Great Ocean Road and Beyond

Our first Aussie road trip. Having recently bought a new Toyota Prado 4WD  we were ready to hit the road. We took our annual 4 weeks holiday and headed down into Victoria , planning to drive along The Great Ocean Road, a drive most Australians seem to have on their bucket list. This road is 243 klms long. Construction commenced in 1919  by returned servicemen as a memorial to those who died fighting in World war 1. The route was officially opened in 1932.

On our travels south we stopped at some very interesting places along the way.

Hanging Rock              Macedon Ranges              Victoria

On our drive south we spotted Hanging Rock on our road map ( yes we are still using paper maps instead of google ). Having seen the iconic Australian movie, Picnic at Hanging Rock, I was keen to take a detour to explore the rocks. If you love rock formations, this is a place to go. I even got Tony into the spirit of the movie by getting him to re-enact the scene where one of the schoolgirls disappears.

Sovereign Hill           Ballarat                Victoria

Sovereign Hill is an open air museum, built to replicate the gold mining boom of the 1850’s. You can pan for gold ( and keep what you find ), go down an old gold mine, ride the horse drawn carriage, visit the blacksmiths forge, the Candle works and of course the Confectionery Factory. Lots of street theatre makes you feel like you have stepped back in time.

Great Otway National Park           Victoria

Maits Rest was a hidden gem we found just 20 minutes drive from Apollo Bay. A short boardwalk takes you through pristine rainforest. Don’t blink or you will miss the small road sign to the carpark. Towering tree ferns, dwarfed by gigantic Beech trees and an earthy smell, enhances the beauty of this moss covered ancient forest.

CAPE OTWAY LIGHTHOUSE  is located around 40 minutes from Apollo Bay and is Australias oldest working lighthouse. Magnificent views from the top, but not for the faint hearted on a windy day. The highlight of our visit was seeing over 20 koalas in the stunted windblown trees along Lighthouse Road. We had never seen koalas in their natural habitat in our 50 plus years, so it was pretty exciting for us.

Not much further from the lighthouse is the Otway Fly Tree Top Adventures. There is a 600 metre long elevated walk, which provides fantastic views of the rainforest. If you have small children, or you are just a child at heart, make sure you take the Prehistoric Path where there is a dinosaur around every turn.

Warrnambool                    Victoria

Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum  was built to replicate an 1870’s village. This charming and interesting museum is well worth a look. Wander the quaint cobblestoned streets and explore the many buildings and shops, including the Old School House. Had a really good laugh at the Rules for Teachers from 1872. The village holds hundreds of relics from Warrnambools past including the magnificent Milton Pottery Peacock, which was rescued from the ocean after a shipwreck in 1878.

Portland                        Victoria

The Portland Discovery Centre has a whale skeleton on display and a replica 5.7 metre Great White Shark. We didnt go swimming for a while after seeing that. A short drive takes you to Victoria’s highest ocean cliffs where you will find the Petrified Forest and massive wind farm turbines which are in stark contrast to each other. Perfect place for a wind farm as the ocean winds would blow a dog off a chain. Even the local wallabies were rugged up. We ventured on a 4 hour return cliff top walk to a seal colony platform. You could smell the seals way before you saw them.

Stay tuned for the continuation of our road trip, where we head into South Australia and continue the drive to the Flinders Ranges.