Great Ocean Road 3-day itinerary

Begin the Great Ocean Road at Torquay — Australia's surf capital — and drive to Bells Beach, home of the world's longest-running surf competition. The clifftop lookout overlooks the powerful reef break where the biggest swells in Victoria roll in from the Southern Ocean. Even if you don't surf, watching the local chargers tackle the heavy waves is mesmerizing. Continue along the coast past Anglesea, where kangaroos graze on the golf course fairways, to the artist town of Lorne for a coffee stop on the main street.

Turn inland from the coast into the Great Otway National Park — ancient temperate rainforest draped in ferns, moss, and towering mountain ash trees. The Otway Fly Treetop Adventures is a 600-metre elevated walkway through the canopy, reaching 25 metres above the forest floor, with a 47-metre spiral lookout tower that rises above the treetops for panoramic views over the Otway Ranges to the coast. The forest floor below is carpeted in tree ferns and intersected by crystal-clear streams.

Continue to Apollo Bay — a relaxed coastal town sheltered by rolling green hills on one side and a sweeping bay on the other. Walk the harbour breakwall for sunset views and watch the fishing boats return with the day's catch. Dinner at one of the main street restaurants — Apollo Bay Seafood Cafe serves excellent locally caught fish. The town is small and quiet in the evening — perfect for an early night before a big day of coastal scenery tomorrow.

Drive west from Apollo Bay as the sun rises, along the most dramatic section of the Great Ocean Road. The road climbs away from the coast through the Otway Ranges before descending to the open coastline at Princetown. Arrive at the Twelve Apostles in early morning light — the limestone stacks glow gold and orange as the sun rises behind you, casting long shadows across the cliff face. The viewing platforms stretch along the clifftop with multiple angles on the formations. There were originally nine stacks — one collapsed in 2005.

Walk down the steep steps into Loch Ard Gorge — a narrow sea-carved inlet with turquoise water and towering cliff walls. The gorge is named after the iron clipper Loch Ard that struck the reef in 1878; only 2 of 54 passengers survived. The interpretive signs tell the harrowing story of the wreck and the teenage survivors. Continue west along the Great Ocean Road to visit London Arch, the Razorback, and the Grotto — each formation more dramatically eroded than the last. The Shipwreck Coast has claimed over 700 vessels.

On the drive back to Apollo Bay, stop along the Kennett River Koala Walk — a short road that winds up a valley where wild koalas sit in the eucalyptus trees overhead. Look up into the forks of the manna gum trees and you will almost certainly spot the grey furballs wedged into branches, sleeping or chewing leaves. King parrots and crimson rosellas feed from hands at the roadside. Watch the sunset from the Apollo Bay harbour or Cape Otway lighthouse — the oldest surviving lighthouse on the Australian mainland.

Drive to Cape Otway Lightstation — the oldest surviving lighthouse on the Australian mainland, built in 1848 at the point where the Southern Ocean meets Bass Strait. The lighthouse was the first sight of land for millions of immigrants arriving by ship from Europe. Climb the tower for 360-degree ocean views and explore the telegraph station, the WWII radar bunker, and the shipwreck information centre. The drive to Cape Otway passes through dense eucalyptus forest with some of the highest koala densities in Australia — look up as you drive.

Head inland into the Otway Ranges to visit the waterfalls hidden in the cool temperate rainforest. Hopetoun Falls is a 30-metre cascade in a fern-filled gorge reached by a short boardwalk through dense forest. Nearby Beauchamp Falls drops 20 metres into a mossy amphitheatre surrounded by mountain ash — the walk down is steep but the setting is magical. Triplet Falls, further east, has an elevated boardwalk that weaves through the forest canopy before descending to three separate cascades.

Head back towards Melbourne via the inland route through Colac and Geelong (faster than the coastal road) or take the scenic coast road back through Lorne and Torquay. The total drive from Apollo Bay to Melbourne takes 2.5-3 hours depending on your route and stops. If you have time, stop at the Memorial Arch at Eastern View — the gateway to the Great Ocean Road, built by returned soldiers after WWI. The arch marks the beginning (or end) of the stretch of road that is one of Australia's greatest engineering achievements.