Booked a trip to Oz with the SO for my impending 40th, as part of the trip we’ll be heading to the Great Ocean Road for a 3-4 day road trip (hopefully) enjoying the beaches, waterfalls etc. just wondering if any of you seasoned travellers have advice for digs to stop at on the way, must see places etc ? Thanks

Lorne hotel for a beer.

Don’t bother with the trip all the way to adelaide after Robe. It’s dull.

Better to make a loop of it from Melbourne – up to the grampians and back to Melbourne. We had an ace time. Stayed on the campsite in Halls Gap and had a walk up to the pinnacle.

We did it a few years ago and would highly recommend it. Are you going out of Melbourne? And doing a loop or the full road?
I will get the map out and check town names and post up tomorrow.

Drive though to Warrnambool & come back around it to Melbourne.
Less traffic that way & tour buses can’t go that way.

Second going North into Grampians and then back through Ballarat to Melbourne.

+1 for going north.

Stayed at a great eco hostel in apollo Bay. I highly recommend.

Stop and see:

Bells Beach

Erskine falls & Teddy’s Lookout both at Lorne.

Cape Otway lighthouse. Watch out for hoards of Koalas that you can get very close to on the way down.

Twelve apostles

There is not much past Port Campbell so head north.

Have an awesome time mate…. We did.

D.

+another one for heading north in to Grampians, Ballarat, etc. If you have time head to Wilson’s Prom SE of Melbourne.

Also, Alpine National park between Melbourne and Sydney has some pretty good mountain biking.

Cheers guys, starting in Melbourne and back to it after so some sort of loop. Going to be in Sydney for a week and Hong Kong on a stopover.

Definitely do the loop. You can either go up through the Grampians (NB Hall’s Gap has had another bushfire this season, no idea how severe or when you’re going). If it’s all OK, stop in the Pyrenees for some wine tasting around Avoca. Or do a shorter loop (but just as fun) back up through the Otways via Forrest for some biking – great guesthouse here and a day’s riding with loads of echidnas. The Eco Hostel in Apollo Bay is excellent value – double rooms, superb kitchen.

How long would you need for that loop? (The north to wormam wotsit and back via great ocean road?

Don’t go in May, everywhere was closed.

Otway Fly for a rain forest tour.

Don’t go in May, everywhere was closed.

Mostly open in July 🙂 They don’t close the views.

Timboon Railway Shed Distillery is a great lunchspot

Tower Hill National Park – Koroit near Warrnambool is an old volcano in the middle of boring farmland and is home to emus, wallabies and koalas and a good place to stretch your legs

hire bikes in Forrest, ride the trails and enjoy the beer at the Forrest Brewery café even more

another good spot for a beer is Port Fairy surf club with a view that is hard to beat

In the Grampians the recent big bushfire(very)near Halls Gap has probably done more damage to the tourist trade than actually on the ground

Camping at Bimbi on Cape Otway is really good. You get your own personal koala.

If you’re taking the bike, the trails at Forest are excellent, and a great place to start the return trip in land.

Same as above, I did a loop from Melbourne in September.

Day 1: Bells Beach, Split Point (aka Round the Twist) Lighthouse, Erskine Falls, Apollo Bay ECO YHA

Bells Beach by Ginger F0x, on Flickr

View west along the coast by Ginger F0x, on Flickr

Erskine Falls by Ginger F0x, on Flickr

Day 2: Otway Forest & Otway Fly Treetop Walk, Triplet Falls, Hopetoun Falls, Twelve Apostles, Port Fairy YHA

Otway Fly Treetop walk (1) by Ginger F0x, on Flickr

Slow shutter water by Ginger F0x, on Flickr

Hopetoun Falls by Ginger F0x, on Flickr

Twelve Apostles sunset

Day 3: Back to the Twelve Apostles for different lighting :), Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve, drive up to Halls Gap, Halls Gap Eco YHA

Emu & chicks by Ginger F0x, on Flickr

Twelve Apostles (2) by Ginger F0x, on Flickr

Road to the Grampians

Day 4: Hiking round the Grampians

Halls Gap looking North by Ginger F0x, on Flickr

Mackenzie Falls by Ginger F0x, on Flickr

Mackenzie Falls gorge

Day 5: Bendigo & the Central Deborah Gold Mine – you can do tours down the mine, various levels and prices.

Central Deborah gold mine, Bendigo (2) by Ginger F0x, on Flickr

Bendigo tram tour by Ginger F0x, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gingerfox/tags/greatoceanroad/
http://kitcarruthers.wordpress.com/2013/09/07/ups-and-downunders-in-australia/

When I said everywhere was closed, I meant coffee shops and the like. Seriously, we drove for 7 hours along the Great Ocean Road with 2 kids under two and couldn’t find a single place open on a Tuesday to eat.

Scenery was fantastic.

fair enough Gogg, apollo bay will be open and a few others. Not many towns after that though.

We were over this winter, there was still plenty going on during the week, still plenty of folks like there.