The Great Ocean Road – Day One
We drove Australia’s famous Great Ocean Road in March 2016.
The Great Ocean Road is a picturesque 151 mile drive along the southeastern coast of Victoria between the cities of Torquay and Allansford.
Day One of our journey began in Melbourne which is about an hour and a half from Torquay, so we eased into our drive by making a few stops along the way:
Torquay is the official start of the Great Ocean Road and is also famous for its surfing locations.
This is where you’ll find Bells Beach, home of the annual Rip Curl Pro.
We visited 4 days before the event, so we were able to see some of the pre-tournament action.
Our next stop was a detour to Anglesea Golf Club, famous for their ever-present population of Eastern Grey Kangaroos:
The golf club offers 20 minute tours daily from 10:00am to 4:00pm for just 10 AUD/pp.
Our guide was a lot of fun and even tolerated our countless questions.
I highly recommend this small detour if your schedule allows for it.
From there we continued our drive toward Apollo Bay.
The drive is along curvy clifftop roads with brilliant landscapes waiting around every corner.
About halfway between Lorne and Apollo Bay is Carisbrook Creek, a small beach famous for its human-made stacked stones.
Thousands of ocean-smoothed rocks are piled into personal towers of art.
Feel free to create a rock pile of your own or just stroll along the beach.
Apollo Bay is a quiet coastal town with several charming lodging options and friendly mom and pop restaurants.
Casa Favilla Bed & Breakfast is a cozy haven located just off the main road but only a short walk to the beach, shops, and restaurants.
After settling in we headed over to Great Ocean Road Brewhouse:
A cold beer and juicy burger hit the spot after a long day of driving.
Casa Favilla offers guests a DIY continental breakfast and Gerrard, the owner, has gone out of his way to cover pretty much all food likes/dislikes and allergies.
I prefer a high protein breakfast (read: bacon), so we skipped the continental breakfast and walked over to Sandy Feet Cafe.
Their Eggs on Toast with a side of bacon and coffee was exactly what we needed to fuel Day 2 of our Great Ocean Road adventure.
Day One Highlights
Drive from Melbourne to Apollo Bay with stops: 261 km
- Werribee Park and Mansion
- Queenscliff Pier
- Point Lonsdale
- Bells Beach
- Kangaroos at Anglesea Golf Club
- Carisbrook Creek Rock Stacking
Apollo Bay
- Lodging: Casa Favilla Bed & Breakfast
- Dinner: Great Ocean Road Brewhouse
- Breakfast: Sandy Feet Cafe