Great Ocean Road - Day 2
Day II: Apollo Bay to Port Campbell
Our second day exploring the Great Ocean Road started with breakfast at Hello Coffee in Apollo Bay. Housed in a warehouse, it was an adorable and delicious place to fuel up before getting back on the road.
After breakfast we headed to the Great Otway National Park. The park covers close to 255,000 acres of rainforests, beaches, waterfalls, and bushland. We decided to take the long way so we could drive through the rainforest. Due to limited time, we chose the one-hour Triplet Falls hike and it did not disappoint.
Nearby is the Cape Otway Lightstation, the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia. It was built in 1848 by more than 40 stonemasons without mortar or cement. Surrounding the lighthouse is a large property with WWII bunkers and a Telegraph Station. The price of admission was a bit steep, but I'm glad we decided to go as the views were great.
Telegraph Station
Our next stop was Gibson Steps. Hugh Gibson, a 19th-century landowner, carved 86 steps into the cliffs leading down to Gibson Beach. We walked along the shoreline where we both put our feet into the water and it was freezing!
Probably the most famous spot along the Great Ocean Road is the Twelve Apostles. There is a large network of viewing platforms connected by boardwalks to view these large rocks. Today, you can only see seven of the 'apostles' due to erosion. When we arrived, the parking lot was packed with cars and tour buses. There were tons of people walking along the boardwalk, although, luckily it wasn't difficult to find a spot to admire these rocky stacks.
Our final stop for the day was to Loch Ard Gorge where two young people shipwrecked on the Loch Ard. They both made it shore and ended up surviving. After walking along the cliffs, we were able to go down to the beach and to the cave where the two shipwrecked survivors took shelter.
We spent the night in Port Campbell, a small coastal town named after Scottish Captain Alexander Campbell, a whaler who spent time between voyages from Tasmania and Port Fairy. The food situation was pretty limited in Port Campbell and we ended up getting pizza and beers at Sow and Piglets, a craft brewery set inside a nearby hostel.
I read online one of the best times to view the Twelve Apostles is at sunset, so after dinner we headed back there in evening for a very pretty view. The tour buses were long gone and it was not nearly as crowded during this time.
