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The Great Ocean Road In A Day – Torquay to Cape Otway.
The legendary Great Ocean Road in Victoria, stretches 285 km’s from Torquay to Warrnambool. You pass seaside tourist towns, long beaches, rough surf, tall cliffs and dense rainforest. This is my account of the day I travelled the Great Ocean Road.
We started the day early waking up in the surf town of Torquay. Grabbing a coffee we drove 5 minutes up the coast to the famous surfing spot of Bells Beach. They hold annual World Championship surfing competitions on longs walls of water that peel around the headland.
Leaving here we twisted our way through to Anglesea. Apparently if you get here early you can see many grey kangaroos that parade the golf course!
Stopping for breakfast at Aireys Inlet, we had a look at the sturdy Split Point lighthouse. The lighthouse is great, we strolled around and got some fresh ocean air as we absorbed the long expanse of beach that stretched to the west. From then on we drove along the beautiful windswept beach all the way into Lorne which is a pretty tourist resort nestled under the dense Otway Range.
In fact it is just before Lorne where the Great Ocean Road officially starts. You can stop here for a picture under the memorial arch.
From Lorne to Apollo Bay the road skirts right above the ocean as the spray from the swell crashing onto the rocks, drifts in the air above the road. It is a truly amazing stretch of road.
Half way along this drive you pass Mount Defiance Lookout, which is definitely worth a stop for photographs, with 180 deg views of Bass Strait. By now you really feel like you’ve left the tourism and amusement park feeling behind, it is just you, the road and the ocean. Leaving the cliffs behind you make your way down along another very long stretch of beach until Apollo Bay appears.
Apollo Bay feels a very homely place, nestled with a harbour and breakwater inside the hook of Point Bunbury. Apollo Bay is a very small and quiet town, further adding to the feeling you are leaving everyone behind as you embark on a journey of soul-searching and contemplation.
Leaving Apollo Bay you actually head inland for a while as you by-pass the rugged Cape Otway. Today you can take one of either two roads out to Australia’s oldest lighthouse but we kept on going. Heading inland was no disappointment as this stretch of road twists you through or I should say “under” the green shade of thousands of gigantic tree ferns and rainforest of the Otway NP.
By now you are really in the remote part of the Great Ocean Road, where all you can do is to keep on driving!
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Lorne
- Lorne Victoria is one of Victoria's most attractive coastal resort towns. With its Mediterranean feel and picture-postcard scenery, this beautiful seaside town has been attracting visitors for more than a century. Set between the waters of Loutit Bay and the cool Otway forests, Lorne has a charm that’s hard to surpass. The mild weather superb cafes, unique shops, boutiques and galleries make it one of the Great Ocean Road's most popular holiday destinations.
