GREAT OCEAN ROAD: TWO DAY TRIP ITINERARY

When visiting Australia, the Great Ocean Road is a must! The final destination is the 12 Apostles which is absolutely breathtaking, but I would argue that the journey there is just as exciting and interesting. You could spread this trip out over a few extra days, however we felt like we got to see everything we wanted with some time to relax during our two day journey. From checking out some gorgeous beaches, hiking to a waterfall, spotting koalas and more - you will get a true Australian experience during this trek.

We left Melbourne at 10 AM and our first destination was Bell's Beach. The drive from Melbs to Bells Beach is about an hour and a half, so it's a great place to stop off and stretch your legs. This beach is stunning and it's home to the world's longest running surfing competition. You don't want to spend too much time here as there is a lot to see at future stops, however definitely stop and enjoy the view for 30 mins. or so.

- Lindsey Farrah

Next we headed to Point Addis. This is only 10 minutes away however it gives you a different perspective of the coast line and also offers some great views of surfers in action. Again, make this a quicker stop, max 30 mins if possible.

After having my fill of a delicious iced coffee and an organic, tasty sandwich- I decided it was time for us to do some physical activity. So, we drove about 20 minutes into the Great Otway National Park and we hiked to see the Erskine Falls.While this wasn't the most spectacular waterfall i've seen, it was well worth the stop and it was nice to get out of the car and do a small hike to break up the hours of sitting in the car. 

 I definitely recommend stopping here and taking in a different view than everything else you will see on this day.

One thing that I absolutely love seeing is a wild Koala. No matter how many times I spot them, I feel just as excited as the time I first ever spotted a wild Koala on Magnetic Island. I had read online that several people had luck spotting them at Kennett River Holiday Park, so we drove about 40 minutes to check it out. As soon as we pulled off and parked, we saw a Koala in the second tree in! He was so adorable! A bonus that we didn't expect was that there were tons of wild parrots here. Like the cockatoos we saw earlier, they came to us for some bird seed and they were happy to land on us for some food. They were absolutely gorgeous birds. While we were amongst the birds and the koala, we looked up the hill ahead of us and saw a kangaroo hopping down the hill! This little stop turned out to be one of the most magical destinations we had the pleasure of stopping at during our trip.

As we neared 6 PM, it was time to head to our final destination for the day, Apollo Bay. We wanted to arrive before dark, as driving on the Great Ocean Road at night can be a bit dangerous due to the windy road. We drove for 30 minutes and arrived at Apollo Bay. I hadn't read much about this town and didn't know what to expect, and it turned out to be a very special place. This small town is filled with a stunning beach, friendly people, and some great hidden food gems. 

We found an AirBnB online that was an old post office converted into a two bedroom apartment. It was the perfect place for us for a night. We ran to the local grocer and picked up some food and had a BBQ. We spent the final hours of the night walking around the town and taking in the stunning coastline.

We kicked off this day with nothing other than a caffeine fix and some brekky at Hello Coffee. I had read about this craft coffee roaster online and it seemed like a place I absolutely had to check out. We drove about 5 minutes inland to get to this spot, and at first we thought we were in the wrong locaiton as this small shop is located in an industrial park. However, don't let this scare you off as they served up some of the best coffee & brekky I've had in a while. They are located in an industrial park because they roast all of their beans in house, daily. Yum!

Our next destinations were London Bridge, and then the Arch. These formations are beautiful but not as stunning as our first two stops, so we only spent about 30 minutes at each of these.