With the strong gusts of wind blowing relentlessly from across the vast Southern Ocean, the stretch of land overlooking the Twelve Apostles might very well be the windiest place I’ve ever been to. Every time we turned our backs against the ocean to try to take a photo with the famous rocks, the wind would blow up our hair and send it flying in all directions – quite a comical sight to behold, actually. That, coupled with the hordes of fellow tourists squeezing past each other, desperate to make the most out of their short thirty minutes at the most well-known stop along the Great Ocean Road, made taking great photos with the Twelve Apostles quite impossible.
Still, despite being a bit more overwhelmed by the crowds and wind than the landmark limestone stacks, our little ‘road trip’ that almost didn’t happen turned out to be quite a memorable and enjoyable adventure.
When we talked to friends and relatives about our upcoming trip to Melbourne, telling them that we were planning to stay in the city throughout our week-long vacation, they would always tell us the same thing. “You can’t just stay in the city when you’re in Australia, you’ve got to go out and drive! See the Great Ocean Road, Phillip Island, or visit Yarra Valley at least!”
Unfortunately, we’d already booked our accommodation in the city, and it was too late to make changes so it would have to be a day trip. And with only one driver in our party, it would be too much of a rush to travel through the Great Ocean Road and get back to the city in a day, given that we weren’t familiar with the country. We were also a little apprehensive about spending so much time and money to go all the way out to see the Twelve Apostles, which were essentially a bunch of rocks… right?
In the end, we decided that since this might be our one and only trip to Melbourne, we might as well give the Great Ocean Road a shot, with a local tour guide via Klook. And so bright and early in the morning, a Go West mini tour bus picked us up from our pre-arranged spot, and by 8am, our tour group of twenty-four passengers was off on our long journey.
Our all-in-one tour guide/driver/coordinator/DJ Jon did a great job juggling all his duties, and I found it to be a really comfortable and enjoyable ride. He drove the minibus like it was a sports car, all the while entertaining us with stories and little tidbits about the history of Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road. Apparently, Melbourne was once called ‘Batmania’, after John Batman, one of its founders. What a name!
We made a lot of stops along the way, with the first stop being Torquay – more of a surfing spot, though it was so bitterly cold that I can’t imagine how anyone could possibly surf in winter! We had a nice small breakfast of cakes and hot drinks to kickstart our day. Though it wasn’t anything fancy, I really enjoyed it, and now I’ve just added ‘have cooked breakfast in the middle of the countryside on a road trip‘ to my bucket list. There’s just something about warming yourself with a hot cup of diluted coffee on a cold, sunny day, huh.
After a couple more quick photo stops, including one with the Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch, we made a longer stop for lunch at Kennett River, a small seaside town with a little café. Kennett River is supposedly a great place to try and spot wild koalas, and thankfully we managed to spot a single precious koala sleeping high up in a tree! If you have more time to venture deeper in, you’d probably be able to spot more koalas.
There were also a lot of colorful King Parrots and white cockatoos on the ground waiting to be fed. I was very determined to get one to land on me, so I tried walking around and sticking my hands out, but that didn’t work. Luckily for me, a nice guy gave me a handful of bird seeds (I was so excited that I think I forgot to thank him… oops!), and that did the trick. I’m very proud to say that I managed to cunningly lure three parrots to sit on me, and they didn’t poop on me. SO much fun.
After a hurried lunch of fish and chips, we stopped by Apollo Bay, and then to Maits Rest, a short boardwalk loop in the Otways, for a serene rainforest walk. Is it strange that my personal highlight of the Great Ocean Road isn’t a beach or any of the advertised vantage points at Port Campbell National Park, but walking through this small, cool rainforest? As our guide Jon explained, Maits Rest is a part of the rainforest that has been pretty well preserved because it used to be the favorite hangout spot of a ranger, so some of the giant trees here are hundreds of years old. Though it was a pretty short walk, I loved every moment of it. The air was cold and fresh, and walking through the very lush rainforest, I felt a sense of peace and quiet that none of the other stops could provide.
We then moved on to one of our last stops of the day, the much-awaited Twelve Apostles in the Port Campbell National Park. With less than forty-five minutes for this stop (not including the time required to queue up for the toilet), we brisk walked all the way to the lookout point. When you picture seeing the Twelve Apostles, you would probably have the very first image I posted earlier in mind, and not this scene below. As most of the tour groups would have a similar itinerary, I guess the only way to avoid the crowds would be to self-drive and come much earlier in the day.
We then headed to another part of Port Campbell National Park, Loch Ard Gorge. Again, with just about forty-five minutes for the area, I think we did quite well managing our time, considering that we managed to see all three mini-locations that Jon pointed out. We descended the steps to the beach (1), walked to the Loch Ard Wreck Site lookout point (2), and then stopped at the last vantage point closer to the Razorback, where we there was a nice view of the Island Archway (3). With the last rays of sunlight, our final stop on the Great Ocean Road was the Gibson Steps, where we could descend the steps to another beach, but fearing that we wouldn’t have enough time to climb up all the steps again, we were quite content with staying around the top.
As the sky turned dark and we sped through the night back towards the CBD, I thought about how much ground we managed to cover within one short day. There are plenty of drawbacks to joining a tour – for one, I wish we had more time for each stop so that we wouldn’t have to keep rushing from place to place, but I also understand why the schedule had to be so tight. But without joining the tour, I think it might have taken us days to see as much as we did. While I’m still holding on to the hope that I’ll be able to set off on my own road trip someday, I’m happy to join a day tour in the meantime.
Sometimes when you visit far-out places, you grit your teeth and bear with the long journey just to get to that dream destination. Although we did spend most of the day on the road, this wasn’t one of those instances. It was more about learning to appreciate and enjoy the journey, along with whatever comes your way, than the actual destination. For me, it was about making the most of the short time we had, and moving on when the time called for it. And so it is with life, I suppose. I do believe that there’s a season for everything, and I’m learning to make the best out of where I’ve been placed.
Have you been on a day tour like this before? Leave a comment below! If you’ve enjoyed this post, do check out my YouTube video of Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road here.