THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD, VICTORIA

Due to the dearth of campsites in the Melbourne area we spent our first two nights back in Vic at a little caravan park at Rockbank which is quite handy if you are planning on heading west or wanting to meet someone at Tullamarine. It was also easy to get to shopping centres etc without towing the van, to stock up before we headed off on the Great Ocean Road.

We decided to avoid the morning traffic rush by heading west to Bacchus Marsh then south on the C704 toward Geelong. At the end of the M1, it was a short drive to our first stop, the famous Bells Beach. This was our first view of the southern ocean since leaving Tassie. There was quite a nice swell and of course plenty of surfers taking advantage of the fantastic weather.

The Great Ocean Road certainly lives up to its reputation as far as breathtaking scenery goes.



Of course our first stop was the legendary Bells Beach.

And the surfers were out in force, chasing some very nice waves.

Despite the fact that the road itself is a bit rough in places the wildflowers were in bloom and we thoroughly enjoyed the whole drive through to Apollo Bay and on to our first campsite at Johanna Beach, which is used as a back-up location when the surf at Bells isn’t big enough for the  competition.

The camping reserve here is excellent if you get there by lunchtime. There is plenty of room but much of the area is very uneven ground so if you want a level site arrive early. A new toilet block has also been built but there is very limited water and no showers etc. Johanna Beach is obviously popular with some of the more experienced surfers. The beach itself is lovely but the surf is quite tricky. I wouldn’t recommend a swim unless you are very comfortable in the surf. Leo had lots of fun chasing his ball on the beach although he sometimes found it a bit of a challenge if it was picked up by the breakers. He copped a couple of dunkings but kept going back. We really enjoyed our strolls along the beach here, especially as the sun was shining and the breeze a kind one. The sunsets were also quite a sight.

Johanna Beach

While at Johanna we were advised to take a drive which covered a loop east into Cape Otway Lighthouse, Apollo Bay and Skenes Creek then inland through Beech Forest and Lavers Hill and back to Johanna. We didn’t bother going in to see the Lighthouse precinct as we thought $18.50 a bit steep to see another lighthouse. It’s probably great but we had seen plenty in Tassie. The drive in was well worth it though as we came across a colony of koalas lounging around in the trees right beside the road. They were certainly a hit with the many overseas tourists who had pulled over to see them. And of course we were pretty chuffed at seeing so many in the wild. There must have been at least 20 that we could see without even having to look hard.

The road into Cape Otway.

Do not disturb. I'm exhausted!

I couldn't eat another leaf!

Looking across the beach to Apollo Bay.

The drive through the hills and across through Beech Forest would have to be one of the most stunning drives I have ever encountered anywhere, and that includes the United States. The road is a really narrow bitumen track through dense forest, full of tree ferns and majestic, tall, straight gums. Beautiful! But don’t even consider towing a caravan through there. It is way too tight and narrow.

Beech Forest Road

Our next stop was at the recreation reserve in Princetown. Here you can have a hot shower and powered sites are available for $20 a night or $15 without power. If you really like having a fire there are plenty of fire bins as well. The walk down to the mouth of the Gellibrand River is rather boring but if you want to swim the river mouth at present is blocked off by a sandbar so it is ideal for a dip in the fresh water and you can access the beach as well.

Princetown and the Gellibrand River.

The river mouth.

This is also a great spot to park the van and drive the few kilometres further west to visit the Gibson Steps, the 12 Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge. There are 89 steps hugging the cliff down to the beach at the Gibson Steps so the legs will get a good workout. The beach is lovely and the scenery outstanding.



Gibsons Steps





The beach at the bottom of the steps.

At the 12 Apostles the Parks crew have constructed a lavish car park, café and amenities block and even a walkway under the highway out to the viewing platforms, so they have catered well for people of all abilities as they have at many of the scenic spots along the road.

Some of the "Apostles" have collapsed but others are in the making!

 

Loch Ard Gorge has an interesting story. The Loch Ard was a ship which was wrecked just off the coast and of the 54 people on board, only two survived - a young lad who was washed into the Gorge and a girl who he rescued from the water outside the heads. Today it is a lovely spot for a swim and a picnic. The whole of the coastal area along the GOR is National Park however, so if you have a dog, leave it at the van if you can. Otherwise it will have to stay in the car and it can get very hot.



Loch Ard Gorge



Between Princetown and Warrnambool, the Great Ocean Road is very busy in more ways than one. Yes there are lots of other tourists but you are also kept busy stopping every few kilometres to take in the many impressive seascapes. The rock formations in the ocean remind me a lot of the desert formations in Arizona and New Mexico, except ours are in the sea. There are so many beautiful scenes that you just can’t stop snapping those pics. So please forgive the abundance of photos.

Port Campbell is a bustling little holiday town with a unique way of extracting fishing vessels from the harbour. It is a lovely sheltered little cove amidst a wild and woolly coastline.

Port Campbell nestles in a sheltered little cove.

After stopovers at The Grotto and the Bay of Islands we arrived at Warrnambool and settled in at the showgrounds which are as average as most of the showgrounds we have stayed at, but handy to town and you can have a dog. The standard cost in these parts seems to be about $20 a night with power. Try not to park at the Koroit Street end though. On Sunday mornings there is a constant flow of market goers visiting the toilets. It’s like having crowds walking through your front yard.

The Grotto



Bay of Islands



We saw this little native shrub growing wild along the coast here but it was also planted in the riverside gardens at Ulverston in Tassie and was very effective although the flowers do have a slight odour of urine at times.

Just east of Warrnambool I stopped to photograph the drunk hayshed in background but this guy came over looking for a treat.

While we were there the local bottle club were having a Collectors Show in one of the pavilions so we wandered up for a look. It was quite interesting with some amazing collections of old bottles as well as other curiosities.

Warrnambool has an interesting harbour precinct, with lots of great bikeways and walkways along the coast. The sea wall at the harbour is quite a feat of engineering as well as providing great views of the ocean and across to the town itself. The town is big enough to cater for most needs and is a good stopover if you have repairs etc but beware not to stock up too much on the fruit and veg as you aren’t supposed to take fruit and vegies into South Australia if you’re heading that way.

The historical precinct, Warrnambool

Merri River mouth looking toward the sea wall.

The sea wall

These tanks at the sea wall were used to house unusual sea creatures in earlier times but have been roofed in for safety now.



Proudfoots Boathouse is on the Hopkins River is a lovely old buildiing now housing the rowing club and a restaurant.

I found it interesting that there are two rivers flowing through Warrnambool, the Hopkins and the Merri. There is also an interesting historic village precinct at the information centre, with a light show nightly. However, it seemed expensive at $26 a head, especially when we discovered there were similar light shows nightly at Mount Gambier which were free.