The Great Ocean Road.
Connecting south-west Australia’s two major cities, Melbourne and Adelaide, stretches a rugged and windswept expanse of coastline simply bursting with stunning beaches perfect for surfing, deep forests stocked full of indigenous wildlife, towering cliffs and geological formations on an epic scale.
The highway hugs the coast winding, at times precariously, around rocky headlands, cascading cliff-faces and sand swept bays connecting a number of beautifully quaint coastal towns who up until its construction were only accessible by boat or rough dirt tracks. Passing through Apollo Bay, Port Campbell, Robe and Port Fairy to name just a few of these stellar seaside communities, the drive can take anywhere between 3 days and 2 weeks to complete depending just how deep you want to delve into what the journey has to offer.
The Great Ocean Road was voted ‘Most Beautiful Route in the World’ in 2021 and as you take in the rosy fingers of the sunset dipping into the wild waters of the southern ocean between the towers of crumbling rock which make up the iconic Twelve Apostles, it’s hard to disagree.
Our personal favourite find was one which we felt must be sorely overlooked as we enjoyed ‘The Grotto’ completely to ourselves. The emerald green rock pools and deep curved walls, carved by millennia of pounding by the relentless wind and waves sent north from Antarctica, truly felt like a scene completely out of this world. Watching the sun set through the portal created by the petrified archway felt like looking into pearl of pure paradise and it was almost impossible to tear yourself away from its presence, mesmerised by its grasp it truly felt as though the world stood still around you.
Built between 1919 and 1932 by servicemen returning from the Great War, the Great Ocean Road serves as the world’s largest war memorial dedicated to those soldiers who lost their lives during the First World War, the majority lost attacking and defending the Gallipoli Peninsula alongside their Kiwi ANZAC counterparts. I couldn’t think of a more beautifully poignant landmark to commemorate the sacrifice given by those men than this picture-perfect vision of Australia.
