TAKE TIME TO SAVOUR THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD REGION’S SPECTACULAR COASTAL SCENERY AND OUTSTANDING CULTURAL AND CULINARY OFFERINGS.
The old travel advice about taking half as many clothes and twice as much money as you think you will need needs an amendment when exploring Victoria’s Great Ocean Road region. To be sure, pack a coat as it will probably get a bit breezy at some of the amazing lookouts and vantage points along the way. But the key piece of advice visitors to this remarkable part of southern Australia need to remember is to allow much more time than they think they will need.
Officially, the Great Ocean Road or B100 extends from Torquay, just south of Geelong to Allansford, 248 kilometres to the west. The navigator advises that this will take four hours. However, the fact is the road is not just spectacular, it’s windy and there are many stops to be made, experiences to be had and places to explore that a more realistic time allocation would be four days. Then visitors need to consider the extended region and its many attractions and it would be foolish not to continue on to Warrnambool, Port Fairy and even Portland, which is another 114km further on from Allansford. From there, perhaps take an inland route back to Melbourne. Or go for broke and head on to Mount Gambier just over the South Australian border. If you can’t get enough of a good thing, the option is to keep going via Port McDonnell, Robe and Victor Harbor to Adelaide.
The surprises begin in Torquay, birthplace of surfing labels Quiksilver and Rip Curl and the first glimpses of the Great Southern Ocean as it pounds onto the beaches. Most notable of these is Bells Beach, home to the world’s first dedicated surfing reserve (1972) and the world’s longest continuously running surfing contest, which, except for two years during COVID, has been held every Easter since 1962. Drop into the Australian National Surfing Museum to see various incarnations of the competition’s famous brass bell trophy, learn how surfing originated in Australia soon after daylight swimming was allowed when Tommy Walker hauled his 40-kilogram-plus wooden board into the ocean at Manly, and see how the surfboard has morphed from the original plank to today’s streamlined fibreglass model.
It wouldn’t be a seaside trip without a fish-and-chip lunch and it doesn’t come fresher than the offerings at Fishos, where the seafood is locally sourced and wild-caught and the chips are genuinely hand-cut on the premises. Take it easy, though, because next stop is The Sands Torquay resort, a sprawling four-star hotel that wraps around one side of an 18-hole championship golf course, moulded into the sand dunes and designed by Australia’s world-ranked professional golfer Stuart Appleby. You can hear the ocean from the balcony of your suite, where guests and their pets are made most welcome with comfy beds and spacious living spaces. Any notion that The Sands is just a resort for golfers is dispelled when you visit its Sabbia restaurant, where the antipasti, pasta and gnocchi could hold their own in a metro Italian fine diner and the Bistecca alla Fiorentina is straight out of a Tuscan textbook. Here’s a promise: the palate memory of that perfectly pink char-grilled T-bone will linger long after the trip is done.
Greet the morning with a round of golf, a swim in the 50-metre indoor pool or a workout in the health club, because the next stop is just 15 minutes down the road at the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie. An offshoot of Ian and Leanne Neeland’s Yarra Valley temple to all things decadent and delicious, this is the spot to sample 480 different varieties of chocolate, all made from 100 per cent sustainably sourced cocoa. Drop in for high tea during the week, classes on weekends, desserts made by the in-house pâtissier, ice cream or hot chocolate “made the right way” with molten chocolate stirred into hot milk. There’s a rolling calendar of special events including a Rocky Road Festival, when you can blend your own version of this popular confectionery selecting from 31 different ingredients.
From here, the road continues for 90-odd kays to Apollo Bay via Lorne. The views transition from coast-hugging cliff tops to leafy rainforest glades back to roadside lookouts providing opportunities to marvel at the might of the ocean pounding onto the continuously eroding limestone cliffs.
It would be hard to develop a more locally focused business than the Apollo Bay Distillery. A property valuer in his first life, fourth-generation Apollo Bay lad Andrew Noseda was looking for a hobby when he established a small winery called the Otway Estate near Colac with a friend in 2007. To encourage more visitors to their property, they added the Prickly Moses Brewery and a decade later jumped on the emerging micro distillery trend producing vodka, gin and whisky. The brewery connection means that unlike many distillers, they can make their own spirit and infuse it with locally grown botanicals, which include juniper and coriander. The distillery’s home is now in the former post office and its gin range is named for local maritime connections, with the anchor of the SS Casino displayed at the front. There’s also a banner of the tuppence stamp released in 1936 to commemorate the opening of the submarine cable from Apollo Bay to Tasmania at the entrance, while the stamp also forms the label of the distillery’s gin elixir. Fun fact you learn over a tasting flight: the term Dutch courage originated during the Napoleonic Wars, when soldiers heading into battle partook in a snifter of genever (the Dutch precursor to modern gin) to fortify them for the challenges ahead.
There’s nothing challenging about the 1.4km path through the sanctuary that’s Wildlife Wonders, just outside Apollo Bay. Visitors on a guided walk of the feral-free, 12-hectare site will almost certainly see koalas, kangaroos and emus in the wild as they wander through the eucalypt forest and ferny gullies. Take a dawn or dusk tour and you will probably add to the sightings with glimpses of reclusive potoroos, bandicoots, bettongs and gliders, not to mention all kinds of native birds including kookaburras and boobook owls.
It’s just shy of 100km from Apollo Bay to Port Campbell through some spectacular Otway forests, perhaps a roadside koala sighting and truly breathtaking coastal scenery in the Port Campbell National Park. The Twelve Apostles (only seven remain) are the most famous landmark on this section of the coastline. Without diminishing the awesome sight of these towering rock stacks rising out of the pounding ocean, it should be noted that the whole coastline is dotted with similar Insta-worthy shots begging to be taken.
The best way to gain perspective on this stretch of the coast is via a flight with 12 Apostles Helicopters. The experience is not cheap, but it’s truly unforgettable. There are also plenty of memorable moments to be had exploring the national park on gentle paved pathways, with highlights including Loch Ard Gorge and the new blowhole lookout, Poombeeyt Koontapool (or breath of the whale in the region’s Traditional Owners’ language). Detail is everything and even the seating is designed to reflect the callosity patterning (toughened skin) that identifies each Southern Right whale. Time your visit between late May and early October and you might spot the real deals as they pass by on their annual breeding migration to and from Antarctica. Once again, it’s hard not to stress the need to allow adequate time to explore as it would be a pity to miss the banquet because you’ve only time for an appetiser.
Port Campbell, population 400-odd, is Australia’s answer to a Cornish fishing village, complete with a jetty, coastal walks, quaint shops and quality eateries thanks to the summer influx of tourists. Our lodgings are just out of town at Daysy Hill Country Cottages, self-catering homes-away-from-home set in 22 hectares of beautiful gardens. Cook for yourself or grab a meal at Waves Cafe, Bar and Restaurant or Real Pizza, Pasta, Salads, where Kylie Treble serves a side lesson in sustainability. Guests are encouraged to create their own menu using spreadsheets that explain low food miles and ingredients from the Place of Wonder, a shared permaculture-style garden. Waste reduction is paramount as well, with 11 different sorting bins and a “borrow bureau” offering plates and cutlery for takeaway customers to use and return, library style, when they’ve finished what is bound to be an utterly flavour-packed meal.
Heading on to Peterborough (11km north-west), don’t miss London Bridge and the Grotto in the Bay of Islands Coastal Park. Then set the navigator for the 50km drive to Warrnambool, which combines rich maritime history with all the amenity and industry you’d expect of a city with a population of 30,000-plus. Highlights include an outdoor bathing session in the thermal pools of the Deep Blue Resort, where the mineral-rich waters range in temperature from 37°C to 40°C and are bound to soothe tired muscles and minds, improve circulation and deep-cleanse your skin. Other treats include sunset from the balcony at Lady Bay Resort, a visit to Flagstaff Hill to learn more about the shipping history of the region and the 638 known shipwrecks along the Victorian coast (only 240 of them have been located). For coffee and snacks par excellence, head to Wilba & Co, where Jess Tumbri serves fancy toasties including a sublime pickled zucchini, pesto and bocconcini version.
From there, it’s 15km to Basalt Wines at Killarney, where Shane Clancey planted his cool-climate vineyard to Riesling, Pinot Noir and Tempranillo in the volcanic-rich soil of a former potato paddock. Don’t be fooled by the sign that announces “a laugh in every glass” in the tasting area. Shane and his wife, Ali, are deadly serious about hospitality and serve lunch Wednesday to Sunday with a focus on local produce. Fancy lingering longer at the vineyard? Book into one of the two architect-designed villas nested in the vines. A stay comes with a bottle of Prosecco and regionally sourced breakfast provisions including White Ducks muesli from Port Fairy, Jane Dough croissant loaf and Fresha OJ, both from Warrnambool, Lard Ass butter from Ocean Grove, milk and yoghurt from Timboon’s Schultz Organic Dairy … even the jam comes from Mitch’s Preserves just down the road.
It’s a short hop through dairying and farming country to Port Fairy, another charming fishing village where boats unload abalone and crayfish alongside gummy shark and flathead. Don’t be misguided by the sleepy-town ambience: Port Fairy rocks in summer and during the March folk festival, when 30,000 visitors descend on the town. Stop for a drink at the Caledonian Inn, Victoria’s oldest continuously licenced pub, established in 1844, and a bistro dinner at The Stump dining room.
From Port Fairy, it’s another 70km to Portland, which proudly claims to be the birthplace of Victoria, as it was used as a safe harbour by whalers and sealers from the early 19th century and was settled by the Henty Brothers from Tasmania in 1834, the year before Melbourne was established. This conveniently overlooks the fact that the Gunditjmara people lived on these lands for tens of thousands of years before any European set foot in the country.
For a truly enlightening and privileged introduction to this history, take a cultural tour by the Traditional Owners of Budj Bim, a World Heritage-listed site where at least 6600 years ago, the Gunditjmara created an extensive and complex aquaculture network where modified rock channels diverted water and kooyang (short-finned eel) into holding ponds. The tour reveals the remains of these ancient fish farms as well as the foundations of circular stone houses that predate the pyramids of Egypt, the neolithic village of Skara Brae in the Orkney Islands and the megalithic structures of Stonehenge in England. You might ponder the significance of these omissions from our history lessons as you enjoy a tasting plate of smoked eel prepared various ways and other bush tucker-infused bites at the Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre and Cafe, a state-of-the-art facility set overlooking Tae Rak (Lake Condah).
While this is the most western point of our road trip, we extend the return journey by heading inland to visit some of the outstanding food and drink options on the 12 Apostles Food Artisans Trail, which includes the Schultz dairy, a berry farm, a couple of vineyards and a brewery. The Timboon Railway Shed distillery offers a whisky-infused menu with tastings of its single malts all named for bootleggers, the region’s original distillers. The Australian craft spirit wall is a magnificent tribute to the micro-distillery boom, with about 240 of Australia’s estimated 400 small distillers represented.
A short walk away is the Timboon Ice Creamery, where former advertising executive Tim Marwood, who grew up on a local dairy farm, and his registered nurse partner, Caroline Simmons, gave up those careers to turn the region’s fine milk and cream into scoops of frozen deliciousness, most recently expanded to include a range of low-lactose, low-sugar and high-fibre ice cream for four-legged family members. Two takeaways from ice creamery’s Sundae School information session: always buy the best-quality ice cream made from fresh dairy products and beware of “overrun”, the air bubbles commercial ice cream makers blend into their product to make it go further. Tim’s ice cream might have 25 to 30 per cent overrun, while the stuff you buy in mass-produced tubs can have up to 100 to 120 per cent of air.
The journey home provides plenty of time to reflect on the region’s depth and surprising revelations, not to mention all the places we’ve missed or bypassed. So we start adding them to the list for a return visit.
