Day 1: Melbourne to Apollo Bay – 200km
Having said my goodbyes to Hilary, I pick up a rental car and start on this famous road journey. They’ve upgraded me to a small SUV so I’m delighted with myself. It’s easy enough to get out of the city and the route is well sign posted. My first stop and where the ocean road begins is Torquay, which is in the state of Victoria. It’s a full on surf town….. I stop for a quick walk on the beach and then a brief walk along this coast:
Next stop is Bells beach where the Rip Curl Pro surf tournament is currently on. I see lots of surfers in the water but apparently none of them are competitors as the waves are not big enough today and it’s been called off. There’s still lots of people checking out what look like fairly decent waves to me:
Although 200km doesn’t sound like a huge amount, it takes all day as there’s so many beautiful spots along the road to look out at the coastline. In the photo below you can see the road I’m about to drive behind me:
I stop at Lorne for a quick lunch. Pies are particularly popular and there’s a bakery so I grab one of those and a cup of tea before heading onwards. Another nice lookout is at Mount Defiance:
When I arrive at the Apollo Bay guesthouse it’s already starting to get dark and the landlady seems surprised to see me. Alas there is no room at the inn! It’s a really nice guesthouse and the lady who runs it makes me a cup of tea while she tries to figure out what’s happened. Apparently she had me booked in but got a cancellation from the tour company and now she’s all booked out -yikes! She makes a few calls and we quickly find out that there is literally one free bed left in the whole town and at this stage it’s dark so I don’t want to do more driving. The available room is at the Best Western motel… a bit disappointing as her guesthouse looked fabulous but I’m happy to have a bed and it’s actually very comfortable. I get a great nights sleep after a delicious meal at Casalingo, an Italian restaurant just across the road so I suppose I won’t cause a ruckus with Trailfinders!!
Day 2: Apollo Bay to Mt Gambier – 360km
I start the day with a run along the front which sets me up for the day of driving ahead.
Now as coastlines go, this section is hard to beat. We do have a beautiful coastline in Ireland and the Cliffs of Moher in particular are beautiful (and Slieve League in Donegal), also the Pacific coast on Route 1 in California is stunning but this coastal drive from Apollo Bay to just beyond the Twelve Apostles, I think beats both. It is truly awesome.
My first stop is a quick 1km loop to see Maits Rest Rainforest:
Against the advice of some locals I decide to take on an additional 50km along the Cape Otway Peninsula looking for koalas. It’s a slow drive as everyone is looking among the trees hoping to see some wild koalas but they remain elusive. There are lots of bare trees which apparently are from the koalas eating all the leaves.
At the end of the peninsula is Cape Otway Lightstation which is Australia’s oldest working lighthouse:
Next is the big attraction – The Twelve Apostles. Now there are no longer twelve of them anymore as some have eroded and fallen away but what is there is stunning and there are lots of vantage points to see them. My first stop is to walk down the Gibson Steps to a beautiful beach and this is what I see:
The waves are really rough and as I’m taking a photo a big one comes in and soaks me, I hadn’t noticed everyone run out of the way and there are just a couple of us who get soaked – that’s gonna mean a footwear change. Looking the other direction from the beach is also beautiful:
I carry on to the visitor center and the main look out points which give a different view backwards to what I’ve seen:
And looking the other way to more “apostles”:
There are so many more places to stop along the road. Another spot they call London bridge:
And the grotto:
I also stop at the Bay of islands and the Bay of Martyrs, I can’t stop myself:
There are so many scenic lookouts and places to stop for another view of these stacks that I’m nearly sick of it… only nearly though I don’t miss any of them. I’ve clearly underestimated the driving and at 5pm (sun will be setting at 6:15pm) I’m finished all the stoppinng for views but I still have 200km to drive to my overnight stop. When I finally arrive at Mt Gambier I’ve crossed into the next state which is South Australia and the time is now a half hour different from the state of Victoria!
Day 3: Mt Gambier to Adelaide – 440km
I’m awake early so decide to get a run in around the main attraction in Mt Gambier – the blue lake. The lake was made from a huge crater so you are looking down into it and the water is really blue:
The next big attraction in this neck of the woods is the Umpherston sink hole. It was once a cave and the sinkhole naturally occurred when the chamber’s roof collapsed. Mr Umpherston then turned it into a garden! It is really impressive. I walk down the steps and the gardens maintained below are gorgeous:
The great ocean road officially ends at Allansford so I get on the Princess highway and continue to Adelaide.
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