The Great Ocean Road stretches along the south east coast of Australia. It was built to commemorate the soldiers killed during World War I, and is a beautiful coastal drive.

On day one we set off from Melbourne towards Apollo Bay, with the plan of stopping off at any interesting places along the way. Our first stop was in the seaside town of Torquay, for an obligatory cake and coffee break. We accidentally ordered two of the biggest slices of carrot cake I have every seen. Oh well!

We then headed to the town of Lorne, which we eventually decided to bypass as most of Victoria also seemed to be stopping there! Along the way we stopped at lots of viewpoints and lay-bys to admire the view.

The next stop was Kennett River, where you are almost guaranteed to see koalas in the wild. Just as we stopped, the heavens opened. There was a tree about 5 m from the car with a koala having a snooze in it, which kept us entertained until the clouds blew over. Ten minutes later the sun was out and we went koala hunting. We were not disappointed, and in addition to the koalas we also spotted some brightly coloured birds.

Once we’d had our wildlife fix we continued along the road to Apollo Bay, our home for the night. It was still early when we arrived, so we decided to go to Cape Otway lighthouse. This is the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia and also the ‘most significant’, whatever that means. The drive down to it was a long, winding road. We stopped again after spotting a koala climbing a tree. When we got to the lighthouse we found out it cost $20 each to go and see it. No chance! So we did a short stroll and saw it from a distance.

We then drove back towards Apollo Bay, stopping at Maits rest for another short walk. This time it was through a forest, making a nice change from the coast.

In Apollo Bay we stayed at the Surfsider Backpackers. It was surprisingly nice, and has a great owner. We also discovered that there was a community cinema which had been running over the Christmas break, and was open for one more night. They were showing the Imitation Game, which I have been hoping to see for a while. The quality of the cinema was very good and the film was excellent. Last year I did a trip to Bletchley Park with some friends, and it was great (and sad) to see this story brought to the big screen.

It was pretty cold for the Australian summer, with a low of nine degrees in the evening. We are certainly not equipped for this, and I basically had to wear most of my clothes all at once!

The following morning we got up bright and early and hit the road again. This time we were going to see the ‘big sites’ including the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge. We were so lucky with the weather over the whole weekend, with the sun shining in almost every place we stopped.

 

Our final night was spent just outside Apollo Bay in the small village of Sugarloaf. We had a BBQ and played trivial pursuit. This was the 1983 Australia edition, so the game took quite a while!

The next morning we headed back to Melbourne for one more night, stopping to see some waterfalls along the way.