The Great Ocean Road

Leaving Melbourne in the mid morning, we set off in our car toward Australia's Great Ocean Road, which wends it's way along sheer cliffs, through dense forest and beside innumerable beaches. We planned to drive about 280km (175miles) of it over two days, so we could really enjoy it and take our time. The road was built by soldiers returning to Australia after World War One and largely was built using little machinery, creating a more direct route along the coast to join up a number of towns and serves as a memorial to their lost comrades.

The drive south from Melbourne to where the road begins at Torquay took about an hour and a half and was uneventful before our first stop just outside the town.

Torquay itself is a quaint seaside town with not a lot going for it so we instead stopped at the first of the many beaches we'd be passing over the next couple of days, called Bell's beach. A golden stretch of sand below sheer bush-topped cliffs, the beach isn't the main event here. Instead it's the world class surf that was playing host to a qualifying round of a junior's surfing competition. We enjoyed watching the powerful white waves carrying the surfers on the waves for a while but as it was really windy and quite cold (yes, cold!) we headed back to continue our drive.

The next hours drive was to the town of Lorne and was possibly our favourite part of the road. The tarmac has been hewn and mined into the rock face adjacent to the sea all along this stretch of coast as well as passing half a dozen beaches, all of which were practically deserted. The road also has a great selection of lay-bys and viewpoints which meant it was rare for us to drive more than 10 minutes without stopping for a walk or selfie, all the time surrounded by stunning scenery.

Follow this link for a quick video to give a taste of our experience: https://goo.gl/photos/skDc8eJPoyhbhsVt7

We arrived into Lorne at lunch time and found that even though it wasn't hot or sunny the beach and promenade area were HEAVING with holidaymakers, foreign and domestic. Once we'd found somewhere to park we had a brief walk along the beach and surrounding shops and cafes, before deciding to find ourselves a more secluded spot to have our picnic, which we topped up with an award winning steak pie (FYI my time in Newcastle has made me too partial to Greggs, so while the pie was nice it wasn't as good as a steak bake!). We found our perfect spot at Teddy's Lookout, 5 minutes drive from the town it's a viewpoint on a hill about 80m above the road, winding over the mouth of a river with dense forest facing inland and uninterrupted sea facing out. We had a leisurely lunch but continued on the road shortly after.

We took it in turns driving the nippy Micra and even though driving the road is a popular tourist attraction it didn't feel busy on the road or at the different stops we made aside the road. As I was driving past a campsite Beth suddenly called for me to stop as fast as I could, and after pulling over we ran across the road to where a wild koala was having a snooze in a low branch by the side of the road - how Beth spotted it as we went past at 50mph on the other side of the road I don't know but it meant we had the moment all to ourselves!

By the time we arrived at our overnight stop of Apollo Bay it was 5pm and as we pulled up to our beachfront hostel the sun finally came out, which was just in time for us to take a walk along the best beach we'd seen all day. A huge bay of golden sand with turquoise water lapping at the shore. There were a few rock pools which I had a look in as we walked past, until out of nowhere an octopus appeared in one! We were captivated, watching it swim around the pool it had made it's home in for a while before our hunger got the better of us and we climbed through some dunes to the port where we had fresh fish and chips- a real seaside experience for us!

It had gone dark now and after our little sleep the night before combined with a long day of driving we were ready to rest and crashed out until we were ready to carry on after a good night's sleep and a bacon sandwich the following morning!

Unlike the first day it was a hot and sunny day, and we were glad of the AC as we drove through Great Otway National Park, with lush forest towering either side of the road. We stopped at Cape Otway lighthouse, one of a series built along the coast here in the early 1800s to reduce the ever-increasing toll on boats who found it hard not to get shipwrecked there, with over 200 lost in the period the lighthouses were being built.

The next section of the road was further inland until just over an hour later we arrived at a place called Gibson's Steps, 70 odd steps down to yet another beautiful beach with a view of one part of The Twelve Apostles, the star attraction of the Great Ocean Road. The rock formations jut out of the ocean making for some very dramatic scenery and it was no surprise that we took loads of photos there!

A short drive in land through more forested terrain took us to Port Campbell, a sleepy town with a handful of shops and cafes. The day was incredibly hot, especially compared to our first day on the road, so a heavily air conditioned restaurant made a very welcome stop for lunch before we continued on!

Penultimate was a visit to 'London Bridge' which is a rock arch over the ocean with waves crashing through it. Until a few years ago there was a second arch adjacent to it but the 'bridges' only bare the weather so long before they collapse. This means that if you want to see the last bridge left there, go soon just in case!

Finally we stopped at the ominous 'Grotto'. Sheltered above sea level but below the height of the surrounding cliffs was a small pool of crystal clear fresh water, viewed through an arch of stone. Nature created this through a sink hole that has carved a path toward the sea, leaving a beautiful and tranquil spot now. Sadly we couldn't swim in the water there due to the number of tourists who would do the same if it were allowed, but it suited us well anyway as we hopped back in the car and drove a highway back to the airport for our flight to Sydney. The couple of days were really incredible and we could have easily spent even longer at the various places along the route - it comes highly recommended by us!

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