The Great Ocean Road
For anyone in Melbourne – or heading to Melbourne – the Great Ocean Road seems to be a rather well known tourist destination. I can’t with any honesty say I’ve ever heard of it before I moved here but then again I didn’t research Australia at all before the move. So there you go. Great place for surfers, those who like swimming, and even those who wouldn’t mind hanging out on the beach for a bit with a book – but don’t forget your sunscreen!!
You’re going to need a car, some swimmers, and maybe a couple of snacks for the road. From Melbourne my friend and I took the Road east towards Portland (no, not Oregon) where his parents lived, a convenient stopover for us, before heading back to Melbourne a day or so later. It's a decent stretch of road so it'll take a good 4 hours I'd guess to drive straight through from the beginning to the end of the road.
We started heading up the road and made a quick stopover in Torquay for some lunch at a crepe place called Panache which seems to have a couple of stores scattered around. While the wait for the crepes were a bit long they were quite good. I recommend this place if you’re in Torquay and are in need of a munchie and a cup of coffee.
After that we started hitting up the 4 main sights: the 12 Apostles (why they’re called this even Australians don’t know), the Arch, the Grotto, and the London Bridge. In between there was a lot of gorgeous blue-green beaches not horribly packed with people – some more so than others – so that if one beach looked too busy just drive a bit more and you’ll find another one that’s just as nice. If you’re so inclined you could make this a full day trip with stops at the beaches in between sightseeing.
While we didn’t do much by way of swimming along the road we did see a random road sign for G.O.R.G.E. chocolates. My friend and I are self proclaimed chocoholics so we had to detour back around and find this chocolate shop which turned out to be a small chocolate shop but sadly no café for hot chocolate testing. The guy behind the counter was quite nice and handed away as many free samples as you wanted to try. A nice little detour if you’re so inclined.
So slowly we made out way up to Portland in time for a rather late dinner (or “tea” as it’s referred to here in Oz). And thus ending a nice small day excursion up the coast leaving me with fond memories and some pretty photos.
Happy swimming for those of you that are so inclined to drive this pretty stretch of road.
