I’m not talking about not doing the Great Ocean Road, by all means, put this at the top of your list for your visit to Melbourne! But if you’re considering a full day tour from Melbourne that will see you spend 4 hours on a bus, arrive, and 3 hours back on a bus late in the evening, well…. it’s just not something I’d recommend. Instead, hire a rental car for the day and set your sights on reaching the 12 Apostles some time around noon, enjoy lunch at a coastal town, spend some time at the beach, and leisurely make your way back to Melbourne either the following or same day.
With time being scarce, I was forced to set aside just one day to visit the Great Ocean Road – but if you have to do it this way, it is still enough.
My friend Matt picked me up from my hotel at precisely 6am in the morning and we got only 10 metres down the road before we made our first stop – COFFEE.
Luckily for me, Melbourne has arguably the best coffee in the world and with double shots a ‘standard’, I was certainly wide awake by the time I finished my little brew. We then began our trek to the highway and settled in for a long 4 hour drive to the 12 apostles.
Our first proper stop on the journey was in Torquay (pronounced Tor-kee) to check out the beach, grab some breakfast, and hit the road again. The drive soon became very scenic though equally nauseous – with more twists and bends than you would think necessary. Before long I had to request we pull over to get some fresh air as I was feeling incredibly unwell from all the swift turns! We made another stop at Lorne to check out the surf and take some quick snaps before getting back on the road again. There are plenty of little towns to stop at along the way, but I’d say Apollo Bay was my favourite pick of the bunch.
By around noon we reached the 12 Apostles, which was undoubtedly just as mesmerizing as I had imagined. It’s one of those things you simply have to see/do before you die, and perhaps my favourite thing I have ever done in Australia to date.
There were quite a few tourists around (which is to be expected on such a perfect day), but not so many that you couldn’t take it all in and enjoy the view without obstruction.
On the return journey home we took the faster route along the highway back to Melbourne. While it was an incredibly long day, it was equally incredibly worth while and an absolute must do for visitors to Melbourne.
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