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.
Torquay, Jan Juc and Anglesea 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. You can stay at the Bells Beach Lodge, or in the Torquay Public Reserve where there are camping grounds. 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 Backpackers. Southwest of Anglesea is Aireys Inlet – a small township with a lovely lighthouse and a beach, where you can stay at Aireys Inlet Holiday Park.
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. Some places to stay in Lorne are Grand Pacific Hotel, Great Ocean Road Backpackers, and Erskine River Caravan Park.
Apollo Bay, Great Ocean Road Australia Further west along the Great Ocean Road 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. You can stay at Lighthouse Keepers Inn, Pisces Caravan Resort and Surfside Backpackers.
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 lovely to discover the rainforest, but it is moist and quite cool even during the summer so bring a jacket. A place to stay is Bimbi Park.
Port Campbell National Park, Great Ocean Road Australia West from here is the most popular stretch of the Great Ocean Road – 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 Gibson Steps because according to an engineering report there is a risk for the rock above the to collapse.
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.
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.
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.
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. Some places to stay are Hotel Warrnambool, Surfside Holiday Park and Warrnambool Beach Backpackers.
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 Great Ocean Road 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. Some places to stay are Eumeralla Backpackers, Gardens Caravan Park, Port Fairy YHA and Seacombe House & Comfort Inn.
Portland, Great Ocean Road Australia In the western end of the Great Ocean Road 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, and in town there are some nice historical buildings to see. Surf is also pretty good in the area, and a few places to stay are Canton Palace, Centenary Caravan Park, Mac’s Hotel Bentnick and Portland Backpackers.
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.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
