Great Ocean Road – Lorne, Apollo Bay, Cape Otway

By Joy, on 25/10/2010 |

The Great Ocean Road is a 243-kilometre (151 mi) stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool. The road was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and is the world’s largest war memorial; dedicated to casualties of World War I.

Set between the sparkling waters of Loutit Bay and beautiful forests of the Otway Ranges, Lorne has a special charm. The town was called Louttit Bay after Captain Louttit, who transported timber on a small ketch “Apollo” and knew the coastline well. It was only renamed “Lorne” after the Marquis of Lorne, in 1870.

There were sulphur crested white cockatoos all over the beach.

Teddy’s Lookout is one of the best along the road. It provides stunning vistas from its platform high above the coast where the St George River empties into a small cove. Off the Great Ocean Road, at the end of George Street, it is a short walk through the bush from the car park.

The view from Teddy’s Lookout…

We couldn’t help but stop to admire the mossy rocks and natural rock formations at a cove near Carisbrook Creek bridge. I got a little trigger happy and took some artistic shots of rock pools and puddles from ground level.

Apollo Bay is midway along the majestic Great Ocean Road in the shelter of Cape Otway and on the lowest slopes of the beautiful Otway ranges. We stopped here for dinner and stayed overnight at Picnics B&B, a residential home that converted it’s backyard into 2 little cottages.

Takeaway fish and chips dinner at Apollo Bay Seafood Cafe…

We ate at the beach. I had calamari – it wasn’t good :|

On the way into Cape Otway Lightstation, we spotted more than a dozen Koalas in trees and along the road. Koalas sleep most of the day, but we were lucky to see this mother and baby just before they went into the bushes.

Cape Otway Lightstation is the oldest, surviving lighthouse in mainland Australia. The light, which has been in continuous operation since 1848, is perched on towering sea cliffs where Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean collide. For thousands of immigrants, after many months at sea, Cape Otway was their first sight of land after leaving Europe.

The Telegraph Station was built in 1859 and housed operators, their families and the telegraph operations rooms. The submarine cable failed within six months of the station opening. Soon the grand Italian villa-style house was turned into a Lloyd’s Signal Station – responsible for telegraphing to Melbourne the details of all vessels passing Cape Otway. The Telegraph Station has recently been refurbished and houses the story of the station and its people. The Cape Otway Signal Station and Flagstaff were used to communicate with ships using signal flags.

We got a chance to climb to the top of the lighthouse and stand atop the ancient lighthouse, soaking up the magnificent views of the coast. The white structure below is the current working beacon.