Why this ride
Out of Torquay and back again: 755 km, roughly 12 h 50 in the saddle. The stops in between: Lorne, Apollo Bay overnight, Twelve Apostles and Apollo Bay. The coast is the point of it.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Melbourne · Great Ocean Road and Otway Rainforest + Great Ocean Road · Apollo Bay Run
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 755 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 12 h 50
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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
Torquay surf coast → Lorne food stop
Water arrives beside the road and stays for 52 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go — slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 52 km
Great Ocean Road
For 24 km this is Great Ocean Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it. Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 24 km
- High point
- 80 m
- Named road
- Great Ocean Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Torquay surf coast
Torquay is where the Great Ocean Road really begins, even though the famous arch and the signage are a little further down the coast. This is surf town in the proper sense: Bells Beach is a few minutes away, the Easter surf contest there is one of the oldest in the world, and brands like Rip Curl and Quiksilver grew out of garages and sheds in this exact patch of Victoria. With around thirteen thousand residents it is a proper town, not a village, so fuel, coffee, bakeries and a good supply of wetsuit shops are all right here.
Read the complete Torquay surf coast write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Torquay surf coast is where the day begins. Next is Lorne food stop.
2. Lorne food stop
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
Lorne food stop is where this day stops to eat. Next is Apollo Bay overnight.
3. Apollo Bay overnight
Apollo Bay is where the Great Ocean Road takes a breath. The town sits in a curve of the Otway coast, with a long beach on one side and the wooded Otway Ranges stacked up behind, and it has about fifteen hundred permanent residents, many more in holiday season. It began as a timber and fishing settlement, and the working harbour is still there, with a fishermen's co-operative selling fresh seafood. After a day on the coast road, with its endless bends, it is a relief to stop somewhere that feels like a normal town.
Read the complete Apollo Bay overnight write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
95 km in you reach Apollo Bay overnight. Next is Twelve Apostles.
4. 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, early in the day. Next is Back to Torquay.
5. Back to 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
Back at Back to Torquay. That is the ride. Next is Torquay.
6. Torquay
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
The day opens at Torquay. Next is Lorne.
7. Lorne
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
A break here. Next is Apollo Bay.
8. 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
A pump at 334 km in. Next is Cape Otway.
9. 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 sits at 382 km, about halfway.
10. 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
Twelve Apostles comes up 430 km in. Next is Port Campbell.
11. 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
477 km in you reach Port Campbell. Next is back through Twelve Apostles.
12. 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, late in the day at 60 m. Next is back through Cape Otway.
13. 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 573 km, late in the day. Next is back through Apollo Bay.
14. back through Apollo Bay
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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 621 km in. Next is back through Lorne.
15. back through Lorne
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
668 km in you reach back through Lorne.
16. Torquay
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
Torquay closes the day.
Leg by leg
Torquay surf coast to Lorne food stop
Torquay surf coast → Lorne food stop is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lorne food stop to Apollo Bay overnight
Lorne food stop → Apollo Bay overnight is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Apollo Bay overnight to Twelve Apostles
Apollo Bay overnight → Twelve Apostles is 69 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Twelve Apostles to Back to Torquay
Twelve Apostles → Back to Torquay is 154 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Torquay to Lorne
Torquay → Lorne is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lorne to Apollo Bay
Lorne → Apollo Bay is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Apollo Bay to Cape Otway
Apollo Bay → Cape Otway is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cape Otway to Twelve Apostles
Cape Otway → Twelve Apostles is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Twelve Apostles to Port Campbell
Twelve Apostles → Port Campbell is 15 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Port Campbell to back through Twelve Apostles
Port Campbell → back through Twelve Apostles is 15 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 56 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 24 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 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Lorne to Torquay
back through Lorne → Torquay is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Great Ocean Road · Apollo Bay Run · part 3 · 302 km
- Great Ocean Road: Torquay to Twelve Apostles · 202 km
- Great Ocean Road · Apollo Bay Run · 426 km
- Great Ocean Road (185 km) · 250 km