A road trip that lives up to the hype
Great Ocean Road, Victoria
A PERENNIAL on round-ups of Australia’s greatest road trips, the Great Ocean Road certainly lives up to the hype.
Offering a photo opportunity around every bend, the 250km drive between the Victorian towns of Torquay in the east and Warrnambool in the west weaves its way along the Southern Ocean past cute surf towns, national parks and tree changer communities.
Obvious stops include the London Bridge lookouts and the spectacular limestone stacks that comprise the Twelve Apostles. Kids of the 1990s will want to pull up at the “Around the Twist” Split Point Lighthouse in Airey’s Inlet for a stroll down memory lane, and surf hounds should make a beeline for the surfing mecca that is Torquay’s Bell’s Beach, home of the Ripcurl Pro.
Other than the above, it’s a case of enjoying the ride and taking in the striking scenery, bliss-inducing beaches, towering rock stacks and raging surf, stopping along the way for a hike in lush rainforests and a cool-off in one of the many tranquil bays.