Bells beach

Good old Great Ocean Road. Something you can’t miss out on, if you’re in the area!

My first time on Great Ocean Road was a year ago, when I was travelling with friends and we did a group tour. The group tour was definitely recommendable and fun! But, doing it yourself (as Paul and I did this time) is definitely also amazing.

I don’t know if it was because I sleeping in the bus in the early morning hours last time when we drove onto Great Ocean Road, but I don’t remember seeing the views that we saw this time! Absolutely stunning views as we drove along the sea along curvy, narrow roads. Unfortunately, I was too busy driving, so no pictures of those views. But WAUW!

Day 1

Stops of the day: Bells beach, Erskine Falls, Apollo Bay

Our first stop was Bells Beach just outside of Torquay, where we had a walk along the beach.

From Bells Beach we drove towards Erskine Falls. On the way, we came by a chocolaterie, where they to our big pleasure had an ongoing brownie festival, so we grabbed a take-away tasting platter of brownies. OH MY GOSH! SO GOOD!! We brought them down to Erskine Falls and felt very romantic (and fat) as we stood in front of the falls eating brownie while it started to rain a little.

From Erskine Falls we drove to Apollo Bay and had our first night at the Big4. We were lucky to get a site facing the roaring ocean, so that was pretty gorgeous. From our tent we could hear the waves. Not bad waking up to that sound.

Day 2

Stops of the day: Gibsons Steps, Twelve apostles, The razorback, Tom and Eva Lookout, Lord Ard Gorge, London Bridge, The Grotto & Peterborough

Next day we headed for the many attractions of Great Ocean Road. I was super excited even though I had seen them all before. Paul, on the other hand, was less excited I think. Probably because it was raining, super windy and full of Chinese tourists. Nevertheless, I dragged him to almost everyone of them. And ofcourse my favorite place, The Grotto, was the last one to see and it was pouring down with rain, but I dragged him all the way down the stairs, which he didn’t find very funny, since we both go soaked. I must admit that the sight was not as great as last time, so the photo you’ll see here is from my first time there in a bit sunnier moment.

We saw it all in one day and then spent the night in Peterborough, a little ghosttown, just a short drive from The Grotto. The small general store and the service station/café had quite a vibe and really nice staff working there. As far as I know, they were the only two shops of the town and in the dark, it lookes like we stepped right into an old movie.

From Peterborough we headed towards the Grampians Nationalpark. Totally worth a visit as well! Read about that in our post on Grampians🌞

Itinerary:

Bells Beach
Erskine Falls Apollo Bay
Gibsons Steps
Twelve Apostles
Razorback
Tom and Eva Lookout
Loch Ard Gorge
London Bridge
The Grotto
Peterborough

TIP: You could also to the Maits Rest Rainforest walk, which is a nice, short walk through the rainforest. And you could stop by Kennett River to spot some koalas.