I detoured via the Great Ocean Road on my way back from a family holiday in Tasmania driving home to Brisbane.
The day before I had driven from Hobart to Devonport, via Strahan (see story here). I had had a rather sleepless night on the Spirit of Tasmania, and now wanted to get to Warrnambool by the evening.
The Great Ocean Road starts at Torquay. One of the world’s most famous surfing beaches, Bell’s Beach is just west of Torquay and worth taking a detour to visit.
Bells Beach Surfing Recreation Reserve
The top of the stairs leading to Bells Beach — there are a lot of warnings on that sign!
The famous Bells Beach
The Great Ocean Road, while 243 km long from Torquay to Warrnambool, takes surprisingly long to drive. While the road is mostly posted at 80 km/h, there are so many sightseers and twists and turns, that it really will take you longer than you expect to drive! The following sign was west of Anglesea, which is already 20 km into the trip from Torquay.
Sign west of Anglesea — plan your trip
The Great Ocean Road is the world’s biggest war memorial, built by soldiers returned from fighting in Europe and the Middle East in the First World War in honour of their fallen comrades. The Great Ocean Road memorial arch and life-sized bronze monument ‘The Diggers’ is at Eastern View.
Great Ocean Road memorial arch and “The Diggers”
The Great Ocean Road contains many sweeping vistas. The best ones are signified by parking areas to stop and view and take photos.
Panoramic vistas along the Great Ocean Road
The Twelve Apostles are a must-do along the Great Ocean Road. I have dedicated an entire article to the Twelve Apostles. Click here for more photos of the Twelve Apostles.
The Twelve Apostles looking west of the viewing platform
The Twelve Apostles looking east from the viewing platform
The Arch was about 40 minutes down the road from the Twelve Apostles.
The Arch
A further 10 minutes down the road, and London Bridge had fallen down.
London Bridge had fallen down
The Bay of Islands was the final vista on the road that I took a photograph of.
Bay of Islands
My destination was Warrnambool and the Surfside Holiday Park, where I camped for the evening.
My destination for the evening — Warrnambool Surfside Holiday Park
This article is part of my Tasmania road trip — further stories about this road trip can be found by browsing the Tasmania trip tag.