Cruising the Great Ocean Road - The Travel Oracle

This past August, we flew to Sydney, Australia so Stephen could run the marathon. By completing this feet, he’d become the first living kidney donor to finish 7 World Major Marathons. While this was all well and good, we asked ourselves, “Since we’re going all that way…what ELSE there to see?” And the number one response? You NEED to see the Great Ocean Road. So join us this week as we see some of the the MOST AMAZING sites on the continent. You’ll peep iconic beaches, stunning cliffs, and amazing rock formations as we go cruising the Great Ocean Road.

Making the Plans

Map showing sites from the Great Ocean Road in Australia — Map of the Great Ocean Road

Since we like the oceans and AMAZING views, we spent some time looking into available tours. Unfortunately, our research uncovered two bits of bad news:

The cost was over $300 per person, and even worse
We would have to spend more than 12 hours on a bus with a bunch of TOURIST!

With these things in mind, we decided to go rogue. That’s right, we decided to rent our own car and cruise the Great Ocean Road OURSELVES. As a fun kicker, we would do it in reverse order of all the tourists. AND we would be driving on the LEFT side of the road, on the RIGHT side of the car!! After all, how bad could it be?

Melbourne to Port Campbell

We left our first stop, Uluru, and hopped a JetStar to Melbourne. First stop, Sixt to pick up our right-hand drive MG! The first leg of the drive was a bit…stressful.

Jetstar jet on the tarmac in Uluru, Australia. — Jetstar on the tarmac

Man behind the wheel of a right-hand drive car, looking alarmed — Jetstar on the tarmac

Soaking in the Views

But once we got an out of the city, the traffic thinned and the driving got a lot easier. We had time to enjoy the farms, livestock, and wide open, green spaces.

Man in a right-hand drive car, enjoying the views — Able to enjoy the views

Cattle in a large field behind a fence, on our way to the Great Ocean Road in Australia. — Able to enjoy the views

Little Cabin at the End of the Road

We got to the cabin in Port Campbell around 10pm. The place seemed super cute but we really ONLY had time to sleep there. We were up and at ‘em by 5am the following day.

Row of neat, gray cabins at the Port Campbell Holiday Park, where we stayed before embarking on the Great Ocean Road — Neat cabins, all in a row

Interior of a cabin. Woman standing at the foot of the bed in the background, while a man stands in the foreground. Quite cozy! — Neat cabins, all in a row

The Twelve Apostles at Daybreak

Because we were SO excited to see the Twelve Apostles, we left WAY earlier than we needed to. (If you know us, this is HIGHLY “on brand”.) We were in the parking lot at the Twelve Apostles by 6am, and the sun came up around 7. Though it was cold and dark, we got to watch the sunrise AND we were the ONLY ones there.

Sun rise over the ocean, behind two stone monoliths at the 12 Apostles — Sunrise at the 12 Apostles

Long beach before a stone cliff. In the water, are many stone monoliths. It’s the 12 Apostles on the Great Ocean Road — Sunrise at the 12 Apostles

Island Arch and the Tom and Eva Lookout

Just a few minutes later, we pulled up to the Island Arch. And though it was MUCH brighter, it was NO WARMER.

Arched rock formation in the ocean. In the foreground are low, scrub plants. It’s the Island Arch on the Great Ocean Road. — The Island Arch

Two stone monoliths of the shore of the Great Ocean Road — The Island Arch

Breakfast at Port Campbell

Around 9 am, we drove back to Port Campbell for a little breakfast and coffee. Oh and we also enjoyed views of the port!

Man and woman, holding cups of coffee in front of the Cafe on Lords — Yay! Coffee!!

Cup of coffee in a paper cup, with a white plastic lid, behind a breakfast sandwich. It has poppy seeds and avocado. Next to it, is a brown napkin with a chocolate and peanut butter bar. — Yay! Coffee!!

Bay surrounded by a beach and trees. It’s Port Campbell on the Great Ocean Road in Australia. — Port Campbell

London Bridge

Next stop was London Bridge. As an added bonus, the tiny trails you can see on the sand were made by little penguin feet! We didn’t see any actual penguins THAT day, but we would before we left Australia. So…more to follow!

Beach, covered in rocks and tiny penguin tracks. — London Bridge is falling down!

The Grotto

Pictures REALLY don’t do justice to the Grotto. It is really one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.

Archway in a stone outcropping. Through the middle you can see the ocean and sky. It’s the Grotto ont he Great Ocean Road — Steps to the Grotto

The Bay of Islands

The Bay of Islands is about 15 minutes west of The Twelve Apostles. It less popular but just as stunning, so a GREAT place to visit AND avoid tourists. (By the way, I KNOW we are also technically tourists.)

The Bay of Martyrs

The Bay of Martyrs and nearby Massacre Bay, share the same dark history. Both bodies of water were named to commemorate the indigenous people who were killed fighting European settlers.

Bay of blue water touching a sandy beach and surrounded by low trees. It’s the Bay of Martyrs on the Great Ocean Road. — Beach on the Bay of Martyrs

The Close Call

Stephen noticed a neat rock formation, with a small hole that seemed perfect to peep through. On his way to investigate further, he quickly learned just HOW high, high tide can be! He had to plaster himself on a tiny rock ledge to stay dry

Man standing on a rocky ledge to avoid high tide on the beach at the Bay of Martyrs on the Great Ocean Road. — BARELY evading high tide

Man peeking through a circular hole in a rock on the Bay of Martyrs. — BARELY evading high tide

Cruising through the National Forest

We then drove through the National Forest, which was MILES of tree lined winding roads and amazing vistas.

Road sign showing a car, losing control and skidding off the road. This is the National Forest section of the Great Ocean Road. — Beware of Winding Roads

Tree lined road in the National Forest. — Beware of Winding Roads

Lunch at Apollo Bay

After navigating the forest, we were ready for some lunch. And what could be a better stop along the Great Ocean Road than…SEAFOOD??!!

Sign that reads “Apollo Bay Fishermen’s Co Op” surrounding a red cray fish — Apollo Bay Fishermen’s Co-op

Round, silver dish with a half dozen oysters at the Apollo Bay Fishermen’s Coop — Apollo Bay Fishermen’s Co-op

On the beach at Apollo Bay, we saw this lone dog. He was waiting for his human, who was out surfing.

Black dog in the middle of a beach, looking out at the ocean in Apollo Bay Australia. — Such a good pooch!

Heading up to Teddy’s Lookout

Stephen was feeling relaxed enough that he could enjoy some of the views along the way. We drove up a VERY steep road to a place called Teddy’s Lookout. You may not be surprised to hear that the views were…EPIC.

Man in a right-hand drive car, looking out the window to the ocean. — Enjoying the Views

Ocean, beach and lush shoreline. It’s the view from Teddy’s Lookout on the Great Ocean Road in Australia. — Enjoying the Views

Running into the Locals in Lorne

We were led to believe that Australia was teaming with kangaroos, venomous snakes and spiders the size of a VW Beetle. In reality, we did meet some super GREAT locals along the Great Ocean Road, but none that were quite so scary.

Kangaroo looking through some green vegetation. — So Australian! A kangaroo in the yard.

Little spikey critter, on a dirt road. It’s an echidna spotted on the great ocean road. — So Australian! A kangaroo in the yard.

The End of the Ocean Road

After almost 13 hours, we came to the end of the road. Literally. What an EPIC and amazing day! And we still have SO MUCH to share with you!

Wooden sign over a two lane road that reads “Great Ocean Road”. — The end of the road. For us, anyway.

We hope you enjoyed this fun road trip with us and this is only the beginning. If you haven’t already, consider subscribing to get our latest content plus content curated just our tribe. And you can always see what’s crack-a-lackin’ in real time by following us on Instagram at The__Travel__Oracle.

Until next time!