Summer Travel Escapes: Australia's Great Ocean Road

There are few things in the world as amazing as the Great Ocean Road in southern Australia. We made this drive in December of 2006, which is summer in Australia and the perfect weather for sight seeing. This tourist road is so named because it does indeed hug the ocean, but 'great' is an understatement. Under no circumstances should you forget to bring your camera on this travel escape.

We took the M1 from Melbourne and entered the Great Ocean Road at Geelong, driving it all the way to the end at Warrnambool. There are a few things further west from there, but the majority of what you want to see is contained between these two points. Aside from making sure your travel plans coincide with Australia's seasons being opposite those in the United States, do remember that you must drive on the left side of the road here. There are fairly frequent road signs to remind you of this, but they are fairly amusing. I mean, if you are in your car and driving along the road in the proper direction to actually see these signs, then you don't need them, do you? And if you cannot see the signs because you are driving the wrong side of the road, well, they aren't going to do you much good at all, and you've probably gotten into a glorious wreck and crashed over one of the cliffs into the ocean. Fun to snap pictures of though, those road signs.

If you happen to have teenagers with you during this Great Ocean escape, do stop there at the beginning. They have the surfer's museum and a really cool skateboard park, as well as some really good waves to play in. Australia is known for its great waves, and your teen will thank you forever for letting them have the Been There, Done That points to brag to all his/her friends about.

I suggest not making any prior plans or reservations. I mean, until you drive it you really don't know where or when you will want to stop a while and really examine the area. Sure, you may get caught having to search for a vacancy, but if all else fails there are plenty of places to set up camp. During Australia's summer in December, we saw plenty of vacancy signs along the Great Ocean Road, so you really shouldn't have any trouble. One of the cool camping spots is Koala Cove. They are set up for everything from a pup tent to a huge RV, and even have a few cabins for rent I believe. Even if you don't feel like staying the night here, do pull in when you see the sign. It is a great place to stop for lunch and stretch your legs. There is a semi-wild koala who lives in the tree just outside the cafe who loves having his picture taken, and the lorikeets will come eat out of your hand. It is rather exhilarating.

Another great place to stop is in Apollo Bay. If you are the sort who simply must plan ahead and make reservations, then make them for a hotel here. Apollo Bay is a really cool ocean-side town with lots of great little shops and eateries along the road, as well as hotels. Don't worry about where you park, really, because you will want to walk the whole street of this village anyway, and back again. I'd go so far as to say that Apollo Bay is an attraction in itself.

Lorne is another great little ocean village back there a little ways before you got to the Koala cafe. (Listen, I'm old. You can't expect me to stay in order, OK? Just print this out and draw little red arrows all over it.) Lorne is probably a bit early to stop on your Great Ocean Road escape if you go the direction we did, but perfect if you have just driven the opposite way and are heading towards Melbourne.

The main draw of the Great Ocean Road is the Twelve Apostles. This is a group of huge rocks sitting in the ocean. doesn't sound very exciting when I put it like that, but it is a sight to see. Rather like a Stonehenge in the water. What happened is that the ocean waves made all these caves in the cliffs and then collapsed, which left twelve rock islands sitting there as tall as 45 meters. This all started like 20 million years ago, and you can feel the history in your bones as you stand on the handi-capped friendly walkway overlooking this marvel of nature. You'll have to park at the $5.5 million Visitor's Center and then walk through a tunnel under the Great Ocean Road to get to that spot, but it is worth the short hike. It is also free.

Formed exactly like the Twelve Apostle's were, London Bridge is another ocean rock island worth stopping for pictures at. This thing is just huge and does indeed look like a rock bridge out in the water just beyond the breathtaking cliff. I won't go into detail on them all, but other similar points of interest and Kodak Moments are Pudding Basin Rock, Island Arch, the Razorback, Muttonbird Island, Thunder Cave, the Blowhole, Bakers Oven, and the Grotto. Some are easier to access than others, but all are worth the stops and great places to stretch your legs.

You can stop at the Glenample Homestead and learn about the legend of the Loch Ard, a huge ship that wrecked on the coast of Australia along the Great Ocean Road back in 1878. There are even still gravestones her marking where some of the casualties were buried. Only two people survived this disaster of miscalculation by this Irish vessel.

Getting a bit out of sequence yet again, Portland is Victoria, Australia's first permanent white settlement, being founded even before Melbourne. The town is rich in history and has lots of fun things to do for the entire family.

About midway on the Great Ocean Road escape is the Otway Ranges. This is like a huge National Forest and is a nice break in the drive. Do pay attention to your surroundings and drive slowly as the natural Australian wildlife can be seen in abundance here. We found numerous wild Koalas on this section. Do be careful. Those koalas look all cute and cuddly, but boy can they ever scream if you make them mad. All they want to do is sit in their tree and eat Eucalyptus leaves. Take pictures, yes, but please don't harass the poor things. Also heed the many road signs. Kangaroos, wallabies, and wombats do indeed cross the road to get other parts of the forest frequently. The signs all have phone numbers to call if you do happen to hit one of the poor things, but it would be better if you didn't find yourself in the position of having to use that number.

If you love lighthouses, do stop at the one in Otway. It has a bit of its own legend and is just a beautiful area to walk around and explore. They have a small gift shop with some great tourist souvenirs too. This lighthouse is called Cape Otway, and it is a little bit of a trek from the entrance to the actual lighthouse, so if you are handicapped do be warned. It is worth the effort, though.

Speaking of lighthouses, there are many along the Great Ocean Road. Other you may want to stop and snap pictures of are Cape Nelson, Airey's Inlet, Point Lonsdale (which has a delightful little cafe-slash-tourist shop), Point Fairy, and Whaler's Point in Portland. In Queenscliff you can see both the Black lighthouse and the White Lighthouse. They are aligned to mark the edges of the channels for incoming ships.

At the end of the Otway Ranges is a place called the Otway Ranges Deer & Wildlife Park. A stop here will let you actually feed the deer, wallabies, and kangaroos from your hand. I was not thrilled with the guy running this place, but it is still a place worth stopping if you are into getting up close and personal with the wonderful animals of Australia.

Another great legend of this area of Australia is that of the Mahogany Ship. Some folks have made it their life's work to try to figure out this mystery. Currently, it is believed that this wreckage is from a Portuguese ship in the 1500's, which if ever proven they think would rewrite Australia's history. You can see this around the Warnambool - Port Fairy area.

In Warrnambool is where you can get the chance to see whales if you are there in the fall months, end of summer. Errr... that is to say Australia's end of winter, beginning of Spring. Confused yet? I am... At any rate, this where the whales come to breed or birth or whatever it is. They are in abundance and there are many tours set up for whale watching.

I barely hit on the tip of the ice berg of the Great Ocean Road attractions. As you can see, making this drive in one day is just silly. I wish we had more time to explore the area, so I advise you to please schedule several days at the very least so you can take full advantage of this travel escape. Australia in general just has so many wondrous things to see, and the Great Ocean Road is a drive that everyone should do at least once in their life.