Great Ocean Road & The Grampians 2 day tour

I had a great time touring along the Great Ocean Road and visiting The Grampians on a 2 day/1night tour with Wildlife Tours.  The Great Ocean Road is described as one of the most beautiful coastal drives in the world and I would agree with that. Around each bend is another amazing view. In contrast, not far away are The Grampians and they are spectacular as well. You get to walk in ancient rainforests, stop at lookouts with great views of Victoria Valley and ranges and of course see the famous Balconies which feature in every photo of the Grampians. The waterfalls in this area are beautiful and some of the largest in Victoria.

It is an early start from Melbourne, it needs to be to fit all this amazing scenery in. The one thing which surprised me was the diversity in the landscape, and it seemed to change with every turn in the road. Anything from open fields, rainforests, cliffs and beaches.

Along the GOR you have either Bass Strait or the Southern Ocean roaring away, wave after wave causing the erosion which has created this spectacular drive.

The GOR is the world’s largest war memorial, having been built by returns soldiers. It is located between Aireys Inlet and Lorne.

Along the way you pass many little seaside towns looking like nothing has changed for decades. They are so delightful. It is frustrating that we can’t stop at every place to explore their hidden gems. To do that would take days! We stopped at Anglesea for our morning tea break, sipping coffee and gazing out to sea.

Another perfect spot to stretch our legs was at Kennett River where koalas are found. It was fun seeing who spotted them first. Koalas sleep up to 22 hours a day so it is not hard to see them perched up in the branches.

Passing through Lorne we learn it is one of the most popular holiday destinations along the GOR. There is plenty of choice for accommodation & restaurants to suit everyone. Apollo Bay, another important stop along the GOR is an ideal place to start exploring the Great Otway National Park.

After our lunch stop at Apollo Bay we head off for our 30 minute walk into the national park. It was amazing to see such magnificent old trees and ferns in the rainforest. Even though the walk was short you certainly got the feel of the park. It was raining at the time so we had the added bonus of the smell of the rain forest. Waterfalls and lakes are also found in the park.

Back onboard the excitement is growing as the 12 Apostles are not far away. It has been a wish of mine for a very long time to visit them. Wow, oh my god, & how amazing are just some of the squeals of delight heard in the bus at first glimpse of them.

As soon as the bus stops it is a mad dash for me to the helipad as I had pre-booked a flight over the 12 Apostles. I do have to fess up now that the weather was terrible, really heavy rain however the flight was going and so was I! Even with the heavy fog and rain the sight of the 12 Apostles exceeded my expectations. I was surprised at the colour of the rocks creating the shoreline, they were simply spectacular. The flight is 15 minutes from takeoff to landing and an experience not to be missed.

Once back on the ground it was off to the viewing platforms to see them from another angle. They are quite mesmerizing. I would have loved to have climbed down the Gibson’s Steps to the beach where you can see some of the Apostles from that angle however time didn’t permit. Next time!

Even though the 12 Apostles are the highlight there are other wonderful land formations to see just nearby. Lorde Ard Gorge was our next stopped and I loved it. There is a climb down to the beach and to be surrounded by the beautiful coloured limestone & sandstone rocks was truly special.

London Bridge is on another iconic rock formation thanks to nature taking its course. A part of London Bridge has fallen down just like the nursery rhyme! Once again, the colours had me transfixed. I can only image the colours on a sunny day as they were still amazing on a wet day! It goes to show that this part of the world is beautiful in any season!

Now we were racing against the light, being winter and wet, we had to move fast! Our guide wanted us to see it all! One minute away is the Grotto. It is basically a sinkhole. We saw it at low tide so had a little pool of water and then you look through it to see the great Southern Ocean! I had fun doing a little trick photography there!

Quick, quick, was the call of our guide, off to the Bay of Martyrs. Another wonderful sight, rock formations popping out of the sea. We never made it to the Bay of Islands, but it is also similar, some say this stretch of the coast is a mini version of the 12 Apostles!

After driving approximately 2 hours we reached Halls Gap where a warm shower, dry clothes and a bed were waiting!

The day I was so looking forward to in my life was now over and boy it did not disappoint! Yes, it would have been better on a sunny day, did I feel cheated because it was raining? No just challenged!

Up very early and off to see sunrise in the Grampians, well that was the idea. We all had our fingers crossed for the rain and fog to have gone but that was not the case! As you can see from my photos the visibility on this day was not very good! We went to Reeds Lookout to look over the entire Victoria Valley and ranges at sunrise, thankfully our guide had some great photos on his iPhone taken a few days earlier, so we just used our imaginations!

Not to be deterred we set off for the 2 kilometer hike to the famous Balconies. These rocks stick out from the mountain and look like balconies, you see them in all the phots of the Grampians. We could just see them but nothing else! Another look at the IPhone brought us up to speed with the view.

Next stop of the day was MacKenzie Falls, considered one of the largest waterfalls in Victoria. You will find water in them all year round. The climb can be a little tricky in the wet as the path to the bottom is made up of steps and rocks which get a little slippery. Looking back at the falls from the bed is quite spectacular and the sound of the waterfalls is so calming. It is hard to start the walk back to the top!

Due to the weather we headed back to Halls Gap to play with the kangaroos on the oval. This kept us entertained! One of the funniest things I say was one of my tour buddies trying to take a selfie with a kangaroo, but the kangaroo had other ideas and kept hopping away! You really had to be there to see how funny it was.

We visited the Brambuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre located here as well and learnt more about the area and stocked up on some souvenirs. Everywhere you go everyone is so friendly.

We couldn’t put off the start of our trip back to Melbourne any longer. However we had one final stop which was to view some Aboriginal artwork and learnt the stories associated with them.

This 2 day/1night was a perfect way to see the 12 Apostles and the Grampians. This area has so much to see and even in just 2 days you get a great idea on the amazing beauty of the area.