From Aireys Inlet to Apollo Bay, the original Great Ocean Road is a tempting mix of natural wonders and nostalgic attractions.
Many war memorials become tourist sights, but none is as big or as beautiful as the Great Ocean Road, running along the southern coast of Victoria. The original stretch was built after World War I by returned servicemen to link Aireys Inlet with Lorne, before being extended to Apollo Bay. It took 3000 men 13 years to build, simultaneously an employment project, a tribute to those who had served their country and a lifeline for small coastal towns previously accessible only by boat or cart. The aim was to build a road whose beauty would make it one of the world’s great coastal drives. Today the road extends past the majestic Twelve Apostles to Warrnambool.
The first fundraising brochure envisaged “visitors could spend some weeks moving from one seaside town to another”. These days the trip, a must-do from Melbourne, is often only a scenic day’s drive, even with photography stops. There’s plenty to snap as the old road snakes between the rocky coast and the forests of the Otway Ranges. This is a rare glimpse of wild, uncultivated country, punctuated by beaches, coves and seaside towns, each with its own identity, its own mood.
From Melbourne, the approach to the Great Ocean Road is via Geelong, about an hour’s drive. Then it’s a half-hour straight run to Anglesea, the first of the coastal towns, small and well established with a wide safe beach and, among other attractions, a golf course that has visiting kangaroos. The road twists its way towards Aireys Inlet and its red-capped lighthouse. From the ocean, the tower’s distinctive signal – four flashes in 20 seconds – is a welcome beacon at night. Built in 1891, it is known locally as the White Queen because of its similarity to the chess piece. The official name is Split Point Lighthouse, not because of the monolithic rock in the ocean at its base, but because of the curious way the weather always seems to split around there: the rain going towards the Otways, say, but not back towards Anglesea.
The lighthouse is now open to the public. Beautifully maintained and never out of service, the structure was designed by a company in Birmingham, England. Even the decorative iron staircase came from Birmingham and was put together like a giant Lego set. The climb is steep but, from the viewing platform, the splendid panorama of Painkalac Creek, ancient Otways forest, heathland and ocean awaits.
Be guided by that historic first brochure and spend time exploring the area. Rent a holiday cottage and use it as a base for bushwalking, coastal exploring, swimming, surfing, birdwatching or picnicking. For me, the best times are spring and autumn, but I also have a soft spot for the wildness of winter. Summer is bumper-to-bumper cars and buses.
Normally quiet and peaceful, Aireys Inlet gets busy in summer. It used to be holiday territory for Melbourne University academics and artists, perhaps because it was much more affordable than the Mornington Peninsula. According to Kosta and Pam Talihmanidis, who own A La Grecque restaurant, Aireys is much the same as it always was: “arty and educated, very low-key”.
Greek-born Talihmanidis ran his first restaurant, Kosta’s, at Lorne for 27 years. A few years ago, he and Pam decided it was time to find a new venture. They took a year off looking at other areas and around Australia. “For a couple of days, everything looks beautiful,” Talihmanidis says. But they came back to the Great Ocean Road. Everyone does.
From Aireys the road heads to the surfing beach of Fairhaven, then Moggs Creek. There are walking tracks, including a nine-kilometre walk from Aireys to Moggs that goes through bushland and ends in the forest picnic ground. A short drive away is the flat stretch of Eastern View beach, where the original section of the Great Ocean Road started. An informal arch marks the point where the road to Lorne was opened in 1922. In theory, it takes about 15 minutes to drive from this spot to Lorne. In practice, it’s usually longer because of all the lookout spots requiring investigation.
Lorne is the big tourist centre and the main stopping point along the road. For decades its surfing beach was the township’s main attraction.
John Anderson, who owns holiday units at Aireys Inlet, remembers what it was like: “You’d come down and it’d be grey, but the sun shone on Lorne. There was great surfing.”
The surf is still there, of course, but modern development has added big hotels and apartment buildings, a dozen shops selling surfing gear, even glossy homeware stores. The town is now an engaging combination of luxurious, low-cost and earnestly environmental.
Some of the best food shopping is to found at Lorne Greens, a dimly lit, old-fashioned store near the camping ground at Erskine River. At dusk, the best spot is a window table at Mark’s Restaurant on the main street, watching the sky and sea merge and lighten to silver as the sun sets. Mark Purdie, who opened the restaurant 13 years ago, loves the seasonality of the resort, the way it moves from summer frenzy to winter quiet. He also loves the buzz of tourists from all over the world. “Some nights here it’s like the UN,” he says.
For him, no amount of development can change the attractions of Lorne: “the beach and the bush”. The bush is close by, perfect for walking along defined tracks through the Otways, or attending a residential art school at Qdos Art Gallery, where kangaroos often gather in the car park at dusk. Bushfires are the main danger to the forest. The last major one was in 1983, when Ash Wednesday turned trees to ashes and melted houses. Regeneration since then has been extraordinary.
The best drive is the 35-minute stretch from Lorne to Apollo Bay, which hugs the ocean. The towns beyond Lorne, many named for their freshwater source – Wye River, Kennett River – are often quite modest architecturally. This is surprisingly egalitarian tourist country – the best sites seem to be occupied by caravan parks and pubs. At Wye River, about 20 minutes past Lorne, the pub is situated just above the secluded beach, with million-dollar views along the ocean and forest. Worth the gazing time of at least two beers and maybe a meal.
Apollo Bay, another 30km along the coast, has the solidness of a town set up before tourism. Its traditional industries were farming (from the 1880s), timber and fishing. Southern rock lobster (often called crayfish) and abalone are the main catches, “with a bit of shark fishing thrown in and flathead occasionally”, according to retired fisherman Nick Polgeest. Don’t expect to see too much local catch, though. Most of the crustaceans go to China and most of the abalone to Japan. Some lobsters are available from the fishing co-op, distinguished by a giant sculptural fish from the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. This is a symbol of the Maldives, with whom Apollo Bay has an educational exchange program.
A generation ago, every visitor ate rock lobster at Chris’s restaurant in Apollo Bay. Today the shellfish is considerably more expensive than it was then, and the restaurant is much grander. Chris Talihmanidis (yes, brother of Kosta) moved to Beacon Point, where he built accommodation units and a spacious restaurant on the hilltop site. His restaurant was rebuilt after a fire a couple of years ago and is still one of the best eating places along the coast road. Now in his 70s, Chris no longer does all the cooking, but he’s still first in the kitchen to bake bread in the morning and always greets old friends.
The best way to explore the forest is via the Otway Fly, an elevated walkway through ancient rainforest just inland from Apollo Bay. This is mountain ash, myrtle beech and blackwood country, which has escaped the bushfires that periodically savage other parts of the Otways.
To discover the area at your own pace, check out the walks conducted by tour group Both Feet. Based near Cape Otway, the company offers three-, five- or six-day tours (or tailored to suit) for fitness-conscious gourmets, with medium/strenuous walking, luxurious accommodation and fine meals.
Stay
Beacon Point Ocean View Villas
270 Skenes Creek Road, Apollo Bay.
Overlooking the ocean. Well-appointed kitchen, excellent beds and fireplace for cooler nights.
Butlers Bend
28 Bambra Road, Aireys Inlet.
Two-bedroom villas overlooking farmland and bush. Within walking distance of the pub and A La Grecque.
Surfcoast Spa Resort
105 Great Ocean Road, Anglesea, Victoria, Australia.
One of the larger places to stay in Anglesea. Try a massage.
Eat & Drink
A la Grecque
60 Great Ocean Road, Aireys Inlet.
+61 3 5289 6922.
Contemporary cooking with Greek accents, casual, friendly atmosphere and professional service.
Apollo Bay Fisherman's Co-op
Breakwater Road, Apollo Bay.
+61 3 5237 6591.
The best fresh lobster.
Chris's Beacon Point Restaurant & Villas
280 Skenes Creek Road, Apollo Bay.
+61 3 5237 6411.
The view alone would be worth the journey, but so are the food and wine. Contemporary Australian with Greek influences. Good breakfasts.
Website
Lorne Greens
8 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne.
+61 3 5289 1383.
Near the Erskine River and the camping ground, this is a good place for supplies, including locally grown fruit and vegetables.
Mark's Restaurant
124 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne.
+61 3 5289 2787.
Modern Australian food and an extensive wine list against a backdrop of red walls and bold paintings.
Website
Qdos Art Gallery, Cafe & Treehouse
35 Allenvale Road, Lorne.
+61 3 5289 1989.
Great breakfasts and lunches, ideal for those staying in the Japanese-influenced “tree house” units perched in the bush.
Website
Rookery Nook Hotel
Great Ocean Road, Wye River.
+61 3 5289 0240.
Great views, good beer and decent food. Fish and chips are always a good bet, but some of the other fish dishes are worth trying.
Website
See & Do
Anglesea Golf Club
Golf Links Road, Anglesea.
+61 3 5263 1582.
Website
Both Feet
Victoria, Australia.
1300 767 416 (Australia only).
Guided tours along the Great Ocean Walk, which starts on the western side of Apollo Bay.
Website
Cumberland River Walk
Access from Cumberland River Reserve, west of Lorne, Victoria, Australia.
Long or short trails through the forest and along the river. Choose according to time and fitness
Erskine Falls
Victoria, Australia.
+61 3 5289 2666.
One of the most popular waterfalls in the Otways, 8.5km from Lorne on Erskine Falls Road. Walks of varying grades of difficulty.
Website
Otway Fly
Victoria, Australia.
1800 300 477 (Toll-free Australia only).
An unbeatable way to see ancient rainforest. Some of the trees here are about 400 years old.
Website
Split Point Lighthouse Tours
Victoria, Australia.
1800 174 045 (Toll-free Australia only).
Website
Source: Qantas The Australian Way September 2007
Updated: July 2008