Why this ride
302 km from Apollo Bay to Torquay, about 5 h 05 of riding. On the way it passes Twelve Apostles, Port Campbell, back through Twelve Apostles and back through Cape Otway.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Great Ocean Road · Apollo Bay Run · part 3
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 302 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 05
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Great Ocean Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 33 km this is Great Ocean Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 33 km
- High point
- 80 m
- Named road
- Great Ocean Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Cape Otway
The lighthouse at Cape Otway has been guiding ships through Bass Strait since 1848, and it is the oldest surviving lighthouse on the Australian mainland. The cape is the point where the Otway Ranges meet the sea, and it is where the Southern Ocean and Bass Strait collide, which makes the water among the roughest in the world. Hundreds of ships were wrecked along this stretch, and the lighthouse was built because too many had gone down with their cargo and crew.
Read the complete Cape Otway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cape Otway is where the day begins. Next is Twelve Apostles.
2. Twelve Apostles
Everyone calls them the Twelve Apostles, which is generous. There were never twelve, and the original name was the Sow and Piglets, a rather less holy image that tourism officials decided to retire. Today about eight limestone stacks stand in the surf off Port Campbell National Park, and one collapsed in 2005 in front of a crowd of onlookers. The cliffs are made of soft limestone, and the Southern Ocean is working on them constantly, so the view is never the same twice.
Read the complete Twelve Apostles write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Twelve Apostles comes up about 77 km into the recorded legs. Next is Port Campbell.
3. Port Campbell
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.
Read the complete Port Campbell write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 89 km into the recorded legs you reach Port Campbell. Next is back through Twelve Apostles.
4. back through Twelve Apostles
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Twelve Apostles write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Twelve Apostles, about halfway at 60 m. Next is back through Cape Otway.
5. back through Cape Otway
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cape Otway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cape Otway sits at 138 km, about halfway. Next is back through Apollo Bay.
6. back through Apollo Bay
Apollo Bay is where the Great Ocean Road stops being a headline and starts being a town. It sits in a curve of bay on the south coast of Victoria, with the forested Otway Ranges standing directly behind and Bass Strait rolling in from the front. A population of about fifteen hundred swells in summer when holidaymakers arrive, and you notice the change in how busy the main street and the foreshore are.
Read the complete Apollo Bay write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Apollo Bay comes up about 211 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Lorne.
7. back through Lorne
Lorne is where the Great Ocean Road stops being a seaside drive and starts behaving like a mountain road. The town sits on Louttit Bay with the Otway Ranges standing right behind it, steep and thick with eucalypt, tree ferns and the odd waterfall. About twelve hundred people live here, a number that swells enormously in the Australian summer holidays, when Melbourne decamps to the beach and the main street fills with surfboards and ice cream.
Read the complete Lorne write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 256 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Lorne. Next is Torquay.
8. Torquay
Torquay is where the Great Ocean Road begins, or ends, depending on which way you ride. It is a town of about thirteen thousand people on the edge of Bass Strait, and it has a reputation that has little to do with motorcycles: this is the capital of Australian surfing. Bells Beach, a few minutes down the coast, hosts one of the world's oldest surf competitions, held every Easter, and the town gave birth to brands such as Rip Curl and Quiksilver that have since gone global. Surf World, the museum in town, tells the story with boards, photographs and a lot of sun-bleached nostalgia.
Read the complete Torquay write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Torquay. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Cape Otway to Twelve Apostles
Cape Otway → Twelve Apostles is 77 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Twelve Apostles to Port Campbell
Twelve Apostles → Port Campbell is 12 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Port Campbell to back through Twelve Apostles
Port Campbell → back through Twelve Apostles is 12 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Twelve Apostles to back through Cape Otway
back through Twelve Apostles → back through Cape Otway is 77 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cape Otway to back through Apollo Bay
back through Cape Otway → back through Apollo Bay is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Apollo Bay to back through Lorne
back through Apollo Bay → back through Lorne is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Lorne to Torquay
back through Lorne → Torquay is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.