How to get the best out of the Great Ocean Road
Travel, sightseeing and accommodation tips

The Great Ocean Road is not long. From Torquay, where the Surfcoats Hwy from Geelong touches the coast, to Peterborough, where it begins its inland diversion to Warrnambool, is a mere 203 km.
If you include the short 27 km from Geelong to Torquay, and the 53km. from Peterborough to Warrnambool, you add only 80 km. It should therefore be easy to see everything in a day and maybe even add another couple of hundred kilometres and reach the Grampians, Ballarat or Melbourne.
This would be a gross underestimation of the beauty and fascination of this spectacular part of the Australian coastline.

The road hides fascinating secrets at every turn. Rainforests, waterfalls, picnic spots, golf courses, lighthouses, wildlife, spectacularly eroded limestone coastal formations, shipwrecks and quaint seaside villages and towns are among the reasons hundreds of thousands visit this area each year. Surf and swimming beaches, golden sands, fresh lobster and other seafood served from fine restaurants, and craft shops and museums are others.

To best see the sights along the Great Ocean Road you should spend a minimum of 2 days, and preferably more. Ideal stopover spots are Port Campbell, Apollo Bay, Lorne and Anglesea.
You might choose to stay somewhere else, but these places are where I usually stay.
We will begin our journey from the eastern, or Geelong end. Geelong is less than an hour from Melbourne so we begin around 10am after a comfortable one hour drive.
If you are beginning at the other end after overnight in Warrnambool, just reverse the tips in these pages. Warrnambool is around 2.5 hours from The Grampians or Mount Gambier.
The first thing we want to do is make sure we take the right road. There are two ways to reach the Great Ocean Road from Geelong. One is a turn off from near Belmont which goes through Grovedale and passes the small domestic airport before reaching Torquay, and the other branches left at a round-about near Waurn Ponds on the Princes Highway. Both meet at a roundabout west of Torquay and become the road we are looking for.
I usually stay at the Kiloran Motel in Geelong so I prefer to take the road from Waurn Ponds which is more direct and passes through some rich farming country and passes the Bellbrae Carriage Museum.
Whichever route you take you will arrive at the roundabout which (in my opinion) is the real start of the road. This roundabout is at the 103km. marker from Melbourne.
Each kilometre along the road, on the south side, there is a marker on the white posts with a number on it. These are your distance from Melbourne.
This guide works from those markers so you do not need to set your speedo or calculate kilometres. You just watch the markers. They are the same for everyone !

5 km along the road (108) you will pass the turn off to the south to Bells Beach.
Bells Beach is where Australia's National Surfing Championships are held and is well worth the short trip to take a look. If the surf is up you will get some excellent photos.
At the 112 mark you will cross the Anglesea River at Anglesea.
Anglesea is famed for the kangaroos which share the golf course with the players. Just west of the town is a lookout on the north side of the road which gives you a great view over the beach and town.
Continue on along the beach and up to Urquhart Bluff, the first of the many lookouts over the coast. There is a car layby here so you can pull off the road and enjoy the scenery.
Two kilometres further on is Aireys Inlet.
The two main things to see in this tiny town are the Lighthouse and the Bark Hut. Both are worth a photo and not far off the road.
Continue on 2 kilometres (124) over the hill to Fairhaven and beside the road, high above you on the north side is a spectacular house built on a pedestal off the cliff face.
Continue along the beach and through Moggs Creek to the 128 marker where the Angahook Lorne State Forest begins.
This forest extends 17 km. along the road and right back over the Otway Ranges to the north.
Three kilometres from the start of the park you will pass under the arch which officially starts the Great Ocean Road and commemorates the feat and its workers. Most people stop here and take a photo.
I was doing this one day when a friendly Echidna sidled up to me to say hello, so keep your eyes peeled. There are also toilets at the Arch.
You are now 10 kilometres from Lorne and the road begins to wind along the coast and there are several lookouts to explore. Cinema Point and Big Hill near the Santa Monica Camp are two, and sharp eyes will pick up Cathedral Rock.
As you enter Lorne at the 139 mark you will pass the footbridge over the Erskine River and see historic Erskine House between the road and the beach.
You can drive up to the lookout over the road and visit the Erskine Falls while you are in Lorne.
The Information Centre is just east of the large Cumberland Resort Complex in the main street and they have our maps in there which will give you all the walks and places of interest to visit.
If it is already late in the day you can overnight here, but usually I go on to Apollo Bay, another 45km. of winding and interesting road.

For more on Lorne see the Lorne Page.

Five kilometres from Lorne you leave the State Park and then cross the St George (145), Sheoak (147), and Cumberland Rivers (148) (where you can camp), before reaching one of the more spectacular lookouts at Mt. Defiance. (150). A little further on are the Artillery Rocks and the Jamieson River (152). You are now only 2 kilometres from an historic shipwreck grave on the south side of the road which if you are not prepared you will probably miss. It is at the 153/54 mark and is just below the road. the headstone is self explanatory.
The next 4 kilometres into Wye River are windy and scenic and you cross Godfrey and Separation Creeks.
Wye, and Kennett Rivers (5 kilometres on) are popular surf beaches and you can get a cold beer or a hot coffee. Both towns were settled by timber cutters last century.

The run from Kennett River to Apollo Bay hugs the coast and there is another spectacular lookout at Cape Patton at the 169 mark. You cross many creeks and the road dips and winds with spectacular views most of the way.
You will also pass through 2 gullies just before Cape Patton. Schrapnel and Sausage Gullies are obscure in their naming, but all that remains at Sausage Gully is the bare signpost so someone though it was significant enough to pinch.
On the north side of the road are several motels and resorts overlooking the ocean including Whitecrest and the Skenes Creek Motel. At the 177km marker a road joins sharply from Wongarra and there is what must be one of the most remote mail-boxes in the country on the corner.
I posted a letter there once just for the experience.
At the 180 mark you pass through Skenes Creek, where the road from Colac joins after manouvering the Otway Ranges, and begin the run into Apollo Bay (185) along the beach. Just before Wild Dog Road (183) is the Seafarers Lodge.
Late last century the mainland was connected briefly by telegraph to Tasmania from a telegraph station at Apollo Bay. You will see the museum as you enter Apollo Bay.
As you enter the shopping area, on the beach side, is the new Information Centre where you can find out all the things you can see and do around this pretty seaside village.
I usually pass through the township and continue on a couple of kilometres to Marengo (188) and stay at the motel there.
In the afternoon, and the early morning you can explore around Apollo Bay before heading off over the Ranges, and through the rainforest, to the Port Campbell National Park.
If you ask at the reception in the motel there is a Glow-worm tour each night in the nearby ranges.
In season, the local hotel has freshly caught lobster from the attractive little harbour behind the golf course in the main street.
Marriners lookout gives excellent views over the town and ocean, as does another point on the road out of Apollo Bay the next day.

For more about Apollo Bay Follow this link.

From Apollo Bay we head up into the ranges towards Lavers Hill and Port Campbell.
Shortly after passing through Marengo (if you didn't stay the night there), we enter the Otway National Park. The next 20 kilometres of the road will wind its way through this rainforest. At the 200km mark is a turn off to Beauchamp and Hopetoun Falls along Binns Rd. I have never visited the falls along this road and would suggest you take care if it is wet and slippery. However, a drive through this wonderful area is very rewarding and there is even an alternative route from Apollo Bay to Lavers Hill along Turtons Track, which straddles the top of the ranges.
My suggestion is to stick to the main road if you are just passing through. There is plenty to see and a only 3 kilometres on from the falls turn-off, on the left, is Maits Rest Rainforest Walk, which will give you a real feel of the ranges you are in.
The walk takes around 25 minutes and returns to the car park. A well established and worn track with a few wooden bridges and walkways is well signposted and you will leave the walk completely relaxed.
Three kilometres further on at the 205km. marker is a road which turns towards the coast and, after a short drive you will find yourself at the Cape Otway lighthouse.
You can enter the lighthouse on a tour and there is limited accommodation in the old staff quarters.
I recently took a friend of mine from Holland along the road and she was delighted to see her first koala in a tree beside the road, so keep your eyes open.

From the Otway turn-off the Great Ocean Road begins a downhill run to the flats of the Aire Valley until it reaches the Ford River and begins to climb again.
This valley with its dairy cattle and quaint farms is another aspect of the road you would not expect.
From the Ford River (219) the road rises again and a few hundred metres up the rise on the south side is a popular lookout over Castle Cove.
The road now winds through forest, past the turnoffs to Red and Blue Johanna to the apex of the hill where Lavers Hill (236) sits majestically overlooking the ranges. There are plenty of facilities at this small town including a motel, tea rooms, service station, caravan park, and a wonderful blackwood furniture manufacturer.

From Lavers Hill it is only a short drive to the Melba Gully State Park, on the south side of the road just after you leave the town. There is a rainforest walk and a picnic area. The park was named after Dame Nellie Melba, the famed opera singer who often called in to the spot to relax.
There are several lookouts along the road between Melba Gully and the turn-off to Moonlight Head at the 250km. marker.
Moonlight Head offers a panorama over the ocean and there is a shipwreck trail marker. Return to the main road, cross the Gellibrand River at the 235 marker and on to the Deer and Wildlife Park at 257km.
The park is well worth a visit and there are refreshments available.
Another 8 kilometres and you will see Princetown to the left of the road as you cross the Latrobe Creek and follow a short winding section of road before the Cobden and Simpson turn-off on the north at the 270 marker, and in 2 km. the Port Campbell National Park begins.
The first place to visit in the park is Gibsons Steps. at the 273 marker. Steps lead to an extensive, golden beach and you will see the viewing area for the 12 Apostles to the west.
The next stop, only 1 km. is the 12 Apostles. Little needs to be said here about this major attraction along the road. There is a large carpark, and wooden viewing platforms afford ideal photo opportunities.
An interpretation centre and many other facilities to the north of the road have just been completed although they were not yet open when I passed through there in April 2001, they should be soon.
The loose surface road directly opposite the entrance to the Interpretive centre leads to an excellent motel about 3 kilometres up the road. There are usually helicopter joy flights operating from a small field at the rear of the centre.
Return to the Great Ocean Road and head west 3 kilometres to Loch Ard Gorge.
This Gorge takes its name from a ship wrecked there last century and details of the shipwreck and the only 2 survivors are explained on plaques along the steps leading to the beach, and at a museum in nearby Port Campbell.
Of interest is an exposed limestone stalagtite section on the cliff face east of the bottom of the steps, and a cave at the western end of the beach.
Back to the road, across the Sherbrook River, and 5 kilometres into the beautiful seaside township of Port Campbell.
Port Campbell has all the facilities you want for a passing visit or an overnight stay. There are shops, motels, a caravan park, and a protected beach. There is an excellent lookout across the bay on the western side, an interesting cemetery dating back to the whaling days, and some walks along the cliff face.
Leaving Port Campbell you turn sharply to the west across Campbells Creek and follow the coast. From this turn you can continue on to Timboon and the Timboon Farmhouse Cheesery, or turn north directly over the river to Curdievale and the Boggy Creek Pub.
Follow the Great Ocean Road past the lookout, and there are many features to explore. At the 287 mark is Two Mile Bay, then at 290, The Arch, at 291 London Bridge. In 1990 the main span of this feature collapsed leaving a couple stranded on the outcrop. The road was re-aligned to avoid the erosion of the cliffs and there is a lookout for taking photographs. Return to the Great Ocean Road and head west, past the lookout, 3 kilometres to The Grotto.
The Grotto is a natural arch created by erosion and providing excellent photo opportunities through the creeper covered arch and rocky foreground across the ocean. This area has also been recently re-developed and it is now around a 500 metre walk to The Grotto from the carpark.
Just beyond The Grotto is a turnoff at the 294 mark to Timboon and Camperdown.
A couple of kilometres on is the small town of Peterborough on Curdies Inlet. There are some facilities here including a couple of motels and a caravan park. Joy flights are available from a small airstrip just east of the township before the river.
From Peterborough you have a choice of two routes to Warrnambool. A road leads north from the town and joins the main Great Ocean Road 8 km. further on.
There is no value in taking this road unless you have been here a dozen times and are not interested in what you will see by following the coast.
The area you will pass through now has recently been added to the National Parks List and includes several large inlets dotted with outcrops similar to the 12 Apostles. The Bay of Martyrs, Bay of Islands, Crofts Bay and Boat Bay will be found in the 5 kilometres before the road heads inland towards Warnambool, around 50km. further on.
You have now completed the main section of the Great Ocean Road. It is worth turning off to the Boggy Creek Pub and Curdie Vale when you get to the junction at the 310 marker, and the Allansford Cheese Factory, on the road at the 335km. mark is a nice place to stop and sample local produce.

Pete Wilkins