This is no mere ‘good’ road. It’s not a ‘fine’ road. And it most definitely isn’t an ‘ok’ road. No. I’m talking about the Great Ocean Road – one of the most iconic trips in all of Australia.
Ever since landing in Oz, I’d heard amazing stories of this road trip. Filled with never-ending ocean, wildlife and a long winding road, I knew that with my month in Melbourne this was a must do.
After convincing my friend Shu to rent a car with me, we did a ton of research and came up with a jam-packed two day weekend trip. After throwing a pair of socks and raincoat into a backpack, we drove out early Saturday morning for our adventure!
Zev’s Great Ocean Road 2 Day Weekend Itinerary
Before you go
The Great Ocean Road (and Victoria in general) can have crazy weather depending on what time of year you go. I went in the middle of winter (August) and encountered mud, rain, hail (!?), gale force winds, and the occasional bout of sunshine. Be sure to check the weather, and pack a raincoat, hiking boots, and make sure not to forget a sweater!
Table of Contents
Day 1
Stop 1: Lorne
Lorne is a cute coastal town, and most people’s first stop on their Great Ocean Road trip. A popular place to go surfing (maybe not in the winter), Lorne is when the views start to get impressive. If you’re starting early, this is the place to grab a coffee. Alternatively, there are awesome burgers and ice cream at The Bottle of Milk.
Check out: Teddy’s Lookout
Stop 2: Kafe Koala
While the café itself is pretty standard, this place is the landmark to park at to check out some wild koalas! Right beside the café is an entrance to a road / walk where a handful of koalas tend to hang out. Don’t make our mistake and go all the way up the road – the koalas usually hang out right by the entrance!
If you’re lucky, the weather will be fantastic and you’ll see a few munching away on eucalyptus in the trees. Sadly as it was raining, we only got to see one little sad koala’s bum. Still checking it off the animal list though.
Stop 3: The Redwoods
This mysterious, tranquil spot has a whole forest’s worth of massive California Redwoods. These beautiful trees are the tallest in the world, and tower as high as you can look up!
Walking around the trees feels a bit eerie, especially as it’s not visited by too many tourists. Additionally, we found it odd that there wasn’t any information we could find about these trees in the forest (i.e. what are California Redwoods doing in rural Australia?), but that just adds to the mystery!
While there are no signs, you can easily find it by finding The Redwoods Otways on Google Maps. Highly recommend making this a stop on your trip, especially if you’re one for a photo op!
Stop 4: Hopetoun Falls
Right beside the redwood forest are the gorgeous Hopetoun Falls. It’s a bit of a hike to get all the way down to the falls, but you can get a nice look at them from near where you park. If it’s rained earlier in the day, beware of the mud (R.I.P. Shu’s white vans).
This hike was relatively easy and around 15 minutes each way. Once you get to the bottom, the falls are amazing up close! Gushing with water, the closer you can get (you may need to hop a fence or two), the more you get a whiff of mist spraying over you.
Stop 5 (optional): Maits Rest
By this point, you’ve likely driven for almost 4 hours and have potentially seen enough for the day. No worries if that’s you!
If it’s still light out and you’re looking to wrap up the day with one last stop, then Maits Rest is a nice place to do a quick 30 minute rainforest walk. Here it’s possible to see swamp wallabies, koalas, possums, and if you’re extremely lucky the screaming yellow-bellied gliders. If wildlife doesn’t show up, there’s still plenty of greenery to keep you interested!
Stop 6: Apollo Bay (overnight)
After a long day of driving and sightseeing, Apollo Bay is the perfect midway point to stop for the time being. A sleepy little town, there might not be much going on, but it’s perfect for some well deserved rest and relaxation.
Whether you’re looking to stay somewhere high or low end, you have a few options. Airbnb always has something open and there are more than enough hotels and hostels to put your feet up in.
Shu and I decided to retire at the lovely Surfside Backpacker hostel, where for $30 a night we got an empty dorm room, a couple of heaters, and a lovely view. Arriving after a long day, it was fun to briefly speak with the eccentric owner about our day’s adventures.
For your dinner options, there’s really only one strip with restaurants. Most of these spots have relatively high tourist prices (~$20 a feed), which is to be expected this far off the beaten track. However, we opted to stop in at a fish and chips place called the Apollo Bay Seafood Cafe, where most people seemed to have their tables stacked with prawns, oysters, lobster and crab. For a little over $10, we split a combo that was more than enough food, and tasty to boot.
In this sleepy town, you can also check out the marina which apparently has an unreal sunset, and a few stingrays that come to hang out. If not, there’s no issue with hitting the sack as soon as dinner is done!
Day 2
Stop 7: Gibson Steps
Making your way west, this drive was especially beautiful and filled with lookout after lookout. Be sure to keep at least one eye on the road!
Eventually you’ll make your way to the Gibson’s Steps; a quick walk down the cliff side to check out the ocean. When we arrived there, we got to see a massive foam buildup, which created little foam tornadoes in the gusts of wind.
A truly awesome sighting.
Stop 8: The Twelve Apostles
This is what everyone talks about on the GOR – the Twelve Apostles. While there are really only 8 of these formations still left, they mightily tower out of the water, and on a sunny day are an inspiring sight.
The quick walk around the lookouts are worthwhile to do, as you get to appreciate the surrounding scenery and see the apostles from a few different perspectives. While they weren’t necessarily my favourite part of the trip (did I mention we saw a foam tornado!?), it’s one of those things you need to check out.
Stop 9: Loch Ard Gorge
The Loch Ard Gorge is something I’d heard about from many of my friends’ who had done this adventure, who said it’s another awesome rock formation. To be honest, we tried to find the Gorge, but were hit with gale force winds that forced us back to our car. However, if you’re here, you really might as well have a look! After all, it’s close to the apostles, and you might as well see everything that you possibly can.
Stop 10: The London Arch
By this point you might be getting a bit tired of looking at rocks, but this one is also really cool! Watching the water splash against and around the arch is an impressive spectacle and one of those things you could stare at all day.
Stop 11: Port Campbell
Another cute and sleepy town, Port Campbell is a a bit less than half the size of Apollo Bay and a great place to stop for brunch or a coffee. Looking on Tripadvisor, it seemed like the top 10 best restaurants were really the only restaurants in town, but that didn’t stop us from having a great meal at Forage on the Foreshore. Tasty food, served with a smile – the perfect send off.
Stop 12: Home
After checking out Port Campbell, you’ve basically seen it all! All that’s left to do is the 3 hour drive back home (I’d recommend going through Colac rather than back on the Great Ocean Road).
I’m sure at this point you’ll be tired as you’ve jam packed this trip between the driving and sight seeing, but hopefully you’re feeling as fulfilled as I did after this trip.
Beautiful sights with good tunes and great company.
My favourite type of adventure.
Did I miss anything on my road trip? Let me know how your Great Ocean Road adventure went in the comments below.
Let’s keep driving!
If you have more than just a weekend to do this trip, you have a ton of options! There are more stops along the Great Ocean Road like Cape Otway, or you could continue on to a totally new destination. One of the most popular routes is to go through the Grampians for some camping (which some friends of mine have loved), or you could continue on west and venture all the way to Adelaide.
