Great Ocean Road

- December 12, 2013

Hello wonderful people!

Before going to Australia I was pretty ignorant to the majority of things to see and do there. I just thought I'd pop to the Opera House, have a quick dip in the Great Barrier Reef and annoy a few kangaroos and that would be it. While I obviously did those three stereotypical things, I also discovered a huge array of other touristy things to do, that I had no idea existed. So when I got to Melbourne and saw around one billion adverts for Great Ocean Road, I thought it was probably worth checking out, even though I had no clue what it was. All I can say is, the trip did not disappoint!

My first piece of advice for people deciding to visit Great Ocean Road is: DO NOT go on an organised tour. They will rip you off and you'll have absolutely no freedom to do what you want. Instead I would suggest hiring a car, buying a map and doing it yourself. This is what two mates and I decided to do and it worked out so much cheaper than a tour, we went for longer and had the freedom to pull over whenever we wanted. We hired a car in Melbourne for two days and it cost around £60 each, then headed out of the city in search of the mysterious Great Ocean Road. None of us were seasoned map readers, as we've grown up in the sat-nav generation, however we never once got lost and as it was a pretty straightforward journey.

It took around an hour and a half to reach Great Ocean Road from the centre of Melbourne, and once we were on the road we stopped roughly every 20 minutes for a photo, or quick walk as the scenery was so breathtakingly beautiful. The road winds around the coast of southern Australia and provides the most stunning views and scenery, it really is hard to describe unless you have been there. We even got to see kangaroos (which are the most bizarre creatures I have ever encountered) and koalas along the way! There are also lots of attractions sign posted along the route that you may want to stop off at. We took a quick detour in land to see some rainforest waterfalls and also took a quick costal walk to see a lighthouse. This is the best thing about hiring a car to see Great Ocean Road, as you can stop to see whatever you want and spend as much or little time there as you need. Our main aim of the trip was to see the Twelve Apostles before sunset on the first day, and we literally made it with minutes to spare! The view of this amazing natural monument was beautifully set against an orange sky, a truly awe-inspiring spectacle.

We drove for another 30 minutes after visiting the Twelve Apostles and found a hostel for the night in the teeny tiny town of Port Campbell. This place was literally tiny, we arrived at around 5:30, checked into the hostel and went out in search of food. Sadly the only shop in the whole place had closed and the 2 restaurants were full. We managed to find a grubby chippy and had to make do with that. It wasn't the most lively place to stay, but the hostel was nice and that's all we needed as we were headed off early the next morning, back to Melbourne. Our second day on Great Ocean Road was pretty similar to our first, we drove exactly the same way back and stopped for more pictures and walks along the way. Even though I'd done the exact journey the day before, it was impossible to get tired of the beautiful views. I also spent a good chunk of the journey scanning the sea in the hope of finding a whale! I was unsuccessful.

Great Ocean Road is an absolute must for anyone visiting Australia. Not a single moment of the journey will be wasted, as every inch of the coast line is stunning. Just be careful if you do hire a car, as you may get a call from home saying an Australian speeding ticket is waiting for you. Woops.