Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD 573
VISITOR INFORMATION Most places along the route have their own information
centers. If you’re coming from Melbourne, stop at the Geelong & Great
Ocean Road Visitors Centre, Stead Park, Princess Highway, Geelong, VIC 3220
(&/fax 03/5275 5797; www.greatoceanrd.org.au). You can book accommodations
here, which you should do in advance, especially in summer. There’s also
a visitor center at the National Wool Museum, 26 Moorabool St., Geelong
(& 1800/620 888 in Australia, or 03/5222 2900).
Along the route, the Port Campbell Visitor Information Centre, at Port
Campbell National Park, Morris Street, Port Campbell, VIC 3269 (& 03/5598
6382), is also a good place to pick up brochures. It has some interesting displays
and an audio-visual show of the area, and also acts as a hotel booking service for
the area. It’s open from 9am to 5pm daily.
If you’re approaching from the north, visit the Camperdown Visitor Information
Centre, “Court House,” Manifold Street, Princes Highway, Camperdown
(& 03/5593 3390). It’s open Monday through Friday from 9:30am to
5pm, Saturday from 9:30am to 4pm, and Sunday from 11am to 4pm.
EXPLORING THE COASTAL ROAD
Along the route you might want to stop off at Torquay, a township dedicated to
surfing. The main surf beach here is much nicer than the one farther down the
coast in Lorne. While in Torquay, check out Surfworld Museum, Surfcity Plaza,
Beach Road, West Torquay (& 03/5261 4606), which has interactive exhibits
dealing with surfboard design and surfing history, and video of the world’s best
surfers. Admission is A$6.50 (US$4.20) for adults, A$4.50 (US$2.90) for children,
and A$18 (US$11) for families. Bells Beach, just down the road, is worldfamous
in surfing circles for its perfect waves.
Lorne has some nice boutiques and is a good place to stop off for lunch or stay
the night. The stretch from Lorne to Apollo Bay is one of the most spectacular
sections of the route, as the road narrows and twists and turns along a cliff edge
with the ocean on the other side. Apollo Bay is a pleasant town that was once a
whaling station. It has good sandy beaches and is more low-key than Lorne.
Next, you come to the Angahook-Lorne State Park, which protects most of
the coastal section of the Otway Ranges from Aireys Inlet, south of Anglesea, to
Kennett River. It has plenty of well-marked rainforest walks and picnic areas at
Shelly Beach, Elliot River, and Blanket Bay. There’s plenty of wildlife around.
About 13km (8 miles) past Apollo Bay, just off the main road, you can take
a stroll through the rainforest on the Maits Rest Rainforest Boardwalk. A little
farther along the main road, an unpaved road leads north past Hopetoun
Falls and Beauchamp Falls to the settlement of Beech Forest. Seven kilometers
(4 1 ⁄3 miles) farther along the main road another unpaved road heads off south
for 15km (9 1 ⁄3 miles) to a windswept headland and the Cape Otway Lighthouse.
Built by convicts in 1848, the 100m (328-ft.) tall lighthouse is open to
tourists daily. Admission is A$6.50 (US$4.20) for adults and A$3.50 (US$2.30)
for children. It’s open daily from 9am to 5pm. Ask about guided tours.
Back on the main road again, your route heads inland through an area
known as Horden Vale, before running to the sea at Glenaire—there’s good
surfing and camping at Johanna, 6km (3 3 ⁄4 miles) north of here. Then the
Great Ocean Road heads north again to Lavers Hill, a former timber town. Five
kilometers (3 miles) southwest of Lavers Hill is the small Melba Gully State
Park, where you can spot glowworms at night and walk along routes of rainforest
ferns. Keep an eye out for one of the last giant gum trees that escaped the