Melbourne · Great Ocean Road and Otway Rainforest
A 329 km loop from Torquay surf coast
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Why this ride
Ocean cliffs, rain forest shade and a proper three-day mood. 329 km round from Torquay - plan on about 5 h 40 of riding. The stops in between: Lorne, Apollo Bay overnight and Twelve Apostles. The coast is the point of it.
Roadbook
- Torquay surf coast
swim
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.
For a rider, the coast road from Torquay to Anglesea is the start of something good rather than the good bit itself. The surface is generally excellent, the corners flow with the dunes and heathland, and the sea shows up and disappears behind coastal scrub in a way that keeps your head turning. Further on, past Aireys Inlet and its lighthouse, the road begins to cling to the cliffs and the traffic begins to compete with the view. Victorian speed limits are enforced firmly and the cameras on busy holiday weekends are not shy, so treat the signed limits as real.
The road itself carries a bit of history. Returned soldiers from the First World War built much of it by hand between 1919 and 1932 as a memorial to those killed, and the arch at Eastern View still carries that spirit. Knowing that makes the unhurried pace slightly easier to accept, especially behind a caravan.
Weather here is the Southern Ocean's business. A warm morning can turn into a cold southwesterly by lunch, and a gusty crosswind on the exposed sections is normal, so wear layers you can adjust. Early starts beat the crowds, and the light on the cliffs around sunrise is lovely. Geelong is about twenty minutes up the road if you need a bigger town, but for most riders Torquay is the place to top the tank, eat something decent and take a look at the surf before pointing the bike south-west.
- Lorne food stop
food
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.
For a rider, Lorne is the natural place to eat. The strip along Mountjoy Parade has bakeries, cafes and fish and chips, and the pier is a good place for a coffee with a view of the bay. There is a fuel station in town, which matters because the road beyond is long, and the nearest other sizeable town back along the coast is Anglesea. Weekends and school holidays are busy, and parking a bike is easier than parking a car, though a sand-covered bay can be tricky underfoot.
The Great Ocean Road itself was built between 1919 and 1932 by returned soldiers from the First World War, as a memorial to those who did not come home. They worked with picks, shovels and wheelbarrows on a cliff face that drops straight into Bass Strait, and you can feel the difficulty in how the road clings to the rock. West of Lorne the bends tighten around Cape Patton, and the sea shows up and vanishes with every corner. Speed limits here are enforced seriously, and tour coaches are slow, so patience is part of the deal.
Inland from the town the Otway rainforest has real depth. Erskine Falls is a short drive away, and the forest holds mountain ash, myrtle beech and ferns that look like they belong in the Jurassic. Koalas sleep in the trees, kookaburras laugh at dawn, and the air smells of wet bark and salt. Early morning is the best time to see the coast before the traffic builds, and autumn is a lovely season when the summer crowds have gone but the weather often stays mild.
- Apollo Bay overnight
sleep
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.
The road itself has a history. The Great Ocean Road was built between 1919 and 1932 by returned soldiers from the First World War, and it was conceived as a memorial to those who died. Much of it was dug by hand and carved from steep cliffs, and the stretch east of Apollo Bay clings to the edge of the Southern Ocean with the limestone formations of the Twelve Apostles still some way to the west. Inland, the Otway rainforest is a surprise, with tall mountain ash, myrtle beech and tree ferns, fed by rainfall that is higher than almost anywhere in Victoria.
For riders, a night here makes sense because the surrounding roads reward time. East toward Lorne, about thirty-six kilometres, the road twists along the cliffs with sea views and sharp bends, and in summer it is slow with tourist traffic and cyclists. West, the road to Cape Otway climbs into the forest and ends at Australia's oldest surviving lighthouse on the mainland, which dates from the 1840s, with koalas often visible in the gum trees along the way. Inland, the climb to Lavers Hill is one of the finest short rides in the state, with tight hairpins in deep shade. The surface can be damp and slippery, and fog is common.
Practically, Apollo Bay has fuel, a supermarket, bakeries and a cluster of pubs and cafes along the beachfront. Accommodation fills quickly in summer and school holidays, so book ahead. Fuel is scarce outside town, so top up before heading west or inland. In the morning, with the sea quiet and the road empty, it is the best time to be out.
- Twelve Apostles
photo
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.
The stacks form because waves cut caves into headlands, the caves become arches, and the arches fall to leave isolated pillars. Eventually the pillars fall too. It is a process that is visible in a lifetime, and this stretch is called the Shipwreck Coast for a reason. A short drive west, Loch Ard Gorge marks the site where the clipper Loch Ard struck the cliffs in 1878, and only two young people survived, Tom Pearce and Eva Carmichael.
For riders, the Apostles are the highlight of the Great Ocean Road, and also its most crowded point. The viewing platforms are reached by a walkway from a big car park, and the midday crowds can be thick with tour buses and selfie sticks. Go at sunrise or an hour before sunset, when the stone glows and the visitors are fewer. The road here is mostly straight and open, running across wind-bent coastal heath, and gusts from the southwest can hit hard on the exposed stretches. A windproof layer is essential even in summer, since the temperature can drop abruptly.
The nearest big services are at Port Campbell, a small seaside village a few kilometres along the coast, while Timboon and Cobden inland are quieter dairy towns that also have fuel. Cobden is known for cheese and Timboon for whisky made at a local distillery. Watch for little penguins, which nest along parts of this coast, and for wildlife on the road at dusk, when wallabies and kangaroos are most active. Let the ocean do the talking.
- Back to Torquay
finish
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.
Coming back to Torquay at the end of a day on the coast is a pleasant thing. The town has everything a rider needs: fuel at several stations, supermarkets, cafes, and motels and holiday flats in all sizes. Its main street has surf shops and bakeries, and the esplanade lets you wander along the beach with a coffee and watch the surfers in their wetsuits. Jan Juc, a few kilometres away, is another surfing village that is quieter and more residential.
The riding into Torquay depends on the direction you travel. From Anglesea the road runs through low coastal scrub and heath, with the sea on one side and a few breaks in the vegetation where beaches appear. It is a fine road on a good day, but the traffic is thick at weekends, and the surface can be sandy where drifts cross it. Coming from Melbourne, the main road passes Geelong and the long suburban fringe, which is not exciting but is fast. The key is to avoid peak traffic on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons.
Weather is changeable, as in all of Victoria, and the wind is a factor. The water is cold, even in summer, and the surf breaks come from big Southern Ocean swells. Sunset over the bay, with the light turning pink on the cliffs, makes a decent end to a ride. Have a meal, take the gear off and leave the road until tomorrow.