The Great Ocean Road, Part 1

After leaving Phillip Island, we headed towards Torquay to the start of the famous Great Ocean Road (GOR). And then it started to rain.... and rain... and rain. While parts of Australia North of us were completely underwater, we were getting drenched down South as well. It certainly changed the mood of our trip. We were looking forward to stopping and sticking our toes in the sand at as many beaches as possible. Instead, we just did our best to stay warm and dry.

We stayed one night in Torquay and fortunately the hotel had a lovely (heated) pool. The kids got in lots of swimming in the afternoon and again in the evening. We saw very little of Torquay but we had fun.

The next morning we started our drive. Our first stop in the rain was the famous Bells Beach. A well known surfing beach and the site of the Bells Beach Surf Classic each year, it was a pretty beach with nice big waves. I did make the kids put down their itouches and get out to take in the view. They were none too happy at first but warmed up to it all as they started watching the surfers. Good thing too because as the fog thickened up, it was the last water we saw for a while!

Our next stop was Angelsea Golf Course to see the famous kangaroos that roam the course.

After Angelsea we drove through to Lorne for lunch and then carried on to Apollo Bay. Sadly some of the notorious look out points were so thick with fog that we could not see much at all. We did stop for a quick look at the Split Point Lighthouse.

There were lots of signs along the way that I could not help but snap photos of as we drove. These are a couple that made me chuckle.

Here in Australia, cutting down or damaging trees in any way is taken very seriously. Still, this sign made us laugh.


The GOR is clearly a tourist attraction world wide. Lest you forget where you are, these signs are posted regularly all along the highway.

I snapped this photo as we dove into one of the main sections of the road. You can see how the fog is starting to thicken by the haze in the picture.


As we rounded one bend, the fog lifted a bit and we caught a glimpse of the water.

Our last stop before hitting the hotel in Apollo Bay was the Kennett River. This is a road through the forest that is meant to be great for spotting koalas. The conditions were not great for a koala hunt on this day!

Again, we found a few spots where the fog was not as thick and we were able to spot a few. If you look closely in this picture, you will see a momma koala with a baby on her back.

It was a wet foggy day but we made it to Apollo Bay in the end. We were hopeful that the rest of the trip would prove to be a bit better...