Driving Australia's Great Ocean Road

The morning mist burned away as we left Melbourne on the motorway towards Geelong, enjoying the sense of adventure and anticipation of everything we were going to see. Our destination - the Twelve Apostles - around 200 miles away down the Great Ocean Road, one of the world's great coastal drives.
 

The Great Ocean Road leaves Geelong and heads towards the wild, rugged Victorian coast. The road is actually the world's largest war memorial, built by the men of Victoria who fought in World War One when they returned home. It was built in honour of their fallen comrades and as a symbol of Australian determination and grit. These days, it serves mainly as a tourist attraction and is not a major transport route - a job left mainly to the inland highways. In the interests of those that do have somewhere to be however, there are signs regularly posted along the road reminding tourists that they should pay attention to the road, not the views, and try to keep up a reasonable speed out of respect for other road users. In the interest of tourists there are thankfully very regular lookout points with car parks allowing people to take in the stunning coastline views without holding anyone up.

The Victorian coast is wild and violent, facing out onto the stormy southern ocean. The water temperature is always significantly cooler than off the other coasts of Australia, and wetsuits are required for more of the year as a result. Surfing is an institution here, and many surfer brands are based not too far away (Billabong and Quicksilver among others). It seems whenever you drive past one of the many beaches there are always surfers littered along the sand awaiting the perfect wave.

The small town of Lorne is one of the best known along the great ocean road, and is a good pit-stop point - around half way to the Twelve Apostles. Parking can be tricky here, but it's worth the search to explore this charming seaside town. There is delicious seafood here, cooked fresh as you order it if you fancy a bit of lunch, and a great hostel if you can't bear to leave right away. The Great Ocean Road Backpackers YHA in Erskine Avenue is a fabulous little hostel with a cabin-like feel, set on a wooded hill next to the river in the middle of Lorne. There is air conditioning, free laundry and dryer facilities and you can hire surfboards if you fancy a go. Rates start from $20 a night for YHA members in a large multishare dorm. Highly recommended.

Back on the road, the drive gets pretty twisty as it hugs the coastline over mountains and through forests. There are a few other towns along the way if you need to stop for fuel etc, and plenty more fantastic views to take in. Further along, the road takes a turn inland through dense forests and rolling hills, with the terrain being very similar to the English Lake District. Then, shortly after hitting the coast again, the road reaches those famous Australian landmarks - the Twelve Apostles. We got there around dusk, which is undoubtedly the best time to see them. Their mystical ambiance and aesthetic beauty at its most profound as the sun sets to the west, tinting the wispy clouds shades of red and orange. There is a huge carpark, shop and cafe there, with a tunnel taking visitors under the road onto a walkway to a huge lookout area overlooking the giant rock pillars in the sea. The apostles are the remnants of an ancient coastline, eroded away over millennia leaving only pillars of the harder, more resistant rock behind. In the ages to come, they will be gone. Replaced by new, similar structures where the current coast now stands.

West of the Twelve Apostles the Great Ocean Road continues towards Adelaide, but as darkness had fallen and we felt we had seen the best that the road had to offer, we spent the night at the Port Campbell Hostel in Tregea Street. A short drive from the Twelve Apostles, it is clean, safe and good value with plenty of parking. This is a great place to spend the night before onward travel or return to Melbourne. Rates start from $23 a night for an eight-bed mixed dorm.

It would of course be possible to make the return drive to Melbourne on the same evening, and if you were to do that, it is best to head to the inland Princes Highway from Port Campbell instead of back along the coast. The Great Ocean Road can be hazardous after dark due to kangaroos and wombats crossing in front of traffic. This is less likely on the main highway, though you still need to beware.