Victoria’s iconic Great Ocean Road is a long stretch of coastal towns and beaches a couple hours drive from Melbourne. It is one of the world’s most scenic coastal routes. Whenever you hear people talk about the Great Ocean Road they don’t mean driving down one long winding road, which is basically what it is. They’re talking about the two to four day road trip that can be made of the endless beaches.
The following is the road trip I made from Melbourne, starting at Torquay with other activities to do as you make your way down at a leisurely pace towards Apollo Bay or Port Campbell. Four days can pass in a blur when driving down the Great Ocean Road but you’ll get to do a lot of things. Camping out is the best option to get the true rustic road trip adventure.
Use the free CamperMate app to find campsites during your stay, allowing you to be more flexible when driving along. It allows you to choose options for self-contained and non-self-contained vehicles. A better option may be getting a camping license, so you have more choice when choosing a place to pitch up.
Torquay
Over an hour’s drive from Melbourne, you’ll reach Torquay where the Great Ocean Road starts. Make sure you get a picture with the sign that’s welcoming you to this stretch of road. Give yourself a quick break from driving and do part of the Surf Coast Walk trail starting at Point Impossible Beach. Check out the impressive bird life and even glance about the nudist beach, possibly join in if you’re up for all of life’s great adventures. This beach is a favourite surfer spot and you might catch a few surfers riding the waves.
Torquay is also a great spot for a coastal skydive and one of the most popular places in Victoria for a skydive. The drop zone for Australian Skydive is located before Bell’s Beach and is a 45-minute drive from Melbourne. The team here take care of you and are very approachable. They go over a safety talk and chat away with you. What better way to start your trip?
Make sure you spend time at world-famous Bell’s Beach, where you’ll find experienced surfers racing out and tackling the waves, or even waiting patiently until they know when a bigger wave is coming. I happened to arrive on a morning when it seemed all the pro surfers in town were out having a surf. It’s great to watch and I was in awe of their skills. You can watch from the viewing platform on the cliff or make your way down to the beach. I’ve found it to be quite windy here so keep that in mind.
You can always book a beginner’s surfing lesson by great instructors in the area.
If you’re hungry head to the picturesque Third Wave Kiosk on the Torquay Foreshore and grab something to eat. I packed enough food to last me four days, so there was a lot of snacking from the boot of the car instead. Continue from here towards Lorne, the next big town.
Aireys Inlet
While driving to Lorne, you’ll pass Aireys Inlet. This small coastal inlet and town is a tranquil area with spectacular cliffs and beautiful beaches. The lighthouse stood out for me the most. It was built in 1891 and has been penned the ‘White Queen’. It’s still working and helps guide ships on their way. It makes for some great viewing and there are guided tours you can buy once you’re there. I checked it out from the outside and took a few pics of the height difference (extreme in my case).
Once you’ve been blinded by the pure whiteness, continue down the road to Lorne.
Lorne
This small town is bustling with visitors and is a popular stop-off for the day. Lorne has a patrolled beach, which is great for a safe swim but you’ll probably be more caught up in the treks. The Great Otway National Park can be reached from here and it’s a dense rainforest with 10 waterfalls in the area. Trek through the easy trail and discover Erskine Falls, which is a beautiful waterfall that flows into a fern gully.
Call it a night in Lorne and pitch-up at a local campsite. In the morning make your way towards Apollo Bay with plenty of stop-offs on the way.
Teddy’s Lookout
Offering remarkable views of the Great Ocean Road, Teddy’s Lookout is stunning and a great stop-off. There’s plenty of going in and out of cars during this road trip, that’s for sure. Complete the 45-minute walking track, which is a relatively easy walk and worth the views. Plus, it’s great to stretch your legs from driving.
Kennett River
This sleepy seaside town has a massive population of koalas. If watching sleeping koalas is your thing, then this is the place to be. Basically, all they mainly do is sleep but seeing them in the wild is quite a sight for sore eyes. The best place to spot them is in eucalyptus trees near the Otway Coast.
Drive along the cliff tops towards Apollo Bay, this is one of my favourite driving spots as you get to be high up in the cliffs, viewing the rough ocean line.
Apollo Bay
Once you arrive, I recommend going straight to the Otway National Park. Take a drive inland to the Great Otway National Park to find one of Australia’s biggest mainland lighthouses. Make sure you take the treetop walk along the Otway Fly which is a treetop walk set 25 metres high in the canopy of the forest. You can even jump on a zipline if you want to. An entire day can be spent exploring the national park.
Head back to Apollo Bay for dinner. Seafood is quite a popular choice among the cafes and restaurants of Apollo Bay: Chris’s at Beacon Point sits high in the hills, overlooking the sea. Around mid-February you’ll find the Apollo Bay Seafood Festival for a feast of seafood.
Turn down for the night being satisfied with your feed.
Make sure you’ve booked yourself in for an early morning surfing session. There are plenty of experience providers around for various surfing levels. You can always skip this and instead watch others having a surfing lesson.
The next part of the journey is also one of my favourites. You’ll be driving past the Shipwreck Coast as you make your way to Port Campbell.
Port Campbell
The breath-taking views are as impressive as they are astonishing. I can imagine that in good weather, this area would be beautiful. But I’ve also experienced it (only as far as watching it rather than being in the water) in choppy waters during heavy rainfall. The number of ships wrecked in this area varies but generally the number is in the hundreds. Once you’ve explored The Shipwreck Coast, you can head back to Port Campbell for the night.
The Shipwreck Coast:
The Twelve Apostles
These limestone formations tower 45 metres above the crashing waves and are also the originals from those photos you find on postcards all over Melbourne. When people think of the Great Ocean Road, they think of the 12 Apostles. Maybe because this is where a lot of people end their trip or because it’s one of the most outstanding parts of the trip.
There used to be eight sea stacks for viewing but from natural deterioration they’re collapsing and now you can just about see seven. One day the full effect of erosion from the wind and sea will take a massive chunk, but until then make sure you get a glimpse. On a day with smoother weather you can take the Gibson Steps down to the shoreline.
There’s only a short bit left to the journey but it’s my favourite.
Loch Ard Gorge – Tom & Eva Lookout
Make sure you drive here. Some people go back from the 12 Apostles, but this is honestly my favourite part. I stood here for quite a long time watching the waves crashing. The two remaining rock pillars of the gorge have been named Tom and Eva after the two survivors from the shipwreck in the 19th century, which made this place somewhere to notice.
Situated in the Port Campbell National Park, only a few minutes from the 12 Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge is my favourite stop-off. A pearlescent bay and an inlet of clear blue water, even in choppy weather, it’s jaw-dropping. Surrounding the gorge are cliffs and vibrant greenery.
I did some research into the shipwrecks of the gorge and found that in 1878 a large clipper ship, engraved with the name Loch Ard, beached on a nearby island after a rough journey from England. Only two of the passengers survived, those two being Tom and Eva.
Here you’ll find two hunks of rock running parallel to each other with high yellow-cliffs. The sea was fierce when I visited, and the crashing of the waves was phenomenal. As each wave crashed into the cliff wall, it cascaded along the cliff, as if in slow motion. I guess it’s one of those things you must see for yourself.
The End Or Not
You can end your trip here or carry on along the great expanse of the shore. When I did this trip, I took the drive inland and went for The Grampians National Park. That’s a whole different trip with its very own itinerary.
If you don’t want to head to The Grampians then spend the night in Port Campbell and in the morning make your way back to Melbourne, either along the coastline in one long day or going inland.
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