Great Ocean Road and the Grampians
Five days from Melbourne along the coast, then inland to the escarpment.
Road Trip · 5 days · Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec
The Great Ocean Road driven west over two days rather than one, so the Twelve Apostles are seen at the right end of the day instead of at midday with four coaches. Then north into the Grampians, which almost nobody adds and which turns a coastal drive into something with two landscapes in it.
Day by day
- Day 1
Out of Melbourne
Pick up the car, join the road at Torquay, stop early and often.
11:00Bells Beach
The Rip Curl Pro break, and the viewing platform is a two-minute walk from the car park.
13:30Split Point Lighthouse
1891, still working, and the clifftop path around it looks back along the whole coast you have driven.
16:30Teddy's Lookout
The road curving around the St George river mouth, which is the shot the whole drive is famous for.
- Day 2
The Otways
Inland into the rainforest, then back out to the coast for sunset.
09:00Erskine Falls
Thirty metres into tree-fern gully, ten minutes from the coast road.
About 240 steps down to the base and the same back up.
12:00Cape Otway Lightstation
The oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia, at the point ships aimed for after the Southern Ocean crossing.
Koalas are usually visible in the manna gums along the access road.
18:30Twelve Apostles at sunset
The stacks face west, so sunset lights them and the middle of the day does not.
The day-trip coaches from Melbourne arrive between eleven and three. Before and after that it is a different place.
- Day 3
The shipwreck coast
The gorges either side of the Apostles, then north.
08:00Loch Ard Gorge
Three short walks off one car park, and the 1878 wreck story is on the boards where it happened.
10:00The Grotto
A sinkhole and a rock arch in one, and far quieter than anything east of it.
- Day 4
The Grampians
The escarpment walks, in the order that works with the light.
08:00The Pinnacle
A rock platform over the whole Fyans valley, and the walk in goes through a slot canyon.
From Sundial car park it is about 4 km return and easy; from Halls Gap it is 9 km and it is not.
13:00MacKenzie Falls
One of the few Victorian falls that runs all year.
The descent to the base is steep and stepped; the Bluff lookout is flat if you would rather not.
18:00Boroka Lookout
Faces east over Halls Gap and Lake Bellfield, and it is a five-minute walk from the car.
- Day 5
Back to Melbourne
South through Dunkeld, then the inland highway.
09:00Mount Sturgeon and Dunkeld
The southern end of the range rises straight out of flat farmland, which is the clearest view of what the Grampians actually are.
Questions
- How long is the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians itinerary?
- The Great Ocean Road and the Grampians itinerary runs 5 days and covers 12 stops across Melbourne, Port Campbell, Halls Gap.
- When is the best time to do the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians itinerary?
- Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec is the best window for the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians itinerary.
- What happens on day one of the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians itinerary?
- Day one is out of melbourne: Pick up the car, join the road at Torquay, stop early and often.
Sources
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