The Great ocean road It is not only one of the most beautiful stretches of road in Australia, it is one of the most beautiful in the world and, finally, it was time to get to know it. In this post we will tell you all the information you need to prepare and enjoy a trip through this little piece of Australia and, of course, all the things you have to see and do on the Great Ocean Road. For us it was the sixth stage of the roadtrip through southwest Australia, you can see the other stages on these links: Stage 1 / Stage 2 / Stage 3 / Adelaide / Stage 4 / Stage 5.
At the moment these are the main data:
Stage Information
Point: Portland
Final point: Melbourne
Total km: 522 km
Days: 3 days
- Day 20: Portland - Twelve Apostles (202 km)
- Day 21: Twelve Apostles - Apollo Bay (105 km)
- Day 22: Apollo Bay - Melbourne (215 km)
OK but what exactly is the Geat Ocean Road? It is a scenic road that goes from Torquay to Allansford, built by World War I veterans. Along its 243 km you will pass by impressive cliffs, through forest areas full of curves, by surfing villages and a few more surprises.
Before telling you more about the Great Ocean Road let us tell you a couple of things:
1- Although people normally travel from Melbourne, we did it in the opposite direction: arriving from the west since this adventure is part of a much bigger one… our roadtrip through Southwest Australia, which we started in Perth.
2- It takes 3 days (2 nights) to complete this route and although it is true that most people do it in one day, we assure you that there are many things to see and do and that we lacked (at least) half a day plus. It is also true that we have traveled slowly, taking breaks and enjoying the stops.
Now we leave you with our travel diary 🙂
Day 20Portland - Twelve Apostles
Our day began with two stops that have nothing to do with the Great Ocean Road (but hey, as we were passing by there ...) We talked about the Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve Y Warrnambool. The first is a place without a doubt beautiful and that however disappointed us a little. We had seen on the Internet that this natural reserve is full of local fauna (emus, kangaroos, wallabies, koalas), but the only thing we saw was an emu who was circling among tourists looking for food. It is also true that there are several different walks and that between the first click and the weather (it started to rain) we decided to continue with the route.
Warrnamboolinstead we liked it a lot, although we spent only a memorable breakfast time there and a few more minutes exploring the dock area. The desire to reach the Great Ocean Road was great, so we set off and soon we arrived at the small town of Allansford, where this famous road begins and we decided to skip the stop ... is that we wanted to get to the chicha of the route, which toooodos say is prettier than a pizza fresh from the oven ...
And what if it was worth arriving! First we visited Bay of island, a set of panoramic ocean views, craggy cliffs and rocks that protrude from the water. Instantly notes that the site is as beautiful as it is dangerous ... the currents are brutal and the rocky seabed has been the navigators' nightmare for years, not for nothing this area of Victoria is known as "the Shipwreck Coast". But hey, pretty is undeniably. There, in addition, is where the most interesting part of the Great Ocean Road begins, which in about 30 km leads us to discover wonders such as:
Peterborough, a quiet city that conquered us by its beach. There was a very strong wind and it still looked beautiful, I do not even want to imagine on a sunny day and calm (there is a kind of natural pool on the east side).
The grotto, a simply spectacular natural cave, which can be accessed by a wooden staircase.
Loch and Gorge, perhaps the most famous beach on the Great Ocean Road (where we would return the next day).
London Bridge, an immense arch of stone that, not too many years ago, was a natural bridge (yes, it fell into the sea and guess: two tourists stayed on the part that was standing! Imagine the scare !!).
And, of course ... Twelve Apostles, one of the most beautiful and famous places in Australia that, live, impresses much more than in the picture (it also impresses the amount of tourist buses and especially the amount of Chinese, my mother, half Beijing was here!). We arrived shortly before sunset but between the day it was gray and between the brutal gusts of wind, we decided to come back here the next day.
We spend the night at Apostles Camping Park & Cabins ($ 35 with electricity), a campsite with stunning views over a valley.
Overall it was a great day, which left us postcards like these:
And you are:
Day 21Twelve Apostles - Apollo Bay
The idea was to get up very early, not so much to see the sunrise that - sure - it would be an unforgettable show, but with the idea of not having to share that natural paradise with hundreds of other tourists. As our campsite was a few kilometers from the Twelve Apostles we arrived quite early (= we don't get up very early) and this time we could enjoy the Twelve Apostles with some sun (which, to begin with, is not Twelve and of course they are not Apostles ).
There are several viewpoints and paths (all easy and fast) that allow you to enjoy all possible perspectives.
Me, the Twelve Apostles and my face having stepped on a poop and smell it
We also decided to go back a few kilometers and go down to Loch and Gorge beach, which many point to as one of the most beautiful in the country.
Great yes, but look who we had to share it with:
As soon as I realized that those spots on the beach that were everywhere were not a plague of algae but that they were a kind of grillaracha (half cricket, half cockroach), I shot out of there and continued watching the show from the high on the stairs, hoping the ugly ones wouldn't eat Rober.
And speaking of stairs ... another must-see attraction is that of the Gibston Steps, a few steps that take you to another beach near the Twelve Apostles.
Once this was done, we started: the idea was to arrive at Apollo Bay in the afternoon. We would spend the night there and we wanted to arrive early to explore the town, which is reputed to be one of the most beautiful on the route. But before we passed through eucalyptus forests (we saw koalas in the trees!), By the occasional viewpoint that overlooked wild beaches and we decided to stop at the Maits Rest Rainforest Walk, a walk of about 20 minutes that runs part of a super photogenic forest.
* If you have time (and 4WD or even a car and not a huge caravan-house) it is highly recommended to enter the Great Otway National Park. We began to travel one of its roads and after a few km we decided to go back as the rattle of the van seemed to simulate an earthquake of 794762 degrees. Better not play it. So we changed a waterfall for many hills and sheep (and hey, we didn't dislike it either).
Apollo Bay It turned out to be what we expected: a quiet little village where you can spend a few hours surfing, walking along the beach or having a coffee or a fish & chips in a restaurant on the main street. On the beach we met some crazy seagulls, who shrieked at their own reflection of the water and two puppies that, between dip in the water and digging in the sand, had a great time (although we fear that from so much digging they came to Spain through the Center of the Earth).
Another great success was staying at the Apollo Bay Eco YHA, a clean, comfortable and ecofriendly hostel. It is part of the YHA chain of hostels, the largest in Australia and we use a lot throughout our trip. That's how it pleases 🙂
- Prices: from $ 33 per night per person.
- Location: 5 Pascoe St, Apollo Bay
Day 22Apollo Bay - Melbourne
We woke up a little sad: today was the last day of this road trip and we didn't talk only about the Great Ocean Road ... after 3 weeks discovering the charms of the Southwest Coast of Australia, we would arrive at Melbourne, the end of our first journey through Australia. That meant saying goodbye to Chipy, the super van that accompanied us in recent weeks. What a pitty! But uh ... we still have a lot to see and do here in Australia, and this is just the end of the first chapter.
Throughout the last day we visited Kennet River, an area very famous for a fairly abundant colony of koalas in freedom. If you haven't seen any yet, this may be a good place. But of course, as we know it, all the tourist agencies and the day tours from Melbourne know it surely stop here. We arrived soon and we were alone at first, then a group of Chinese tourists arrived who did not take long to approach the parrots to touch them and feed them and shout and clap a koala to wake up! You have to leave the animals alone , guys! To see them you just have to park in the Kafe Koala and go up the Gray River Road, always looking up.
The best of the day was to stop and enjoy the last breakfast in the van: we put our table and chairs outside, to have the best view of the world, we prepared eggs with tomatoes, bread and ate some coconut candy. We even considered moving with a foodtruck right there to sell coffee and muffins to all the tourists of the Great Ocean Road. Sure we would line up XD
Time was on us (we also had to clean the van, prepare the backpack and record videos showing how it works) and so we had no choice but to see the last part of the Great Ocean Road at full speed. And it was a shame since so much Lorne how Aireys Inlet with his lighthouse and Anglesea They had a pint (so you know ... don't miss them), but hey, you can't see everything and you always have to leave something to have a reason to come back.
