The Great Ocean Road

Our Van, my Board.

Literally itching to get on the road, soaking up the countryside, fresh air and most importantly the sea, we went to pick up the van. So Wicked Campers were the company of choice, mainly due to value for money but I’d be lying if I said their decorated vans weren’t part of the appeal. We almost ate our words when the first van we saw parked up had something that was a little on the conrovercial side for our own cultures. We were blessed though and drove off in the inoffensive but very basic camper van.

We had no plans apart from to follow the long scenic road and find some surf en route. No plans is great to a point, we hadn’t quite anticipated freezing through the night, having no battery for our devices so unable to plan our next stop whilst on the road. We hit Torquay first and stocked up on supplies and stumbled upon a fete/festival, slept in Surf Beach car park, picked up a board and a few wetsuits. All fine until we woke up the next morning and discovered we had a dead battery. Jump leads completely defunct we roped in a friendly local to give us a hand, but no joy. The massively patronising but nice RACV man paid us a visit and we were off again.

We spent a little time and surfing in Lorne. Then made our way to a campsite in a national park by Appolo Bay. Highlight of this drive were the kangaroos and parrots. Sadly the death toll started to overtake the number of live animals though. It seems that Kangaroo and Possom roadkill is pretty common. After hours of driving we were lucky to stumble upon some fellow campers, who invited us to join them for beers around the campfire. They numbed the pain slightly for another bracingly cold night but woke the next day feeling chilled to the bone and sleep deprived and a tiny bit starving as cooking on the one ring camping stove isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. A quick stop off at the absolutely stunning Johanna Beach (it had to be done), to check out the surf. The waves were huge but absolute chaos, so we moved on. We cheated and filled our boots at a nearby cafe – morale massively boosted once full of food, we decided booking into a place for the night near the 12 Apostles was essential. It was worth it to watch the kangaroos playing in the fields and just down the road we saw Koalas too!

My beach.

Johanna Beach.

12 Apostles… well some of them.

The drive is undeniably beautiful, with stunning landscapes and deserted beaches all the way. Quaint seaside towns scattered across the route and famous surf points like Bells Beach of Point Break fame to explore.

See that lump? Well that’s a Koala.

Great Ocean Road – tick!