Great Ocean Drive from Apollo Bay to Warnambool
We left Apollo Bay relatively early. Keep in mind that nursing and feeding our little one, packing up the cot and all other baby gear plus getting ourselves in shape and ready to go takes between two to three hours from alarm clock beeping to engaging first gear in the car. We knew it will be a long day. We didn’t know it would become an extremely long and exciting day.
Cape Otway
Our first stop was Cape Otway Lightstation. Briefly after we got out of the car, we entered it again. Visiting the lighthouse and surrounding area came with a 20$AUD price tag per adults. Thanks, but no thanks. We have seen enough lighthouses on our tour already.
So we changed plan, drove back a kilometer and a bit, to enter Blanket Bay Road. The road was unsealed and we were going slow through Eucalyptus woods. Then we saw a Koala hanging out beneath the road.
I have never been so close to a Koala out in the wild. It was just two arm lengths above our heads and a perfect photo model. After taking a few (dozens) pictures, we headed to Blanket Bay. The beach there wasn’t too appealing as it was flooded with rotten seaweed and smelled accordingly. But it was still an interesting area to explore.
The Great Ocean Walk passed through Blanket Beach, too. On one of the pictures you can see a cleaning station for hikers. With your sharp eye, you have already spotted the trap door right in the middle of the metal plate. When you step on it, it actually opens up and you can plunge the soles of your trekking boots into a cleaning fluid. A clever way to avoid spreading germs, fungus or any other unwanted materials.
On our way back from Blanket Beach we waived goodbye to the Koala and then headed out to Johanna Beach.
Johanna Beach
My plan for Johanna Beach was to drive around Lavers Hill and avoid the main Ocean Drive by taking the Red Johanna Road to Johanna Beach and then – since our favorite Maps app offered it – to take the Old Coach Road northwest-bound to meet the Great Ocean Drive again way behind Lavers Hill.
Well, if you still have an old [horse-drawn] coach, you might be able to take the old coach road. After we had identified its entry point, which you could call a dirt track with a lot of goodwill, we decided to take the Blue Johanna Road back to Lavers Hill. It was an unsealed road, but a very pleasant drive winding up and down the rolling hills.
Twelve Apostels
“Look, there is a helicopter! And a lot of police. There is another helicopter, – and a third one and more police!” When we approached the Twelve Apostels, I thought there was a major accident on the road. After a few seconds however, there was that unconscious thought creeping up the spinal cord into the hypothalamus: “Disney World!”
We didn’t trust our eyes first. This was a major tourist operation including a large visitor center, heliport with helicopters launching every three minutes, vast car park with dedicated areas for busses and caravans, police and traffic managers waving you into the free parking areas. It is not the quiet romantic place you see on pictures.
On the other hand it is. The coastline is dramatic and the views are spectacular.
West of Twelve Apostels
After we left Twelve Apostels, the tourists became less and less, but the sites not less spectacular. We stopped at Loch Ard Gorge, which includes Razorback, then visited The Arch, Martyr Bay and Bay of Islands.
If I had to pick my top three on the Great Ocean Drive, they would be Loch Ard Gorge, Razorback and Bay of Islands.
Late evening we arrived in Warnambool. It was quite challenging to find a restaurant for dinner after 9pm. But we managed to get some food, then back to our motel for a good night’s sleep absorbing the impressive views we had during that day.