The Great Ocean Road has always been on my radar for its epic beauty, landscapes, and drive. My second trip to Australia gave me an opportunity to visit Melbourne where I had an opportunity to experience a bit of The Great Ocean Road.

To really experience this majestic coastline, one needs to spend at least a good 3-4 days on the road to roughly cover about 400 miles or so but due to my time restraints, I could only plan a day outing which is what most people do if they are short on time.

I did this trip with a good friend of mine who's studying in Melbourne, who hadn't done this drive either. She got a great deal on an amazing car for just AUD $40 which was a steal. Normally, it's recommended to start early if you are doing a one day trip to the Great Ocean Road, so that you can squeeze in a lot of things to do and see but we could only start our trip post 11:00 AM in the morning due to other commitments. Nevertheless, we weren't planning to be tourists but we were trying to make the most of the day, to our luck the daylight hours are longer in the summers meaning last light lasts till 9:00 PM.

I personally wanted to experience the drive as much as we could in a single day, take good photos and just have a great time outdoors. Our first stop was Torquay, the surf city where we stopped briefly to check out some of the surf shops and museums briefly. The whole town had this surf vibes... what a place to live if you are surfer I thought!

And just after Torquay was the iconic Bells Beach, where I had to stop by and glance the most famous surfing beach in the world which has so much history and has been hosting the longest consecutive surfing event on the competitive circuit in the world.

From there on, we quickly hit the town of Anglesea which is where the actual Great Ocean Road starts from where you drive along the beautiful coastline dotted with small towns, picturesque beaches, cliffs, and vantage points. The deep ocean blue invites you to stop every minute to take a photo or just experience the vastness of the ocean. Although, time wasn't on our side we took the liberty to stop and explore many unknown beaches and cliffs where we spent enough time taking photos and already discussing plans for a proper road trip in the future.

I was pretty amazed by the number of well planned coastal towns along the Great Ocean Road with beautiful beaches, cafes, restaurants, museums and adventure activities for tourists on offer. We stopped by at a small picturesque town called Lorne for lunch where I got a chance to explore and admire the beach infrastructure setup for the common public and tourists alike, something we haven't been able to do in India yet.

On this trip to Australia, I had only planned on shooting with my GoPro's and Pixel 3XL phone and didn't carry too much of other bulky camera gear which was a great relief. I loved using my Hero7Black and GoPro Fusion to capture my various GoPro moments. And, Pixel 3XL was again such a great alternative camera for instant social media posts and candid shots.

Our goal was to reach till Apollo Bay that day which was realistically possible and then head back to Melbourne around 6.00 PM. As we made it to Apollo Bay around 5:30 PM and spent a good 20-25 minutes at the beautiful bay we made an impromptu decision of further driving till 12 Apostles, the epitome of The Great Ocean Road. The drive was another 90 minutes from Apollo Bay but definitely worth going to! We quickly hit the road and were driving through some of the most beautiful terrains of hills and forests on our way to 12 Apostles.

We reached 12 Apostles around 7:30 PM but were still one hour away from the sunset but with great golden light shining upon these magnificent limestone stacks off the cliffs formed by erosion and extreme weather conditions from the Southern Ocean. It was crowded with tourists especially Chinese who seemed to have taken a liking to Australia in the last few years. We took plenty of photos and videos of this beautiful landscape and spent a good 30-40 minutes soaking in the view of nature's marvel.

Soon after 12 Apostles, we knew it was time to head back to Melbourne which was about 3.5 hours drive through the night. We buckled our seat belts, pedal on the metal hit the road. Both of us were extremely happy and felt accomplished, I would like to extensively thank Shalome for all the amazing driving, logistics and making it a memorable trip.

Check her adventures out at @travelandscaping on Instagram.

 

Scenic View with our Ride
A good car makes a big difference while road tripping! An absolute steal of a deal got us Mitsubishi Eclipse from Thrifty Rentals, which made our road trip so much fun and comfortable where we were able to clock in 350 miles in 12 hours.

 

The Iconic Bells Beach, Victoria
I was so stoked to be at Bells Beach, one of the iconic surfing destinations in the world. I wish to witness a surfing contest and take surf photos here one day!

 

The Great Ocean Road with GoPro
It was so much fun experiencing The Great Ocean Road and capturing all the epic moments with my GoPro's. Definitely, would love to come back and explore more in the future.

 

The Epic Drive on The Great Ocean Road
One of the many scenic routes along The Great Ocean Road.

 

Stoke Level High
I would highly recommend experiencing The Great Ocean Road at least once if you are visiting Australia. Australia is a massive country where there is a lot to see and experience but definitely, this part of the country is absolutely gorgeous.

 

Strolling on the Sunnymead Beach
Easy to get lost in the expansive stretch of sandy beaches along the coastline of The Great Ocean Road.

 

Admiring the View at Sunnymead Beach
A ton of interesting things to observe and study if you are into nature. You can visit many national parks, do camping, go surfing, explore bush walks and try a whole of different activities along this beautiful stretch of coastline.

 

Candid Moment at Apollo Bay
Soaking in a great view on the beach at Apollo Bay. There are a number of scenic towns and beaches along The Great Ocean Road i.e Anglesea, Aireys Inlet, Lorne, Apollo Bay, Princetown, Port Campbell which are a must visit places.

 

Scenic Drive to 12 Apostles
After driving along the coastline, for the most part, we enjoyed a bit of hilly terrain and woods on our way to the 12 Apostles.

 

The Magnificent Sight of 12 Apostles
A sight to behold and marvel at the setting sun throws its golden light on these magnificent landscapes.

 

12 Apostles, The Great Ocean Road
Another view of the magnificent 12 Apostles, the effort was well worth in the end!!

 

Tiny Planet at 12 Apostles
I found it hard to justify the beauty and show the entire landscape at 12 Apostles, hence took out my GoPro Fusion to showcase everything as a tiny planet.

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