This is Part 2 of our Melbourne and Great Ocean Road trip that went from 22 – 30 November 2018.
The trip started with two nights in Melbourne which was covered here in Part 1 and then we picked up a hire car from Avis in the city and headed off for the Great Ocean Road adventure. The car was fantastic – a white Mitsubishi Outlander ASX – comfy, fuel-efficient, reliable, and also I like cars where you’re sitting up higher off the road – so tick, tick tick, tickedy tick! There’s one pictured above (not our actual car though).
We took our own ‘TomTom’ GPS with us and made sure it was fully updated before leaving home. Thank goodness for it too as it was particularly helpful for navigating us out of the city!
We were on our way to Lorne (where we would be staying the night) and our first stop along the way was at Torquay where we stopped at a cafe for a coffee. We didn’t have a very good look around the town of Torquay I must admit (though I did buy a few groceries from a supermarket there!) but we were sure to stop and check out the renowned Bells Beach (world-famous surfing destination)!
This is a very brief video I took whilst sitting at a cafe at Torquay having a coffee. This beautiful sparrow had joined me. By the time I got the phone out to film him I didn’t have long before he flew away. I noticed the sparrows very much in Victoria because we sadly don’t see them anymore here in Brisbane, Queensland.
Torquay is the official start point of the Great Ocean Road. It’s also the home of Bells Beach and birthplace of iconic brands Rip Curl and Quicksilver. You might think Torquay would have a very small population (well I thought it would!) but at the 2016 Census, Torquay apparently had a population of 13,258! Torquay is home to the Australian National Surfing Museum (which we unfortunately didn’t have time to visit).
There’s quite a few steps down to Bells Beach and it’s surrounded in high, majestic cliffs which kind of make it like a natural amphitheatre. Large swells from the Southern Ocean slow down and steepen over the reef-strewn shallows creating outstanding surf. Bells Beach is very popular over the Easter weekend when the world’s best surfers carve up the waves at the Rip Curl Pro Surfing Competition. We weren’t there over the Easter weekend so we could enjoy the beach without the crowds and see it in all its natural glory.
For Part 3 we’ll be looking at Aireys Inlet – our next stop on the drive to Lorne. On review of my photo’s, it seems I didn’t drag out my proper DSLR Camera until we reached Apollo Bay, so all photos will be phone shots for a while yet!
Ciao for now,
Link up here at WOTM or with another of us in the Lovinβ Life Linky team:
Leanne of Deep Fried Fruit
Deborah of Debbish | Jo of And Anyways
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16 Comments
Beautiful scenery and photos. Plus no crowd is wonderful. Thanks, Min, for sharing. #teamlovinlife
Thanks Natalie! π
Such a beautiful part of the country!
It sure is! π
I love the Great Ocean Road, Min and your photos really show the beauty and the rugged coastline. I’m so happy you managed to take this escape and enjoy a beautiful drive along this iconic stretch. . #teamlovinlife
Thanks Sue – heaps more to come yet. It was over all too quickly! xo
I ashamed to say I’ve never been but I’d like to. I’m also embarrassed to admit I thought Bells Beach was in NSW!!! Eek!
I didn’t get there till I was 54 so you’ve still got time to do better than me Deb! lol
Looks like you had a wonderful road trip Min. What stunning scenery. It’s such an iconic road and a trip I’d love to do one day – so very different to the west coast scenery.
It was gorgeous Jo – more stunning pics to come – this is just the beginning. It’s a beautiful part of Australia for sure and yes very different to the scenery I saw in WA on my short visit there. It was stunning too and I long to go back and see more! π
I wondered when you were going to give us a part 2…and might I say it’s about time…lol. Great pics as always & stunning scenery.
Haha – it’s been awhile I know! There was Christmas and New Year and my little bloggy break and stuff. Hopefully will do one every second week till I finish. So many photos to sort through! π
I’ve seen some of the surfing televised at Bell’s Beach. Holy crap those waves can get big!!!
Yes so I believe! Too big for me! haha
It looks and sounds like a great time! I love beach images, no matter where or what weather.
I love beach images too Betty – all weather, all seasons, all kinds! π