MAIN AREA OF MARIA ISLAND 

I didn't plan on visiting the Great Ocean Road but it happened! Driving down from Queensland to Tasmania, I still had a couple of nights to spare so I decided "Why not?", and what a pleasant surprise!

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It was in October so the temperature inland at the Alpine National Park were quite cool at night and camping in a tent started to get cold, especially being acclimatized to the Queensland weather. Driving down and around Melbourne to the West, going pass the Grampians National Park, I ended up on the Great Ocean Road.

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WHAT TO EXPECT

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The Great Ocean Road is a memorial to those who died while fighting in World War I. It was built by returned servicemen and goes through all the coastal communities. There is a memorial site at the entrance of the road when coming from Melbourne. On top of being a memorial it is well known to be one of the best scenic drives in Australia where we can encounter a diverse scenery such as eroded cliffs, beaches, large farms and fantastic lookouts. 

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DAY 1

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I started my Great Ocean Road trip from Warrnambool. It is very well sign posted whether it is driving from Warrnambool or from Melbourne, so you just need to follow the signs and go. I drove through a bit of countryside before arriving on the coast. This was a beautiful sight as there were hilly fields by the cliffs with cows eating grass overlooking at the the ocean. Lucky cows these ones! Once on "the" road there were stops with car parks for each lookout. I guess it gets very busy during summer time, so I would suggest to leave early especially if you need to leave from Melbourne. There is enough space for camper vans and motor homes. I stopped at the following lookouts and did pretty much all the walks available at each spot: London Arch, The Grotto, Razorback, Loch Ard Gorge, 12 Apostles, Otway National Park, Teddy's lookout, Lorne.

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I found the best stop to be Loch Ard Gorge and I'm sure a lot of people would agree. The beach being right at the bottom of the cliffs with water dripping along them and the turquoise water makes it feel like Thailand. 

I had to find a place to pitch the tent up for the night so I decided to check out Cape Otway where there is a caravan park (cabins, powered and unpowered sites, great amenities) surrounded by bush land, walking tracks and the best thing is that it is home to a lot of koalas. I went for a walk to the lighthouse and spotted 3 koalas on the way and heaps of wallabies. I noticed that koalas don't really move so they are hard to spot, they kind of blend in with the trees, I had to look at every tree, especially those further away from the path. 

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DAY 2

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On the second day, I went to Teddy's lookout, well worth the climb (lucky I was driving!), for a breathtaking view on the ocean, the beach, the inlet and the windy road. I had lunch on a picnic table near the beach at Lorne. I noticed it started to get more and more built up as I got closer to Melbourne, Lorne, Torquay and Anglesea being quite large towns and lots of accommodation available. Once in Melbourne, I parked the car by Port Melbourne before enjoying an afternoon coffee whilst waiting for check-in for the ferry to Tasmania. 

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A third day could have been easily spent on the Great Ocean Road by doing a couple of bushwalks to the waterfalls, the Otway Treetop Fly Adventure or going for a swim in Lorne. Overall I really enjoyed this road trip. 

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MY TIPS

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    How to spot a koala: look from the middle to the top of the trees, look at the trees that are not too close to the walking path, koalas are usually sitting in between a branch and the tree trunk.

     The road leading to Otway caravan park isn't sealed so it is a bit bumpy at time.

    Starting from Warrnambool there isn't many shops so be ready with food, water, hat and sunscreen  for the day.

     Bring a jacket just in case the wind picks up.

   Be prepared for the crowd at the 12 Apostles lookout, there was hardly no room for me to take pictures! I'm not sure why people find this site so attractive as I actually preferred the other sites.

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