19 Sep The Great Ocean Road, Victoria Australia
The Great Ocean Road (also known to be part of the B100) runs mostly along the southern coast of Victoria from Torquay to near Allansford. It is one of the most iconic road trips in Australia. We decided to drive it and see the sites in a motorhome, which we hired from a south western suburb of Melbourne.
Saturday 21st June 2025
Our first afternoon and night on the Great Ocean Road (The GOR) was spent at Torquay Beach and the Torquay Foreshore Caravan Park.
The weather here was pleasant, but we were wearing jackets. Look at the surf shop guy.
I was surprised by the fences on Front Beach and couldn’t see any logical reason for them. Research showed they were built there to prevent sand erosion.
Sunday 22nd June 2025
Having left Torquay we travelled past Bells Beach to Anglesea where we stopped at Loveridge Lookout
Next Stop, Urquhart Bluff Lookout
I remember saying to Maggie, “let’s find that lighthouse”, but we couldn’t find how to get to it. However we did find this beautiful lagoon.
And as we walked towards the beach the lighthouse finally appeared.
There’s an idea floating around; if you give a natural wonder a name, tourists will flock to see it. So I named this interesting rock formation at Split Point (shown below) – ‘The Big Rooster’.
Moving on we came to the Memorial Arch.
Then on to Lorne
From this point on The GOR is more winding and narrow, as it hugs the edge of the hills.
We stayed the night at the Apollo Bay Holiday Park and dined at the Apollo Bay Hotel.
Monday 23rd June 2025
Our first stop of the day was in the Cape Otway National Park. There is a lot to see and do there.
The Telegraph Station was built in 1859 to be the Australian mainland connection point for the Mainland to Tasmania submarine telegraph cable. Due to rough waters and tides the cable failed (numerous times) so the project was abandoned and the building became a Signal Station for passing ships and relay station with Melbourne.
The Lighthouse was built in 1848, the second lighthouse built on mainland Australia. It was decommissioned in 1994 and replaced with a smaller, automated, solar powered Beacon, which is still in service.
It was very windy and cold on the lighthouse viewing platform, despite the abundance of sunshine..
That afternoon we arrived at the 12 Apostles. It was still very windy, but not raining.
According to Parks Victoria there were never 12 rock stacks (Apostles) here and it is very difficult to count how many are left while standing on the viewing platform. Apparently there were nine ‘Apostles’ at the beginning of the 21st century. Then on 3rd July 2005 one of them collapsed and another collapsed in 2009, both due to erosion. So that means there are only 7 Apostles now. (Including the one in the following photo).
The next attraction, heading northwest is The Razor back.
That night we stayed at Port Campbell in the NRMA Caravan Park.
Tuesday 24th June 2025
On our way out of Port Campbell heading to more of The GOR attractions, we found this scenic lookout.
It was a short distance from here to “London Bridge” and “The Grotto”.
Originally a natural archway and tunnel, London Bridge collapsed on 15 January 1990 and became an isolated arch no longer connected to the mainland.
When we arrived at London Bridge the sun was covered with clouds and everything looked dark and gloomy. I wondered if we were going to have any sunlight on our subject. Fortunately we didn’t need to wait long for the clouds to part and provide beautiful light, just where it was needed.
The Grotto is described as part blowhole, part archway, part-cave,
Ten minutes further along the road is The Bay of Martyrs.
When we reached the Bay of Martyrs the weather was wild, making it difficult to stand still to take photos. There was a short downpour and then a short period of relative calm. Enough to get out of the motorhome to take a photo or two.
“According to stories that have spanned generations, Europeans killed a large group of Karrae-Wurrong Aboriginal men here. They did so by running them off the cliffs, whilst the women and children were supposedly killed in a swamp that is close by.” https://greatoceanroadmelbournetours.com.au/attractions/bay-of-martyrs/
By the time we reached the Bay of Islands lookout the weather had settled down a little.
As per the theory of naming, I also named the following rock formation ….
Practically this is where The Great Ocean Road ends, because from here the road goes inland to meet the Princess Highway just west of Allansford. Officially it is still The GOR until that meeting point. We travelled on to Warrnambool in driving rain and a strong cross wind. I couldn’t wait to get there to relax and shelter from the wind..
Wednesday 25th June 2025
The next morning the weather was still unpleasant, with strong wind gusts pushing the motorhome in all directions. But we’d decided to go as far as Portland via Port Fairy. It was still raining and windy when we reached Port Fairy, so we drove through the town looking at everything from the comfort of the motorhome. It’s an attractive place and I wish we had stopped there for the night, with the idea of exploring the town the next day. However we’d made a booking in Portland so we pushed on..
Close to Portland the rain stopped and allowed us to visit Sandy Cove and take photos..
Lunch was at the Portland Marina near the breakwall, while our resting place that night was in Portland Bay Holiday Park.
Portland has two main industries: manufacture of aluminium and wood chipping. The following photo shows logs and a large wood chip pile on the Portland Bay dock. The aluminium smelter is on the hill behind the dock area, at Point Danger.
Thursday 26 June 2025
Driving directly from Portland to south west Melbourne, we returned the motorhome and picked up our little blue car for the drive to Brighton and a short stay there.
Maggie looks good, but someone else needs a shave … and a weight loss program … Mmmm, a hair transplant might help too … and yes it was cold, for the whole trip. Perhaps it would have been better NOT to make this trip in winter, but it linked up with an important family function in Brighton …. So all was good and enjoyable and worthwhile.
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