Stretched along the south-eastern coast of Australia, Victoria’s Great Ocean Road is Australia’s most remarkable coastal roads. The Great Ocean Road is one of Australia’s most famous tourist attractions where you can explore many spectacular sights which includes the famous Twelve Apostles and other major rock formations. The road stretches for about 243-kilometre between the cities of Torquay and Warrnambool of Victoria, Australia.
Lorne
One of the main towns in the Great Ocean Road is Lorne which is located between Loutit Bay and the Otway Mountain Range. Home to one of the best New Year Parties you can imagine and on every January, you can witness the Pier to Pub Swim competition, an annual, 1.2-km open water swimming race. The town has a lively pub scene and cafe, nice restaurants, a day spa and trendy boutiques.
You can get to Lorne by driving or the public transport or you can walk from Torquay, Anglesea, Aireys Inlet to Lorne with the Surf Coast Walk. It is a 66 kilometres guided hiking tour where you can enjoy picturesque views and great experiences along the way
Otway Fly
In your Great Ocean Road itinerary, don’t forget to include the Otway Fly Treetop Adventures which is a 1,969-foot-long elevated treetop walk above the rain forest canopy. Otway Fly is located in a rainforest adjacent to the Otway’s premier waterfall destination Triplet Falls, which is about an hour drive from Lorne. Here you can see the top of mountain ash trees, giant myrtle beech and blackwood trees as well as breathtaking views of the surrounding region
Apollo Bay
Drive down 40km west of Lorne to Apollo Bay where you can visit the Arches Marine Sanctuary and The Twelve Apostles Marine National Park. Here, you can dive down and explore the local wrecks which includes the Fiji near Moonlight Head, The Schomberg and the famous Loch Ard.
Port Campbell National Park
Port Campbell National Park is the most famous destination in the Great Ocean Road route. Take a walk along the wooden boardwalks, stretching some 30km along the southern Victoria coastline in the Port Campbell National Park and see remarkable landforms such as Loch Ard Gorge and the Twelve Apostles.
Off the Port Campbell National Park’s shores, you can see a number of the famous Great Ocean Road limestone formations named The Twelve Apostles. Come by to the Twelve Apostles just after the sunset and you can catch a glimpse of about 3000 cute Little Penguins returning to their homes on the beach.
Another amazing place to explore in Port Campbell National Park is Loch Ard Gorge which is named after Loch Ard, a clipper ship that wrecked nearby Muttonbird Island in 1878. Walk along the Historic Shipwreck Trail where you can see landmarks describing 25 of the misfortunes stretching from the Port Fairy to Moonlight Head
Port Fairy
Last stop in your Great Ocean Road journey is Port Fairy, a coastal town in south-western Victoria, Australia. Port Fairy was founded during the whaling heyday in the 19th century It was once a whaling station with one of the largest ports in Victoria. You should visit the Port Fairy Historical Museum and you can see the relics from the many ships that have foundered along the coast during the whaling days.
Grab the Maritime and Shipwreck Map and find the cannons and gun emplacements located at Battery hill. From the map, you can also locate the positions of some of the historic shipwrecks such as the bark Socrates, the bark Lydia and the schooner Thistle
