Port Campbell is a small coastal town of Victoria's southwest, set into a narrow gap in the limestone cliffs and facing the wild Southern Ocean. It is the base for the most famous part of the Great Ocean Road, and its little harbour and beach are protected by a headland, so the town feels sheltered while the coastline on both sides is raw. The nearest bigger places, Timboon and Cobden, are inland and a long way off in the paddocks, so the town has to serve everyone who comes along the coast with fuel, food and a bed.
The sea has been carving this coast for millions of years. The soft limestone stands in cliffs of sixty metres or so, and the waves cut caves, arches and stacks, of which the Twelve Apostles, about twelve kilometres east, are the best known. They are fewer than twelve now, as stacks fall every few decades. The collapse of London Bridge in 1990, a double-arched rock formation, left two tourists stranded on the outer part and rescued by helicopter. Nearby, Loch Ard Gorge is named after a clipper that wrecked here in 1878, when two young survivors, Tom Pearce and Eva Carmichael, were washed into the gorge and lived. The coast was feared by sailors and is called the Shipwreck Coast.
For a rider, the road is as good as the scenery and not as simple as it looks. The Great Ocean Road was built by returned soldiers after the First World War and dedicated as a memorial to those who died, and it winds along the cliff tops with long views and broad bends. Here the road is straighter than the section further east near Lorne, and wind is the main trouble, as the Southern Ocean blows hard and cold, sometimes sideways. Rain showers come fast and the weather can change within an hour, so carry a layer even in summer. Tourist coaches and camper vans are common near the Apostles, and speed limits are strictly enforced.
The best time to ride is early morning or late afternoon, when the light turns the cliffs gold and the crowds thin. Winter has a drama of its own, with big seas, but the air is cold. Port Campbell has a fuel station, a bakery and fish and chips on the foreshore, and it is a good place to refuel before riding on toward Warrnambool.