| Great Ocean Road tips and photos posted by real travelers and Melbourne locals. • 232 Photos
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 London Bridge by grantravel
The Great Ocean Road begins near Torquay, about 100 km. west of Melbourne, where the name changes from the Surfcoast Highway, and follows the coastline for several hundred kilometres to Warrnambool where it rejoins the Princes Highway. Along its length are spectacular coastal scenery, rain forests, waterfalls and quaint holiday, fishing and resort towns.
See my travelogue for more pictures! Leave a Comment
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 Ocean Road Sign by kyoub
There are many places to pull off the road to take pictures and enjoy the surf.
Port Campbell National Park is the amazing part of thios drive, with its natural rock sculptures. Leave a Comment Directions: South East coast of Victoria
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I love going down to the Great Ocean Rd. It's a favourite place to take interstate or overseas visitors.
The scenery is spectacular whether it's summer or the middle of winter. It's beautiful on a clear sunny day but just as great if it's a miserable cold day in winter.
The road has improved over the years but it's still quite windy and of course hilly. Care does need to be taken, especially on the bends. Watch out for those buses!!
There are lots of opportunities for photo taking. Make sure you stop at the turn out bays, good time to stretch the legs and marvel at the scenery.
The 12 Apostles are a highlight of the drive along the Great Ocean Rd. Leave a Comment Directions: South East coast of Victoria
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The Great Ocean Road is a breath-taking coastline and it was originally planned to begin at Barwon Heads and extend to Nirranda. Today the Great Ocean Road officially starts at Torquay and finishes at Allansford where it joins the Princes Highway near Warrnambool. It was built as a monumentt those who lost their livesin WW1.
Even if it's not advisable driving along the Great Ocean Road and return to Melbourne in a day,it is possible because my friend Michela and I did it! To be honest it's quite tiring above all for who dreives!Obviously in this way you can experience only a small part of the Great Ocean Road and it will leave you little time to stop and appreciate beautiful spots and attractions along the way.
About The Twelve Apostles rock stacks: they were formed by the gradual erosion of softer limestone areas, creating caves in the cliffs. These caves eventually wore away through wind and wave erosion to become arches and when they collapsed, rock islands were left detached. The cliffs rise to nearly 70 metres in some places and the highest Apostle is approximately 50 metres from base to tip.
Beside The Twelve Apostles the area includes also the Otways rainforest, Bells Beach, on the Surf Coast, and the Great Ocean Road itself.
Along your way you'll find resort towns like Torquay, Lorne and Apollo Bay (where Aussie75 and I bought a wonderful koala shape pillow, a sort of anti-stress!!!!!WONDERFUL!!!), the coastal cities of Geelong and Warrnambool, and the historic villages of Queenscliff, Port Campbell, Port Fairy and Portland. Leave a Comment Directions: I was driven there by my friend Michela. By bus, there are daily bus services arriving in Melbourne from various Australian capital and regional cities. Connections to the Great Ocean Road can be made from Melbourne. Check the web site.Website: http://www.greatoceanrd.org.au/index.asp
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 by dracko
Do try to make it at least as far as the Twelve Apostles. It is a beautiful sight, very much worth taking in. On the way back to Melbourne, take a left turn at Skenes Creek, and make your way along the winding road over the hills, through the rainforest, and past the endless farms later back towards Geelong. This will be quicker than following the Great Ocean Road again, and you'll get a chance to see some new places that you haven't seen before.
Also, ideally, you'll want to spend at least a couple of days, if not longer, to do the road. It'll definitely be worth it to take your time and explore it slowly and thoroughly. If you have no choice but to do it in one day, leave Melbourne early in the morning. It should take you about 6 hours to get to the 12 Apostles, including time for lunch, photo stops, etc. Coming back, if you go the inland route, it'll take you a little over half of that time. We made it back from 12 Apostles in less than 4hrs.
And keep an eye out for wildlife! We saw a wild koala and the local biker gang, a charter of the Bandidos! Leave a Comment Directions: South East coast of Victoria
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 by drackoLeave a Comment Directions: South East coast of Victoria
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The Great Ocean Road is one of the attractions that you must visit when you are in Melbourne.
Many will sign up for a day trip where the van or coach will drive you along the coastline for the whole day.
There are few stops that we made along the Great Ocean Road. You can even take a helicopter ride that will fly you down to the Apostles to have a closer look at them. Leave a Comment Address: Great Ocean RoadDirections: South East coast of Victoria
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 The Gibson Steps by Diceman_Leave a Comment
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One of the highlights which is away from the coastal area is the Rainforest Walk.
The guide pointed us to all the different trees in the rainforest. I have a pic taken with this giant tree.
We manage to catch the Kola Bear resting on a tree. Leave a Comment Directions: South East coast of Victoria
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No visit to the Great Ocean Road is complete without seeing the world-renowned "The Twelve Apostles". The Twelve Apostles is the main icon of the Great Ocean Road. Soaring above the angry howling ocean, the highest limestone stack is said to measure as high as 45m.
Why "The Twelve Apostles"? The limestone stacks were originally known as "The Sow and Piglets". The name, "The Twelve Apostles" only emerged around the 20th century, just before the construction of the Great Ocean Road. Nobody knows the reason for the change of name. A few historians believed that it could boil down to the community's strong faith in Christianity then. Whatever it is, I personally feel "The Twelve Apostles" sound much better!
So, next question - are there really twelve stacks? According to another source, the actual number according to National Parks Ranger Alex Green, is 13 limestone stacks that qualify as Apostles. Before July 2005, nine stacks can be seen from the platforms. On 3 July 2005, one stack collapsed. Now, only eight of these can be seen from the main viewing platforms.
Among the rock formations along the coastline, Martin and I agreed that "The Twelve Apostles" is the most magnificent. We also took a 6-minute helicopter ride (at AUD60 per pax) to view this awesome rock formation from the air. We were breathless when we saw the coastline from the helicopter. It was magnificient!
Of course, there were other highlights like the London Arch (formerly known as London Bridge) and the Loch Ard Gorge abut The Twelve Apostles is the most amazing of all. Leave a Comment
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