Great Ocean Road, Australia

You know how I mentioned we'd prefer to avoid tourist hotspots? Yeah, that didn't happen.

Usually if things are ridiculously popular, it's for good reason. The Great Ocean Road is no exception to this. I've even done this trip before - Melbourne, Great Ocean Road, Sydney. But that was over ten years ago, and Elliott hasn't been, and it's an easy trip to plan, and... have you seen these views? It doesn't hurt that we absolutely love road trips. 

We hired a car with Hertz and picked it up from the CBD in Melbourne, where we had the best experience with a rental agency yet. Navigating through Melbourne's busy streets and avoiding tollways, we made our way to Torquay, the Surf Capital of Australia and the official start of the Great Ocean Road. 

We cruised along the scenic highway, soaking in the views and feeling as though we weren't on B100, rather SH1 heading north up the Oregon Coast.  Back to reality. We had all day to get to the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge, then backtrack to Apollo Bay where we'd stay overnight. This meant we had plenty of time to stop whenever we pleased for photos, short hikes, waterfalls, etc. 

First stop: Anglesea. We hear there are kangaroos on a golf course. Turns out, there are, and you could even pay for a walking tour to see them. We watched from afar and imagined what pests they must be for the golfers.

Next stop: Lorne. Much of the GOR passes through Otway National Park, and the area around Lorne is meant to have a high concentration of waterfalls. We stopped in their visitor centre to grab a map, and the lovely lady at the desk informed us that during dry season, most of the falls disappear. The one that's sure to have water this time of year is Erskine Falls. So we went. 

The drive to Erskine Falls was gorgeous, and the walk to the falls was short. Technically, there was water. After some giggling and scrambling around the creek, we hopped back in the car and hit the road; the leg of waterfall touring quickly drew to a close. 

We ventured onward and found several places to explore off the main road, taking walks and spotting animals. We saw so many things in the wild on this trip - kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, echidnas, lizards, and some real cool birds. 

Eventually we found ourselves at the Twelve Apostles, and boy was it windy. The views were fabulous, as expected, and we managed to time our visit well after the tour buses had come and gone. Meandering on, we went to Loch Ard Gorge, which to us felt a bit more magical. When I told Elliott about this place before, I had insisted we would go down and stand where the ocean meets the beach and just listen to the waves crash in the gorge in all their majesty, but my new foot wound and his healthy fear of great whites kept us out of the water. Maybe next time. 

We made it back to Apollo Bay just in time for sunset and dinner. The next day we ventured back to Cape Otway for a bit more hiking along the coast, then eventually stopped in Torquay to watch people surfing on their famous Surf Coast beaches.  

We may have lost track of time, and maybe I had the wrong flight time in my mind, but suddenly we found ourselves racing back to Melbourne to drop our car at the airport and catch a flight to Sydney. Stressing in traffic, what a relaxing way to finish off our coastal road trip!