Great Ocean Road Trip | Part Two

After a slow morning eating breakfast in a park with takeaway coffees, we got on the road in our convoy, the walkie-talkies we purchased from Kmart distributed throughout the vehicles. I was in my friend’s van again, and along with the others we were unfortunately separated from those in Betty the Beast, due to a small incident they had before leaving their carpark…

The rest of us headed along the coast, excited to officially be on the Great Ocean Road. At first just two of us were in close enough convoy to use the radios, but throughout the day we became a proper queue of cars, communicating efficiently to decide our next steps and point out good parking spots to one another. 

Our first stop was the Bay of Islands, where we saw the first of many gorgeous views. Blue water, sand-coloured rocks that grew tall out of the water. Some of these were topped with green shrubs, the collection of clouds in the distance topping the scene with purple. We watched a bird dip below the water’s surface and appear again metres away. The current was strong and rough but mesmerising and peaceful to watch. The Bay of Martyrs followed, where there were similarly gorgeous coastal views. We took a walk along a path that led us down to a secluded beach and for some time we were the only people there, walking along the shore and soaking up the golden sand and sunshine. 

Our next stop was the Grotto, a rock formation through which you can see the ocean and a beautiful reflective pool of water. London Bridge followed after, a larger arch of rock out in the sea. 

Getting hungry, we found ourselves driving through Port Campbell where the annual ‘Crayfest’ was happening. This turned out to be a grassroots festival that had an array of food and drinks, live music, and lots of riffing on the theme. People walked around with crayfish hats, and we saw what must have been some participants of the parade packing up a float in bright, crayfish inspired costume. We bought food, including tasty ice creams, and listened to the musical performances, which switched out traditional lyrics to pop songs with the word ‘crayfish’. It was a very interesting event to have stumbled across!

Loch ard Gorge was next along the coast – more beautiful rock formations with luscious waters. We walked around the various sights, overlooking beaches and cliffs. Then we headed to the most iconic and known sight along the road: the 12 Apostles. Last time I was here, I’d found it overwhelmingly busy with people (and flies). This time was a little less busy (particularly less flies). We took the walk down Gibson’s steps, where we got a very atmospheric view of the Apostles as the sea mist slightly obscured the view. 

We headed to a beachside campsite just outside of Apollo Bay that night. A few of us went into town and got a takeaway dinner from a fish and chip shop and ate on the beach as night fell and the moon rose. The world was purple and silver and peaceful. We finished the evening with a pint in a pub off the main street, before heading back to the campsite. 

The next day was Sunday and we had a leisurely morning before we needed to be on the road to Lorne. We spent it by the shore, swimming and soaking up the calm. I swam for a while, dipping beneath the waves and paddling back and forth. Then we drove into town to grab coffee, before hitting the Great Ocean Road again. 

We had a booking at Livewire park that afternoon, to take part in Australia’s ‘most intense’ zipline. The truly most intense part was the drive up the super steep roads in Betty the Beast. We made it up there, but not without holding our breath! The zipline itself was fun, but it wasn’t particularly frightening or ‘intense’. Included in the zipline fee was access to the large trampolines. This was our favourite part by far. We spent ages bouncing on different trampolines, pushing inflatable balls around, diving in the ball pit, and just playing. It was so much fun to be silly and expel energy through playfulness. Surrounded by beautiful trees, too!

Afterwards, we headed back down to Lorne and ate snacks by the sea. I had a delicious sorbet and chilled out on the sand with my book. Grabbing quiet moments like these between long drives and lots of socialising was a great way to rest and refuel. Shortly, we were moving on again. The convoy had to split up, as some of us needed to get to Melbourne sooner than others for work. 

It was on this stretch of the road we got to see the iconic Great Ocean Road sign and check out Torquay Surf Beach, which many consider the beginning of the GOR. There were some nice views under cloudy blue skies. We watched someone windsurfing for a while.

We made it to our campsite that night and had a communal dinner outdoors. We made the most of the outside living aspects of life on the road, knowing our lives in Melbourne would be chillier and big city based! 

The next morning we just had time for a quick coffee stop in Geelong on our way to Melbourne. We got drinks and wandered around the character bollards that hung out by the water where we were. Then the afternoon was for admin: cleaning the van, securing our campsite, and, for some of us, getting ready to head out to work training!

I loved living on the road again, with so much to see and do along the way. But arriving in Melbourne was the start of a new adventure...