After enjoying three days of sunny weather and one of half-half, on the fifth day and second of our day trips out to what visitors to Melbourne routinely note as a ‘must do/visit’, it rained non-stop and the sun was not anywhere in sight. Sigh.
The Great Ocean Road is a coastal region south-west of the state and Melbourne, and is normally quite scenic as one goes through the various small towns situated along the road, taking in the various natural beach, rock formations and forest sights. Both Ling and I have visited this region separately years ago, but at least for myself, while the small towns look roughly the same as they did 20 years ago, the road certainly has improved. This observation was also borne by the frequent remarks shared by our guide as he pointed out at each stretch the roadworks that have been completed, in-progress, and in-planning as we drove along.
Some comments of the sights:
Torquay: the state’s surf capital. Lots of surfers braving the cold weather and probably freezing water to ride the waves at Bells Beach. Our guide quipped that these dudes are likely supposed to be at work, but it’s just as likely that their bosses are also right beside them LOL. The town comprises a lot of holiday homes that Melbourne residents will likely be driving to the same night to spend the weekend. We stopped for literally home-made Aussie tea here that our Guide carted out and prepared on the spot on a picnic table.
The Memorial Arch: popular stopover point with some spectacular hill-side homes for visitors to gawk at. Quite crowded though as the spot is small, and a lot of Asian tourists crowding the area with their selfie sticks.
Bird-feeding along Hawdon Avenue: not apparently a common stop, as we didn’t see large tour buses stopping here. But this was possibly the most fun experience of the day: dozens of very docile parrots and parakeets freely interacting with visitors. Come with bird feed, and they will be instant friends with you. The kids really enjoyed this spot.
Apollo Bay: a somewhat larger town that sits inwards a U-shaped area that offers some protection from the oncoming ocean winds. Stopped for a very hearty lunch here.
Maits Rest Rainforest: an easy 30 minute self-guided boardwalk situated inside Otway National Park. Quite stunningly tall Mountain Ash and Blackwood trees. Some of the trees are 300 years old.
Princetown and the Twelve Apostles: the highlight for most visitors on this trip. These are a collection of limestone stacks, and are accessible for viewing either on the beach side (if tides permit), and also a long boardwalk that is stroller/wheelchair friendly.
Loch Ard Gorge: Hannah could handle the steep wooden steps down to the beach and bottom of the Gorge, but strollers and such will have to suffice for the lookout area which is as spectacular.
Port Campbell: our final stop for dinner. Our guide said that this would be a small dinner, but it was still large by Asian standards!
I reckon that several of the sights would had been that much more spectacular was it not for the simply dreadful weather, a sentiment also shared by the other travelers on our tour. Some photo editing was necessary to bring out some of the almost lost shadow details in the pictures here.
The two of us also agreed that the Great Ocean Road tour is probably a good to see if you have the time too, but we both advise to spend more than a day on this trip if you can. Simply put, it’s a very long distance to travel. 100km to Torquay – the start of the Road itself, another 250km for the Road itself, and another 264km drive back to Melbourne using the inland road. Even if you could go at top-speed of 100km/h at every meter – and you won’t be able to, not by a long shot – that’s 6 hours of driving alone. Still, we had a Guide who clearly knew where the best spots are and provided sufficient amounts of time to spend at the key ones – we spent almost an hour each at the key sights: Loch Ard Gorge and Twelve Apostles – so we didn’t feel rushed. But I reckon that if we ever come back here again, we’d want to come in better weather, and also spend two days on the trip.
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