Today was by far, the most amazing part of the drive along the Great Ocean Road. We saw all sorts of amazing things, and are going to spend part of tomorrow backtracking and picking up some of the things we missed (it was just that awesome!)
We left Anglesea and headed towards Warrnambool.
While much of the route was coastal, there are bits that go inland and through some National Parks. The drive is amazing. The roads are windy, and people love to go fast -and seem to get upset when you go slow. I took it slow and pulled over when possible. I was given some advice to take the roads slower than the recommended speeds. The road is really not meant to go fast on. Take it slow, enjoy the sites, and make it to the other side alive.
A few people had given us pointers, and with our own ideas -we had a list of places we hoped to see along the way. A few of the highlights were: Split Point Lighthouse (Lorne), Teddy’s Lookout (Lorne), Erskine Falls (Lorne), Koala Kafe/Walk (Kennet River), 12 Apostles, and the various look outpoints from the 12 Apostles to Warrnambool.
This was our route with the stops we made. I would recommend spending more time stopping in between the green circles as there are some amazing views. Then as you can see, the rest is somewhat inland.
All three places in Lorne are fairly close to each other:
- Lighthouse:
They offer tours, and we arrived right as one tour began. It was $14 per adult, and we decided not to do it. The views alone were enough for us.
- Teddy’s Lookout:
This was probably one of my favorite stops -easy to get to, and the views were outstanding.
- Erskine Falls:
The Falls has two different sets of walks you can do -the first is fairly easy, down probably 50-70 stairs (that are nicely built) and you are at the top lookout. If you feel inclined, you can continue to the bottom (which was 200+ stairs). We only did the first set of stairs since we had Judah and again, were pressed for time.
Koala Kafe / Walk (Kennet River / Gravel Road):
Kennet River was a hidden gem that some locals told us about. There aren’t any signs, or indicators and the place can get wild with people -but its an awesome stop. We brought along some bird seed and were able to hand feed the parrots. We also saw numerous wild Koalas (I say wild because we stopped at the Koala Conservatory a few days ago in case we didn’t get to see any wild ones.) It was an amazing stop!!!
Look for the “Koala Kafe” and “The Gravel Road” -right at the beginning of the road there are dozens of parrots you can feed, then follow the road up for Koalas! You won’t be disappointed (or at least we weren’t!).
Just as a side note: We were really unsure of where to stop and how long to stay at each of the stops, and couldn’t find much information before we left…
The stops along the way from the 12 Apostles to Warrnambool (there are a few of them) are probably some of the most amazing views there are. We are going to backtrack tomorrow and see more of them because we didn’t stop as much not knowing how many stops there would be. There are quite a few stops in a short period of time -and then nothing for probably 20/30 miles when you will reach Warrnambool. If you have the time -stop and enjoy them!
The Apostles themselves (or the one that we saw) was cool -but not blow you away amazing. This could change tomorrow, but if we did it over again I would really have planned on spending more time seeing ALL the stops along the way and not making a mad dash / bee line for the 12 apostles lookout.
We attempted to find the Cape Otway Lighthouse (which we were told was also awesome, and the site of an old shipwreck). A few miles up the road, however and we saw a bunch more Koala bears (some that were really close!). We didn’t end up making it to the Lighthouse since we were pressed for time and decided to turn around. But if you have the time, it does sound incredible!
Now for some more pictures (because pictures make it all better!!!)
Tangled Thoughts 