I awoke on Tuesday to find that the grey damp weather of the previous evening had stuck around.  I had breakfast at the hotel and headed down to Sorrento for the ferry.  Arriving with a bit of time to spare I grabbed a (very good) coffee in a local Italian (of course) cafe and read about the drive ahead of me.

The Great Ocean Road runs west from Geelong (west of Melbourne) and is regarded as one of the great drives.  I boarded the ferry for the 40 minute trip across the mouth of Port Phillip Bay.

Leaving Sorrento

I had been told to watch for dolphins accompanying the ferry on its crossing but, sadly, they didn’t appear.  I’m not surprised given the drab weather.  The ferry arrived in Queenscliff, which looked quite a pleasant town, a little bigger, perhaps than Sorrento but, rather than explore, I headed west, stopping only to stop for a refuel.

Whilst planning the trip I had looked at the possibility of staying at Barwon Heads, a golf course which offered accommodation and pretty good value stay and play packages.  I had decided not to in part because the best value packages were full board and a jacket and tie was required for the dining room .  A couple of people had suggested though that, even if I wasn’t playing Barwon Heads, it was worth a look in, as I would be passing close by.

A twenty minute walk around suggested that this was somewhere I would have enjoyed a lot:

The really cool bunkerless short par 3 4th hole

After a short interlude at Barwon Heads I set off on the Great Ocean Road.  I must admit to having been slightly underwhelmed by the start of the drive.  Obviously the weather didn’t help (though it had stopped raining) but the early scenery, whilst attractive, didn’t have the grand drama of some of the Sydney coastline.

As I drove, however, the scenery seemed to gather momentum.  I stopped for lunch at Airey’s Inlet and sat by the fire in the pub:

I had not, it is fair to say, anticipated sitting by an open fire on this trip!

Airey’s Inlet is known for its lighthouse, so I walked up there:

After a very attractive interlude where the road runs inland, through dramatically hilly and very green country, it hits the coast again for the part of the route which is most famous.  The cliffs along this stretch have worn, leaving standing rock formations in the ocean.  By now the weather was, if not exactly sunny then brighter and the frequent stops to admire the scenery increasingly compelling.

I was doing the drive in a day.  I’m told visitors often split it into two or more days, staying as they go along the route in the numerous slightly quirky, attractive towns.  I can imagine that would be a wonderful couple of days or more.

I arrived in Port Fairy in the evening and had a walk around this old fishing village before grabbing a pizza and calling it a day.

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