Heytesbury Lower

We left Apollo Bay around 8am trying to get early to the 12 Apostles to avoid the crowds coming in guided tours from Melbourne. As soon as we passed Marengo the road started to divert away from the ocean and into the bush, a few minutes later on the left the detour to the Cape Otway light station. The road was not in very good condition, no much traffic though but very narrow in some parts, I would definitely used a 4WD during the wet season. It took us another 20 - 25 minutes to reach the end of the road and the light station.

After paying the fee we headed for the Telegraph Station where old equipment can be seen and then the lighthouse, a bit smaller than the one at Ayres Inlet but we had the chance to get to the top. The day was extremely windy, difficult to walk at the top, I had to grip my camera firmly with both hands otherwise it would have ended up in the air. After this we went pass the Radar Bunker and back at the entrance, the place is really worth a visit.

Back on the great ocean road, the highway touches the sea again for a couple of minutes at Glenaire and then again back into the rainforest. We drove another 30 minutes before getting to an intersection at Lavers Hill, to the right one access the hinterland and the Otway Fly (we didn't have time to do it) so we went left starting our descend towards Princetown. The 12 apostles were not far from there.

From Princetown the road runs along the sea again, nice views. Our first stop were the Gibson Steps, this area offers splendid views of rock formation in the sea, sort of like the 12 apostles, I think this place is actually beautiful and a must do at the GOR

10 minutes from Gibson steps and we arrived to the highlight of the trip, the 12 Apostles. The car park is to the left of the road and then via an underpass we accessed the viewing platforms. The views are just simply astonishing, from every corner the area didn't stop to amaze me. Perfect timing too we beat all the buses coming from Melbourne so the area wasn't that crowded.

Back in the car we had again our pre-packed lunch and check the map to see our next stop Loch Ard Gorge, the place was really beautiful, we took photos from the top and then going down the stairs we got to the actual gorge, we remembered the stories about a ship-wreckage in the old days and how only two people managed to escape.

Back in the car a few minutes later we passed Port Campbell, this seen to be the largest town on the Ocean Road.

Continue on we arrived at our next stop The Arch, amazing rock formation that sort of reminded me off the "La Catedral" in Paracas, Peru, well before it got destroyed by a powerful earthquake in 2007.

Next stop London Bridge, there is a rock formation that used to be connected to the main land by a "bridge" which apparently collapsed a few years ago trapping some tourist, scary. Here a bus with some 20 - 25 tourist caught up with us. Not a problem 5 minutes and all of them have vanished, yes these tour operators from Melbourne run on really tight schedules.

Back on the road again we stopped at the Grotto, to our luck the bus didn't stopped just kept going in a hurry. Some steps took us to the bottom of what looks like a cave.

Too much talking in the car we missed the entrance to the Bay of Islands, not a drama we still had the Bay of Martyrs, the 270 degree view from the top is spectacular. From this point the road left the Coast and went along farms to its end at Princess Highway, from there to the left we entered Warrnambool, where we were going to stay overnight. It was close to 5pm by the time we got here, what a drive, one of the best I've done.

Warrnambool is by far the largest city in the region, has all the services required and good dining options. With a bit more time we would have gone to Port Fairy but we were just tired.

Tomorrow we were going back to Melbourne via the inland Princess Highway stopping for a look at the Werribee open range zoo.Read more