Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia
If there's one day trip that simply can't be missed when visiting Melbourne, it has to be the Great Ocean Road, a spectacular coastal drive stretching over 240 km along the southern coastline of the state of Victoria. Rather than renting a car, my travel buddy and I opted to join the Great Ocean Road Reverse Itinerary Tour organised by
Hit the Road Tours.
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AUS: Great Ocean Road Reverse Itinerary Tour <YOU ARE HERE!>
Our day began early with a 6.50 am pick-up outside the State Theatre on St. Kilda Road, which is just a short walk from Flinders Street Railway Station.
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| Each tour is limited to a maximum of 12 travellers, making the experience feel personal. |
After roughly an hour's drive, we pulled into Café La Hoot for a quick breakfast. Boy, I certainly needed my cup of joe after such an early start!
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| Are you Team Sweet or Team Savoury when it comes to breakfast? |
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| Enjoy your sausage roll the local way with a generous squeeze of tomato sauce on top! |
There's always something incredibly therapeutic about seeing herds of animals dotting the countryside as we drove through the rolling landscape.
Our first major stop along the Great Ocean Road was Gibson Steps.
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| The sign says unstable, but I was feeling steady for sure. |
The rock in the centre of the photo below is either Gog or Magog, the pair of towering limestone formations found just offshore from Gibson Steps. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see its counterpart from this vantage point.
Descending the Gibson Steps, we were greeted by a completely different perspective of the dramatic coastline.
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| The descent to the beach is via 86 hand-carved limestone steps winding their way down a 70-metre cliff face. |
Before long, we arrived at the Twelve Apostles Visitor Information Centre, the gateway to one of Australia's most iconic natural attractions.
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| Port Campbell National Park covers approximately 1,750 hectares. |
The Twelve Apostles are a collection of towering limestone sea stacks rising dramatically from the Southern Ocean. They've been formed over millions of years through the relentless erosion of mainland cliffs.
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| Despite its name, there have never actually been twelve of them standing at any one time. |
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| Would a giant cuttlefish be nice to consume? |
The winds were incredibly strong when we were there.
From there, we walked to Loch Ard Gorge, which is named after a ship that met its tragic fate off this treacherous coastline in 1878 after a long voyage from England.
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| The two rocks are named Tom and Eva, the only two survivors of the Loch Ard shipwreck. |
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| Coast Everlasting is a resilient native Australian shrub found in the coastal regions. |
Loch Ard Gorge lies along the infamous Shipwreck Coast, a rugged stretch of coastline believed to have claimed over 700 vessels. To date, only about 240 shipwrecks have been discovered.
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| Gotta chase that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! |
After soaking in the highlights of Port Campbell National Park, we continued our drive and made a brief stop at Yatzies Café in the small town of Lavers Hill at the highest point along the Great Ocean Road. I only popped in for a quick restroom break before hopping back into the van though.
It was refreshing to experience a completely different side of the Great Ocean Road at Maits Rest Rainforest Walk.
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| Part of Great Otway National Park, Maits Rest Rainforest Walk is an easy 800 m boardwalk loop. |
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| Despite their towering height, these tree ferns grow at a slow pace of just up to 5 cm per year. |
Our half-hour stroll through the cool temperate rainforest felt like stepping into another world, a stark contrast to the rugged limestone cliffs and crashing waves we'd been admiring earlier.
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| Wild mushrooms are incredibly difficult to identify accurately from a photograph alone, so much so that even AI could only suggest a few possible species rather than provide a definitive identification. |
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| Listed on the Register of Significant Trees, this trio of Myrtle Beech trees has been growing together for more than 200 years. |
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| Easily my favourite capture from the rainforest! |
At around 1.30 p.m., we arrived at Apollo Bay, one of the most popular seaside towns. Its bustling commercial strip is lined with shops and eateries, making it an ideal place to unwind and reflect on the morning's journey.
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| Apollo Bay Bakery is famous for its scallop pies. |
For lunch, we settled on
George's Restaurant.
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| No, I didn't finish that huge platter of fried seafood on my own. |
After filling our stomachs, we continued to Kennett River to try our luck spotting wild koalas.
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| It wasn't a koala that we spotted at first, but a vibrant Australian king parrot. |
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| Can you see a wild koala snoozing high up in that blue gum tree? |
As our Great Ocean Road adventure drew to a close, we made one last stop at
Teddy's Lookout.
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| Notice those holes in the rocks? |
Those holes mentioned earlier began to form when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. Over millions of years, mineral-rich water slowly weathered the sandstones, carving the hollows we see today.
I shall end this post with something quintessentially Australian seen on our our way back to Melbourne.
At the point of writing, the Great Ocean Road Reverse Itinerary Tour costs A$138.00 (~S$123.15) per person.
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