lasttrThe Great Ocean Road is an iconic driving route and one of the most scenic drives in the world. Australia is made for road trips: good roads, long distances, beautiful views. Along the busy highways, there is always a place to drink coffee, have a snack and relax.
It takes at least two days to travel the Great Ocean Road, which is 243 km long. There are many incredible places, surfer beaches, and viewpoints. You drive from town to town, visiting national parks, admiring lighthouses and waterfalls, meeting koalas and kangaroos. Then you stop, eat Fish and chips, sit in pubs, and wander around souvenir shops. It’s impossible to do it in a day but in two.
Some lucky people rent (or sometimes buy a used) trailer or campervan and stay longer on the coast.
We depart from Melbourne around 7 a.m. It would help if you left early, especially on weekends. Otherwise, you risk getting stuck in traffic. We wander around the city a little, looking for a detour due to road repairs, and finally get out to the ocean.
Our route looks like this:
Day 1: Melbourne – Anglesey – Memorial Arch – Lorne – Erskine Falls – Teddy’s Lookout – Kennett River Koala Walk – Apollo Bay.
Day 2: Apollo Bay – California Red Forest – Twelve Apostles – Port Campbell – Colac Volcanic Lake.
Torquay, Bells Beach and Anglesea
Torquay is a coastal town 95 km southwest of Melbourne, the official start of the Great Ocean Road. Here is the famous surfing beach Bells Beach – a mecca for fans of riding waves worldwide. The prestigious Rip Curl Pro competition has been held annually at Bells Beach since 1961. Torquay is all about the surfer subculture. There’s even an Australian National Surfing Museum.
Time is short, so we are not going to Bells Beach. Our route along the ocean begins in the town of Anglesea. We stopped at the tourist information centre, picked up maps (needed and unnecessary), and drank coffee. I managed to buy souvenirs immediately (although I planned to do without them altogether).
Memorial Arch
Memorial Arch is a memorial to the victims of the First World War. Next to the wooden arch, there is a monument to the road builders. In 1919, they became three thousand Australian soldiers recently returning from the war. The arch bears the inscription Great Ocean Road. A century ago, the route was called the South Coast Road. It connected remote coastal settlements, between which there was only water communication.
Various sources tell a story about how, in 1924, the steamship Casino landed on the reefs not far from the construction site. It had a very interesting cargo: 500 barrels of beer and 120 barrels of drinking alcohol. The workers “saved” the goods, so work stopped for two weeks.
You’re standing here trying to believe that you damn well made it here and are driving along one of the most beautiful roads in the world.
Lorne
Lorne is a seaside resort two hours from Melbourne. Its beautiful Art Deco architecture, good restaurants, coastal walking trails, and surrounding wildlife attract Australians. Domestic tourism is very developed in Australia so you will meet many locals from different parts of the country in any tourist location.
Of course, like along the coast, there are surfing beaches and shops. In one of them, I buy the Mexican hoodie of my dreams. I am surprised to ask my Australian friends where Mexican clothing comes from. It turns out that this is one of the unspoken elements of the surfer’s “uniform.” I put on a hoodie and plan to imagine myself as a hippie from the 1970s for the rest of the trip.
We drive to a nearby national park and viewpoint before returning to Lorne for a late lunch. We take Fish and chips and a couple of bottles of local beer. This is generally a must-try in Australia—eat Fish and chips and try beer or wine from local producers.
I read on the label of one of the bottles: The Ocean is our backyard. It’s our playground and our refuge. We live our lives by the tides and wind and swell. We are the lucky ones. Which means something like this: “The ocean is our backyard. This is our playground and our sanctuary. We live our lives under the influence of waves, wind and tides. We are the lucky ones.” I do not doubt that this is true.
Great Otway National Park and Erskine Falls
There are many amazing natural wonders around Lorne – fern forests, waterfalls, and natural viewpoints on the mountains. We make a short loop from the coast inland to see Erskine Falls in Great Otway National Park.
In this place, you feel like you’re in a different climatic zone among giant tree ferns and hundred-meter-high eucalyptus trees. This is a rainforest or tropical forest. A dinosaur will likely crawl out of the neighbouring bushes, but only tourists will come.
The rainforest lives up to its name. You cannot do anything here without a raincoat, and the weather near the ocean changes dramatically.
Teddy’s Lookout
The view from this observation point is stunningly beautiful. They say that about all the stunning views, but here is something special. On one side is the ocean; on the other, there is the Australian bush on the mountains’ slopes; below, the St. George River flows into the sea in a beautiful bend.
After Teddy’s Lookout, we return to Lorne and the Great Ocean Road. If you have more than two days, you can stay overnight in Lorne. There are many campsites around to pitch a tent. But now it’s only the beginning of four, and we are moving on. The plan is to have time to see the koalas before sunset. It gets dark early because it’s July, which is winter in Australia.
Kennett River Koala Walk
We go to the Kennett River Koala Walk to look for koalas. This track is considered one of the best for observing them in the wild. We drive to Kafe Koala, leave the car, arm ourselves with coffee and cameras and go in search.
About a hundred meters from the cafe, there are residential buildings. A herd of kangaroos grazes nearby. We stop and look at them; they stop and look at us. After a few minutes, their interest disappears, and they return to business. We have no choice but to return to our path. Kangaroos are wild and do not allow you to approach them.
But the parrots walk around with a bold look and demand to be fed. They are not afraid of cars or people, and you have to push them with your feet to get through.
We follow a path along a row of eucalyptus trees and look for koalas in the canopy. They are terrible introverts, and you can’t get close to them. We’re starting a competition to see who can see the most animals. I need to catch up because I spend ten minutes looking at each koala I find. Sunset is a good time for observation. These plush creatures sleep up to 19 hours daily but become active before sunset to feed.
On the way back, we come across a koala that has fallen from a tree and is lying in the grass. This happens sometimes; koalas in Australia often suffer from chlamydia. If the animal is not helped, it will die. The guys who arrived a little earlier had already called Kafe Koala, and they called the rangers. You cannot pick up a koala without special training; it can become frightened and harm itself and humans with its long claws. As we return to the parking lot, a rescue vehicle drives by.
Apollo Bay
It is entirely dark by seven in the evening, and we arrive at Apollo Bay in the dark. Apollo Bay, like Lorne, is an excellent place to stay overnight. We booked a motel room in advance—five minutes from the ocean and places to eat.
The city has a tourist information centre. Australia has such a centre, even in the smallest town of ten houses. And, of course, surf shops, restaurants, and pubs again. These last ones are exactly what we need now. But in the evening, all the establishments along the coast are crowded with people. We eventually find the massive Great Ocean Road Brewhouse pub and are relieved to be immersed in its noise and cozy warmth.
Pubs in Australia are often called hotels; in some, you can stay. You must order at the counter and pay immediately. The portions are impressive. Every locality, even the smallest one, has its pub. We order food and have time to drink a glass of beer at the bar before heading to the ocean. There’s a storm there.
In the morning, the sun is shining; people have been sitting in cafes or leisurely walking along the beach since eight. We wander along the coast searching for coffee and find Apollo Bay Bakery, which makes an Australian scallop pie. My Aussies are delighted – a rare filling for such a famous pie. I still determine their discussion, but I take their word for it. An Australian pie is a small pastry basket with a filling (usually meat). There is little dough but a lot of filling. Very Australian. The scallops turn out to be excellent.
Californian Redwoods
Californian redwood forests are home to giant red sequoias, one of the oldest living organisms on Earth. They can grow up to 115 metres in height. The trees’ bark is bright red-brown, and their homeland is coastal California in the USA. Hence the name.
It’s incredible how quickly the weather changes in Australia. The sun shone in Apollo Bay this morning before clouds rolled in and a light rain fell. It rains constantly in the Red Forest. We wander among giant trees with red bark. There are thickets of ferns below here and there, and dinosaurs come to mind again. But in fact, Australian Californian Redwoods are pretty young. The tree was brought here in the 1930s as an experiment. The soil and climate have proven favourable, and the forest has increased over the past 90 years.
Twelve Apostles
The Twelve Apostles are a group of limestone rocks in the ocean in Port Campbell National Park. The result of millions of years of erosion and a place of pilgrimage for all tourists who travel along the Great Ocean Road. More than a million people come here every year. Photos of the Twelve Apostles are the hallmark of the Great Ocean Road.
Today, however, there are only eight of them left. Massive limestone pillars rise above the Southern Ocean and surprise with their size and beauty. Observation and walking paths are open 365 days a year. There are fewer people in winter than in summer, and we hardly walk in crowds. The sun appears occasionally, but the wind is such that we are almost blown into the ocean. It’s wild and terrific all around.
From here, you can still drive to the famous London Arch. But we need more time to get to the volcanic lakes before dark.
London Arch was formerly called London Bridge. But then, one span of rock that could be walked from the shore collapsed. All that remains is a stone arch in the ocean. Two tourists were stuck on the far side of the London Bridge when it collapsed. They were rescued by helicopter.
Port Campbell, Colac Lake and Red Rock Reserve
Our route directly along the Great Ocean Road ends in Port Campbell. We have lunch at the 12 Rocks Beach Bar cafe overlooking the ocean, wander along the beach of a small bay and take a shortcut towards Melbourne.
But there is another exciting object ahead – the volcanic Lake Kolak. The Red Rock Volcanic Plain is about 8,000 years old. As a result of numerous eruptions, flat-bottomed craters (maars) and lakes were formed here—for example, such large ones as Colac and Corangamite. We stop by to see them from the Red Rock Scenic Lookout. The site itself is located on a dormant volcano. From the top are 360-degree views of the surrounding plain and lakes—a stunning place to end the Great Ocean Road route
