Great Ocean Road Australia

"Great Ocean Road Australia"  

The road along the coast of Victoria between Torquay in east and Portland in west, is one of Australia’s most beautiful drives. It passes some lovely coastal towns, national parks with temperate rainforests, and some of Australia’s most famous rock formations – the Twelve Apostles in Port Campbell National Park. There is some great scenery over the mountainous inland, rugged cliffs, long beaches, shipwrecks and the blue ocean almost all the way. Here is some information on the Great Ocean Road destinations, where to stay, what to do, and in the end of the page is a Great Ocean Road map.

Listing by Chitika



Great trips to the Great Ocean Road:

ONE AND TWO DAY ADVENTURE TRIPS, ECO TOURS, HELICOPTER FLIGHTS AND SHIPWRECK TOURS












Torquay and Jan Juc - Great Ocean Road Australia
Torquay, a small town south of Geelong, is mostly known for surf. It is the home for the famous Bells Beach and Jan Juc, both with some great surf waves, and in the town there is the Surfworld Australia Surfing Museum.

In Torquay, you can stay at the Bells Beach Lodge, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Golf Retreats, OnShore Resort, Peppers the Sands Resort, Surf City Motel, Torquay 1903 Period Cottages, Torquay Holiday Park or Tropicana Motel.


Torquay. Poster by AllPosters, all rights reserved. Buy the poster.

Anglesea and Aireys Inlet - Great Ocean Road Australia
South-west of Torquay is Anglesea – a quiet small town with a central shopping street, and the Anglesea Beach where you can often see kangaroos. Some places to stay here are Anglesea Family Holiday Park and Anglesea Big4 Holiday Park.

Southwest of Anglesea is Aireys Inlet – a small township with a lovely lighthouse and a beach, where you can stay at Inlet Beach Apartments or Lightkeepers Inn Motel.


Anglesea. Poster by AllPosters, all rights reserved. Buy the poster.

Lorne, Erskine Falls and Angahook Lorne State Park
Further south-west is Lorne – a small town with trendy foreshore cafes, art galleries and shops. You can go canoeing with Paddle with the Platypus; and Lorne is also a popular place to celebrate New Year with its Fall’s Festival at the Erskine Falls.

Erskine Falls is a beautiful place in the Angahook-Lorne State Park north of Lorne where there are a few walking tracks and roads with scenic drives to places like Teddy Lookout.


Places to stay in Lorne include Best Western Coachman Inn, Lorne Comfort Inn, Cumberland Resort, Grand Pacific Apartments, Grand Pacific Hotel, La Perouse Bed and Breakfast, Lorne Chalet Short Stay Apartments, Lornebeach Apartments, Mantra Erskine Beach Resort, and The Sandridge Motel.


Lorne. Poster by AllPosters, all rights reserved. Buy the poster.

Apollo Bay, Great Ocean Road Australia
Further west along the GOR are Wye River, Kennett River, Skenes Creek and Apollo Bay – a laid-back fishing town with a fair number of acitivites offered by different companies such as Wild Dog Trails (horse riding), Twelve Apostles Aerial Adventures (Scenic flights over the area), Wingsports Flight Academy (hanggliding), Apollo Bay Surf & Kayak (kayaking and surf lessons), and Apollo Bay Fishing & Adventure Tours (fishing and wildlife watching). West of the town is the small Melba Gully State Park where there is some temperate rainforest, and during the summer guided tours.

Places to stay in Apollo Bay include Aire Valley Guesthouse, Angelas Guesthouse, Apollo 169 Apartments, Apollo Bay Backpackers, Apollo Bay Colonial Cottages, Arcady Homestead B&B, Beachcomber Motel Apartments, Beachfront Motel and Cottages, Beacon Point Ocean View Villas, Beeches by the Sea Villas, Best Western Motel, Burrum River Retreat, Captain's at the Bay B&B, Casa Favilla B&B, Chocolate Gannets Villas, Chris Beacon Point Villas, Claerwen Retreat, Comfort Inn the International, Dolphin Apartments, Great Ocean Eco Lodge, GOR Beach Houses, Marengo Holiday Park Cabins, Marengo Motel, Ocean View Escape Apartments, Picnics B&B, Rayville Boat Houses, Sandpiper Motel, Seafarers Getaway Lodge, Seaview Motel and Apartments, The Harbour House, Waterfront Motor Inn and Whitecrest Resort. 


Cape Otway Lighthouse, Great Ocean Road Australia. Poster by
AllPosters, all rights reserved. Buy the poster.

Otway National Park, Great Ocean Road Australia
South-west of Apollo Bay is the beautiful Otway National Park with its fern tree rainforests, and the Cape Otway Lighthouse around which there are populations of wild koalas in trees. Just outside Apollo Bay there is the Elliott River Picnic Area and Shelly Beach. Further west there is a rainforest boardwalk which is a lovely place to discover the rainforest, but it is moist and quite cool even during the summer. A place to stay is Bimbi Park.


Otway National Park, Great Ocean Road Australia. Poster by AllPosters,
all rights reserved. Buy the poster.

Port Campbell National Park, Great Ocean Road Australia
West from here is the most popular stretch of the GOR – Port Campbell National Park. Driving from east to west, you first come to the Gibson Steps which take you down to the Gibson Beach, although the beaches here are considered dangerous and there has been talk about closing the Steps because of the risk for a rock to collapse.


Port Campbell National Park. Poster by AllPosters, all rights reserved.
Buy the poster.

Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road Australia
Further west are the famous Twelve Apostles - an impressive and interesting collection of limestone stacks standing out of the ocean. Despite the name, there are only eight of the stacks – the ninth collapsed in 2005 and it is not known if there ever were 12 of them as the name suggests. This coast is in constant change as the waves erode the headlands which will create new Apostles while the old ones collapse one after another as the waves keep eroding them.


Twelve Apostles. Poster by AllPosters, all rights reserved. Buy the poster.

Loch Ard Gorge, Great Ocean Road Australia
West from the Twelve Apostles are the Loch Ard Gorge and London Arch. The Loch Ard Gorge got its name from a ship of the same name that sank here on their way to Australia from England. Only two of the 51 people onboard survived – the ship’s apprentice officer Tom and an Irish girl Eva who was on her way to migrate to Australia with her family. Having lost her family, she returned to Ireland.


Loch Ard. Poster by AllPosters, all rights reserved. Buy the poster.

London Arch, Great Ocean Road Australia
The London Arch was also once connected to the mainland. It collapsed in 1990 leaving two tourists stranded (they were rescued later), before which event the Arch was called London Bridge. The whole coast is eroding about 2cm/year so it will always be a bit risky to get too adventurous on the cliff edges, but there are bushwalks with views over the coast, and the lookouts are close to car parks.


London Bridge. Poster by AllPosters, all rights reserved. Buy the poster.

Warrnambool Whale Watching Victoria
West of the Port Campbell National Park is Peterborough, and then the road turns a bit inland and passes by Nullawarre and Allansford before it comes to a larger town, Warrnambool. It used to be a whaling town, and as in many previous whaling towns, today it’s an excellent place for whale watching. There is a platform for whale watching (best between June and October), and in town there are some lively pubs, beaches and art galleries.

In Petersborough, there are GOR Beachfront Motel and Seahorse Coastal Villas.

In Warrnambool, you can stay at 104 on Merri Apartments, All Seasons Central Court, Anchor Belle Motel, Aqua Ocean Villas, Atwood Motor Inn, Banyan Place Apartments, Bayview Serviced Apartments, Best Western Olde Maritime Motor Inn, Best Western Tudor Motor Inn and Apartments, Blue Whale Motor Inn and Apartments, City Central Apartments, City Heart Motel, Comfort Inn International, Comfort Inn on Raglan, Comfort Inn Western Warrnambool, Country Comfort Mid City, Discovery Holiday Parks, Downtown Motel, Figtree Holiday Village Accommodation, Flagstaff Hill Lighthouse Lodge, Gallery Apartments, Gateway Motor Inn, Girt by Sea Apartments, Hopkins House Motel and Apartments, Log Cabin Motel, Mahogany Motel, Mentor Manor B&B, Motel Warrnambool, Quest Apartments, Sebel Deep Blue Hotel, Southern Right Motor Inn, Stonecutters Inn, Warrnambool Holiday Village and Warrnambool's no 1 Luxury Apartment. 


Port Fairy, Great Ocean Road Australia. Poster by AllPosters, all rights
reserved. Buy the poster.

Port Fairy, Great Ocean Road Australia
Further west is Port Fairy – a lovely colourful seaside town which used to be a whaling town and today has got some nice historical buildings. You can go on different history walks and even on a shipwreck walk along a beach – the coast along the GOR has always been notorious for ship accidents, because of the hidden reefs under the water surface, and the rugged windy coastline which made the navigation hard in those old days. In March there is the famous Port Fairy Folk Festival which is when the town’s accommodation gets booked out quickly.

Places to stay in Port Fairy include Best Western Ashmont Motor Inn, Big4 Holiday Park, Central Motel, Comfort Inn Port Fairy, Cottages for Couples, Hearns Cottage Suites, Hotel Douglas on River, Oscars Waterfront Botique Hotel, Port Fairy Motor Inn and The Victoria Apartments.


Port Fairy, Great Ocean Road Australia. Poster by AllPosters, all rights
reserved. Buy the poster.

Portland, Great Ocean Road Australia
In the western end of the GOR is Portland – Victoria’s oldest town and like the others on this coast, an old whaling town. Today there is the Portland Maritime Discovery Centre where you can learn about the whaling history. In town there are some nice historical buildings to see; and surf is also pretty good in the area.

Places to see in Portland include Annesley House Bed and Breakfast, Best Western Whalers Rest Motor Inn, Cape Bridgewater Seaview Lodge, Comfort Inn Richmond Henty, Claremont Holiday Village, Quality Hotel Bentick, Quest Serviced Apartments, Sandilands Apartments and Victoria Lodge Motor Inn.


Port Fairy, Great Ocean Road Australia. Poster by AllPosters,
all rights reserved. Buy the poster.

Here's a Great Ocean Road map, where I have tagged the places that I mentioned on this web page. You can click on the tags to see what places they are, and double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.



 
View Larger Map
 


Looking for anything?
 

Been There?

Been there and have something to say to other readers?

Share it!!!

We all love to read about other travellers' experiences - good or bad!

Tell us where you went and what you enjoyed. Or if there was anything you didn't enjoy.

You will create YOUR own page on Gondwananet!

Make it nice - you can also submit a photo to your page below ;-)

Enter Your Title

Tell Us Your Story! [ ? ]

Close Help Entering your story is easy to do. Just type!... Your story will appear on a Web page exactly the way you enter it here. TIP: Since most people scan Web pages, include your best thoughts in your first paragraph.

Upload 1-4 Pictures or Graphics (optional) [ ? ]

Close Help Do you have a picture to add? Great! Click the button and find it on your computer. Then select it.

Add a Picture/Graphic Caption (optional) 

Click here to upload more images (optional)

Add a Picture/Graphic Caption (optional) 

Add a Picture/Graphic Caption (optional) 

Add a Picture/Graphic Caption (optional) 

Author Information (optional)

To receive credit as the author, enter your information below.

Your Name	(first or full name)
Your Location	(ex. City, State, Country)

Submit Your Contribution

Check box to agree to these submission guidelines.

(You can preview and edit on the next page)