectacle for whale watchers, who have the use of a special viewing platform.
Accommodation options: The Sebel Deep Blue Warrnambool, Lady Bay Resort, Lighthouse Lodge at Flagstaff Hill
Day 4: Continue to Port Fairy
The Great Ocean Road ends at the charming fishing village of Port Fairy. Nineteenth century cottages, great Norfolk pines, old stone churches, boarding houses and inns line its wide streets. Many fine examples of the architecture of the 1800s remain intact, and more than 50 buildings are classified by the National Trust.
At Port Fairy, you have the option of heading north to the Grampians National Park and back east to Melbourne via the old gold rush city of Ballarat, or continuing west to Portland and on into South Australia.