Things to Do in Great Ocean Road

About Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road is a 243-kilometre stretch of coastal highway running from Torquay to Allansford in Victoria, built by returned soldiers after World War I as a memorial to their fallen comrades. It's one of the great road trips of the world, not because of a single postcard moment but because the drama keeps unfolding: surf breaks give way to fishing villages, which give way to towering limestone stacks rising out of the Southern Ocean, then rainforest gullies dripping with tree ferns. The Twelve Apostles get the postcard fame, but the road itself, hugging cliffs and diving into bays, is the real attraction.

This is a self-drive destination through and through. You could do it in a rushed day from Melbourne, but that misses the point entirely. Give it two to four days and you'll have time to surf at Bells Beach, walk through the Otway rainforest at Maits Rest, spot koalas dozing in the gum trees around Kennett River, and watch little penguins waddle ashore at London Bridge at dusk. The towns along the way, Lorne, Apollo Bay, Port Campbell, are small and unpretentious, built around fishing and surfing rather than tourism, which keeps things refreshingly low-key even in peak season.

It suits road trippers, photographers, surfers, and anyone who wants Australia's coastal scenery without the crowds of the east coast. It's less well suited to travellers without a car or a booked tour, since public transport along the route is patchy at best. Families do it easily thanks to short boardwalk lookouts at most major sites, though the winding roads can test young stomachs. Budget travellers can camp or hostel-hop; those with more to spend can base themselves in a Lorne or Apollo Bay boutique stay and day-trip the rest.