Great Ocean Road

Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road [5] is more than a road – it represents a coastal region of south-west Victoria, Australia, running from Bellarine Peninsula near Geelong to Portland near the border with South Australia. The Great Ocean Road was built as a work project for veterans returning from World War I and was completed in 1932. The core of the Great Ocean Road, highway B100 from Torquay to Allansford near Warrnambool, runs for 243 kilometres.

One of the most scenic parts of the road is the stretch between Port Campbell and Peterborough. This is the section contained by Port Campbell National Park and has the major rock formations.

Towns

Twelve Apostles

Coastal towns in order from east to west, with driving distance from Torquay:

• Torquay (0 km), the Great Ocean Road's surf central
• Anglesea (18 km), popular family beach
• Aireys Inlet (28 km), small town with great beaches
• Lorne (47 km), one of the largest and most popular resorts
• Apollo Bay (90 km), a little more laid back that trendy Lorne
• Port Campbell (188 km)
• Warrnambool (253 km), by far the largest town in the region
• Port Fairy (283 km)
• Portland (356 km)

Inland towns in the region include:

• Camperdown
• Colac
• Mortlake
• Petersborough
• Terang

Understand

The Great Ocean Road is a fantastic drive, not only for the scenery but also for the winding cliff-top roads. Motoring enthusiasts travel the road for the sheer excitement of feeling the corners and having fun.

Get in

Most visitors start from Melbourne, which is 95 kilometers away from Torquay. Instead of Melbourne's main airport, fly into Avalon Airport near Geelong, which is much closer to the start of the road. There is car hire there, and it is regularly serviced by Jetstar [6] and, from late 2010, Tiger Airways.

V/Line [7] buses run from Geelong along the Great Ocean Road as far as Apollo Bay three times a day M-F and twice a day Sa-Su. On Friday a bus continues from Apollo Bay to Warrnambool. There are also daily V/Line trains to Warrnambool, but they travel inland.

Get around

Car offers the most flexibility for seeing the area. Coach tours are also easily available.

There are many sights to see away from the townships, and along the coast. Getting to them by general public transport would be difficult.

There are so many pullouts and sights, that you can fall into a yet another spectacular vista fatigue, when driving the road. Is it worth pulling off the road for another cliff drop, another gorge, or another arch? Make sure you plan your trip, so you can skip some attractions if you need to, but don't miss the truly amazing ones.

Itineraries

At it simplest, you won't need an itinerary, or even a map to drive the Great Ocean Road. Start at Geelong or Warrnambool and follow the signs. The western end of the route starts at Torquay, 22km from Geelong. The sights are well signposted off the road, as well as nearby attractions. Information boards exist at all sights and attractions. The road is well developed for tourism, has regular information, food, fuel and accommodation.

Its possible to drive the length of the road, and see the main attractions in a day's driving. Two days will allow you to see just about all of the coastal sights and towns, if that is what you want to do. Consider three days or longer if you want to stay longer at some towns, and do some walks, relaxation, or other recreation.

If starting from Melbourne, remember that it's almost 100 km to the start of the Great Ocean Road at Torquay and another 264 km back from Warrnambool along the inland Princes Highway. This translates to a minimum of 600 km to get there, drive the road from end to end and come back, and doing this in one day doesn't leave much time for sightseeing — spending at least two-three days is a much better idea.

See

How many apostles? The Twelve Apostles are somewhat misnamed: it's a marketing name for the former rather less sexy "Sow and Piglets", and there never were more than nine, with no more than seven visible at any one time from any one point anyway. Following the collapse of one in 2005, there are now only eight left, although if you add in two to the east you can still scrounge up 10.

• 

  Split Point Lighthouse

• 

  A waterfall in Otway National Park

• Split Point, Aireys Inlet.

• Angahook-Lorne State Park, [8]. The park has many walking trails particularly in the Aireys Inlet and Lorne areas.

• Teddy’s Lookout, Lorne.

• Marriner’s Lookout in Apollo Bay.

• Otway National Park, [9]. At Mait's Rest there is a 30 minute loop walk through lovely rainforest.

• Cape Otway Lighthouse, [10] In operation since 1848, it's the oldest lightstation on mainland Australia, and saved the lives of sailors in this treacherous part of the Southern ocean and Bass Strait. You can climb to the top and get a view over spectacular ocean to see passing whales and ships.

• Gardenside Manor Tearooms, Lavers Hill. Bird feeding gardens are right beside the tearooms. This is a great place to see beautiful king parrots and crimson rosellas coming in from the wild. There are some short paths through the gardens.

• Melba Gully State Park. There are picnic facilities and toilets below the carpark and a 30 minute walk through the bush. The boardwalk provides a unique opportunity to walk among the tree ferns.

• Port Campbell National Park near Port Campbell, including the 12 Apostles rock formation.

Do

Walk. Many of the natural features have surrounding walks, but there are developed paths for longer walks.

• Surf Coast Walk, [11]. Coastal walkway of 30 km from Jan Juc Beach near Torquay through Bells Beach, Pt Addis, Anglesea and Aireys Inlet to Moggs Creek in the Angahook-Lorne State Park. The total distance takes about 11 hours but there are many access points so it can be done in sections.

• Lake Elizabeth, Forrest, [12]. Enjoy the beauty of the rainforest in this easy walk or take a canoe tour at dawn or dusk to visit the elusive platypus in its natural habitat. A place to see the famous and illusive 100 million year old egg laying mammal.

• Great Ocean Walk, ☎ 03 5237 9223, [1]. The Great Ocean Walk is a highlight of Victoria's coastline. Walkers may camp at campsites provided by Parks Victoria or take advantage of the drop off and pick up services provided.

• 12 Apostles Flight Adventures, ☎ 0438 377 371, [2]. Highlights include Apollo Bay, Cape Otway Lighthouse, Dinosaur Cove culminating in the "awesome" Twelve Apostles. Then, returning via the magnificent Otway Rainforests.

• Otway Fly Tree Top Adventures, [13] Walk through the treetops on the 25 metre high elevated tree top walk. This magical sky walk takes you through a magnificent stand of cool temperate rainforest featuring Myrtle Beech, Blackwood and Mountain Ash. A spiral stairway takes you even higher with zip lining also available.

There are also some Great places to go Mountain Biking in the back of Apollo Bay around Forest and the Otway National Park. There is 1 tour company that offer 5-7 Day tours based out of Apollo bay. Australia By Bike [14] tours include all accommodation, meals and transfers from Melbourne.

• Tiger Moth World, Apollo Bay and Torquay, ☎ +6152615100, [3]. Step back in time and climb aboard a magical 1930's vintage open-cockpit Tiger Moth for the flight of a lifetime over the "world famous" Great Ocean Road.

Eat

Port Campbell has many cafes and restaurants and it is the only place to get food near the Port Campbell National Park.

• Aire Valley Restaurant and Guest House, 2590 Great Ocean Road, Hordern Vale, ☎ 03 5237 9223, [4]. Aire Valley Restaurant has its own Restaurant Garden where it grows its own vegetables, herbs and fruits. While you are driving the Great Ocean Road your dinner is still growing. Dinner 6-10PM. Lunch by arrangement.

Sleep

A wide range of accommodation is available in towns along the Great Ocean Road, but most of it is clustered at the eastern end near Melbourne, particularly Torquay, Lorne and Apollo Bay.

As the area is such a popular weekend getaway, prices are considerably higher during the weekend and many places (especially B&Bs) have two-night minimum stays. In the summer peak season and during holidays, many places will sell out completely and it can be hard to find even a motel room.

Stay safe

Some of the beaches along the road have dangerous currents. Observe local signs, and seek local advice about the best places to swim.

There are few overtaking lanes on the Great Ocean Road, rather turnouts for slower vehicles. If a faster vehicle catches up to you, be considerate and pull over at the next turn out. Frustration causes accidents, let faster vehicles past. If you catch up to a slower vehicle, stay back at a safe distance and wait for the other vehicle to pull over in the next slow vehicle turn out. Don't tailgate.

The speed limit along the Great Ocean Road is 80km/h to 100km/h. In towns, the speed limit is 50km/h to 70km/h.

Given the volume of traffic that can traverse the Great Ocean Road, especially weekends and holidays, don't assume that it will be a quick trip. Allow yourself plenty of time to see everything so that you may enjoy your drive.

Get out

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