Koalas on the Great Ocean Road: Kennett River & Cape Otway
You’ve got a really good chance of seeing koalas on the Great Ocean Road on Grey River Road in Kennett River. Alternatively, try the forest drives and walking tracks near Cape Otway in the Great Otway National Park.
Kennett River koalas
Kennett River, Victoria, is one of the best places in Australia to see koalas. To book a Great Ocean Road tour from Melbourne that stops for koala-spotting in Kennett River, step this way.
Otherwise, read on…
Pick the right Great Ocean Road tour from Melbourne
- For wildlife and nature focus: One day tour with koalas and guided forest walk.
- To beat the crowds: Reverse direction Great Ocean Road day tour.
- For adventure: Two day camping and surfing trip.
- For backpackers: One day highlights tour aimed at younger travellers.
- For exclusivity and flexibility: Private tour where you can pick the sights you want to see.
- For an extended trip: Three day Melbourne to Adelaide tour.
Driving the Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road from Torquay to Warrnambool in Victoria is one of Australia’s great drives. Most of it can be covered in a day from Melbourne, but it is far better taken at a slower pace. This allows you to stop at cute beach towns like Apollo Bay and Lorne and go for walks to waterfalls in the forested hinterland.
For wildlife lovers, however, making the Great Ocean road a multi-day road trip leaves more time for spotting Australia’s loveably cute creatures.
For kangaroos, it’s easy. Loads of them hang out at the Anglesea Golf Club, 117km south-west of Melbourne. In fact, golf courses anywhere are a good bet for spotting roos. They like flat grassland with bushes at the edge.
Kennett River koalas on the Great Ocean Road
For cockatoos, pull up outside Kafe Koala in Kennett River. There are hundreds of the cheeky-looking native birds to be found here. Most strut about as if they own the place. Any stray bit of food left dangling by passers-by is likely to be pounced upon.
Kennett River, found 166km south-west of Melbourne, is also a renowned hotspot for koalas. From the café, take a walk up the gravelly Grey River Road behind the Kennett River Holiday Park to see koalas.
The Kennett River koalas can usually be found clinging onto tree branches, fast asleep. They’re often on high branches (unlike at the Mikkira Station in South Australia), so look up.
7 fantastic Great Ocean Road experiences
1. Crowd-beating reverse direction tour. 2. Surfing lessons in Anglesea. 3. Split Point Lighthouse climb. 4. Shockwave Zip-Coaster. 5. Guided wildlife walk. 6. Budj Bim National Park tour. 7. Great Ocean Road by motorbike.
Cape Otway koalas on the Great Ocean Road
Another excellent spot for seeing koalas on the Great Ocean Road is the bit people skip through. Driving east to west, the road cuts inland through Cape Otway on the way to the Twelve Apostles and other photogenic rock formations near Port Campbell.
Branch left off the main road into the Great Otway National Park, however, and you’ll get thick eucalypt cover. Because it’s usually really quiet, the Cape Otway koalas are a lot more bold ambling down forest tracks here. Drive slowly along Lighthouse Road to the Cape Otway Lightstation and there’s a pretty good chance of seeing one. If not, park up, and venture along one of the National Park walking trails.
Shelly Beach walking track
Another good bet for seeing koalas in the national park is along Elliott Road. This heads down to the Shelly Beach walking track, which is well worth undertaking, koalas or not.
Then, at the end of the Great Ocean Road, there’s the Tower Hill Reserve in Koroit. Here, koalas hang out with kangaroos, echidnas and emus inside an extinct volcanic crater.
More about koalas in Australia
Where can I cuddle a koala in Australia?
Where can I see wild koalas in Adelaide?