What are the best things to do on the Great Ocean Road?

If picking the three best things to do on the Great Ocean Road, choose kangaroos at Anglesea Golf Course, kayaking with seals at Apollo Bay and a helicopter flight over the Twelve Apostles near Port Campbell.

A lot of what is great about Australia can be found along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. There’s an abundance of wildlife, along with excellent surf beaches, adorable beach towns, rainforest bushwalking and dramatic coastal rock formations. Officially 243km long, it can be tackled as a day trip from Melbourne. But the Great Ocean Road is far better taken at a leisurely pace, over three or four days.

Australia Travel Questions has detailed guides to the following sections of the Great Ocean Road journey:

• Melbourne to Torquay.
• Torquay to Lorne.
• Lorne to Apollo Bay.
• Apollo Bay to Warrnambool.
• Warrnambool to Portland.

But for a quicker overview, read on…

Great Ocean Road: Torquay to Anglesea

After the Surf Coast Highway out of Melbourne, Torquay marks the official start of the Great Ocean Road. Things to do in Torquay include aerobatic flights in a Tiger Moth. But the best known thrills are in the water. This small beach town has become an unlikely hub of the surf industry – Ripcurl and Quiksilver were founded here. The Australian National Surfing Museum tells the story of surfing history in Australia. It went from blokes on ironing boards to big money international sport remarkably quickly.

Should you want to dabble yourself, the Torquay Surf Academy offers small group beginner lessons for $75. You should be standing within two hours. Those with considerably more experience, however, will want to head 6km south to the legendary Bells Beach. This was the setting for the finale of Point Break and is home to pro surfing’s longest-running competition. The rolling break is big and consistent, but not for beginners. Instead, watch wetsuit-clad experts take it on from the clifftop car park. 

From Bells, it’s 14km to Anglesea, but stop at the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie on the way.. This is the first of many loveable beach towns with just enough cafés and pubs to keep them interesting. But the stars here are slightly inland, at Australia’s funniest golf course. The Anglesea Golf Club plays host to dozens of kangaroos that maraud the fairways. Half hour golf buggy tours take you up close for magical Aussie stereotype photo ops.

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.

Great Ocean Road: Anglesea to Lorne

Another 29km of dramatic, twisting cliff-hugging brings you to an ideal overnight stop- slightly hippified, gallery-sprinkled Lorne. On the way, stop to climb the Split Point Lighthouse in Aireys Inlet.

The Visitor Centre in Lorne has good displays on the Great Ocean Road’s construction – it was built as a war memorial. And Teddy’s Lookout offer the perfect Great Ocean Road photo stop. Meanwhile, the Lorne Beach Pavilion (mains around $38) does marvellous seafood. If staying overnight, the Victorian era Grand Pacific Hotel has rooms looking out over the bay for from around $180. There are several good restaurants in Lorne, with Ipsos and Movida especially notable.

Great Ocean Road: Lorne to Apollo Bay

The Great Otway National Park forests at the back of Lorne make for excellent bushwalking. The 7.5km Erskine Falls walk from the town passes several Great Ocean Road waterfalls on the way to Erskine’s lush 30 metre cascade. Sheoak Falls is also worth a look, and Live Wire Park offers zip lines through the forest.

Kennett River, 24km from Lorne, is a wildlife hotspot. Scores of cheeky cockatoos strut outside Kafe Koala, while a walk up Grey River Road should bring plenty of koalas up trees.

Shortly afterwards, you can take in great views from the Cape Patton Lookout.

Want something bigger than koalas? Apollo Bay Surf and Kayak runs kayaking with seals tours to see the honking, tussling fur seal colony in the Marengo Marine Sanctuary for $75.

Chris’ Beacon Point (studios from $250 including breakfast), just outside Apollo Bay, is one of the Great Ocean Road’s treat stays, with its panoramic view-blessed hilltop villas surrounded by bushland and native birds, plus a highly impressive Greek-influenced restaurant. If you just want a beer and a burger, though, the Apollo Bay Hotel is a top Great Ocean Road pub.

Divert slightly north from Apollo Bay at Skenes Beach, and you can canoe with platypus on Lake Elizabeth. The Otway Fly treetop adventure course and Hopetoun Falls are nearby.

Great Ocean Road: Apollo Bay to Port Campbell

On the Apollo Bay to Warrnambool section of the drive, the road goes inland through the heavily forested Cape Otway. An hour’s walk along the gorgeous and usually quiet Shelly Beach walking track combines coast, canopy and – most likely – koalas. Australia’s oldest mainland lighthouse, a brooding sight on the cape itself, and Johanna Beach are worthwhile detours too.

However, aim to get to Port Campbell before the tour buses from Melbourne turn up around midday. Here, the Twelve Apostles (there are only eight of them) are the headline rock formations on a coastline that stares towards Antarctica. You can drive along, stopping at the lookouts and beaches near Loch Ard Gorge, London Bridge et al, but a chopper trip with 12 Apostles Helicopters ($145 for about 15 minutes) puts the jigsaw together in one rugged, highly photogenic frame.

Great Ocean Road: Port Campbell to Warrnambool

From there, head to whale-watching capital Warrnambool at the end of the Great Ocean Road, perhaps detouring inland to foodie favourite Timboon, where the distillery and ice cream factory are open to would-be guzzlers.

Otherwise, check out the underrated beaches near Warrnambool, such as Childers Cove.

Between May and October, southern right whales can be seen breaching from the viewing platform at Logans Beach in Warrnambool. The Warrnambool weather is at its wettest in winter, though. For the rest of the year, head 16km west to the Tower Hill Reserve in Koroit. This is an ancient volcanic crater teeming with animals. You can pretty much complete the set walking around here – roos, wallabies, echidnas and particularly brazen emus are likely to make an appearance.

Should you wish to continue the journey rather than loop back to Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road forms the first part of a Melbourne to Adelaide road trip. If you’ve got a bit of extra time, it’s worth tagging on Port Fairy. The Warrnambool to Port Fairy drive takes just 24 minutes.