3 day road trip down The Great Ocean Road, Australia

The Great Ocean Road, Australia

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog. Todays post is all about The Great Ocean Road which is located in the state of Victoria, Australia, not far from Melbourne.

Day 1 – Melbourne to Lorne

We started The Great Ocean Road by hiring out a car from Melbourne and taking the hour and a half drive to Torquay.

Torquay is famous for its surf culture with many surf brands that we have in Cornwall originating from there. Some of these include; Quicksilver, Ripcurl and Roxy. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any surf while we were there which is very unusual. However, we did go in for a dip and as it was still spring the water was very cold! Brrr.

We then stopped off at Aireys inlet which is a lighthouse that has stunning views over the Tasman ocean. After that we then headed onto our one night accommodation which was in Lorne. We stayed at Chatby Lane Lorne which was a lovely aparthotel and we had dinner at a Greek restaurant called IPSOS which was fantastic.

Day 2 – Lorne to Apollo Bay

Just outside of Apollo Bay is Erskine Falls which is a huge waterfall and Teddy’s Lookout. Both of which I recommend doing. We then carried

on our journey travelling further along the beautiful (and windy) Great Ocean Road. We stopped off at Kafe Koala where we went on a Koala safari! There is a bit of wildlife near the carpark; cockatoos, parrots and a very fat koala. (I think they get fed by the tourists there.) But, if you carry on up the road you will be in the thick of a eucalyptus forest where you can spot many koalas. You need to drive slowly and preferably have someone else spotting for you as those pesky koala’s can be quite difficult to find!

We then headed on up to the Californian Red Wood forest which is not native to Australia but, was planted 85 years ago on the middle of a Beech wood forest. It makes for an interesting walk and photos. We then headed onto Hopetoun falls (where if you’re lucky you can spot a platypus) and headed back on what must have been the windiest but most spectacular road through a forest before it started to get dark. That night we stayed in Beachcomber hotel and apartments in Apollo Bay.

Day 3 – Apollo Bay to Port Campbell

In the morning we headed to Cape Otway Lighthouse station which is enclosed in the Cape Otway National Park. Again you can spot lots of wildlife here, see some history behind the lighthouse and enjoy some of the most delicious pies! We then headed to wreck beach which as the name suggests has a massive wreck on it but, make sure to go when the tide is out. Also be aware that it is a dirt road but, a lot of the roads are.

We then drove onto the famous 12 Apostles and decided to view them at sunset as the weather the next day wasn’t suppose to be great. The 12 Apostles are a collection of limestone stacks located off shore near Port Campbell. Their proximity to one another has made it a very popular tourist destination so bare that in mind. It was very busy when we visited and we weren’t in peak season. As mentioned there are many different lookouts at the 12 apostles. Some of my favourites were the: 12 Apostles lookout, The Razorback and Loch Ard Gorge and on the other side of Port Campbell, The Arch and London Bridge. We then stayed the night at Southern Ocean Motor Inn in Port Campbell before making the drive back to Melbourne airport the next day.

Summary

I hope that you enjoyed this blog post all about The Great Ocean Road. If you want to see more pics and videos of The Great Ocean Road click on the image of my instagram stories below.