Mark’s Pictures below, thanks Mark. Mark and I had an e-mail conversation that assisted mark in panning his trip. I’m gratified by his response, it’s always rewarding to find that people got value from a conversation. Here is the story:-

Hi Tim,

We’ve just returned on Saturday from the grand adventure and had a fabulous time! As everyone has said the weather sure is unpredictable, but overall we were pretty lucky with hardly any rain during the whole two weeks.

We first drove to Melbourne and had 3 nights there and did the touristy things like the new observation wheel and Eureka Tower, both being a great experience. Then we went on to Geelong and stayed the night there, would have stayed at Torquay but accommodation there was very expensive compared with Geelong. The morning of  5th Jan was pretty cold and as we drove into Torquay it certainly didn’t feel like summer! A quick stop at the surf shops and then we went to have a look at the beaches and stopped at the Nocturnal Donkey for lunch (crazy name for a café, but very memorable and excellent coffee there)!

I have to say Bells beach was a bit of a disappointment, I thought it was more developed and had shops and cafes along the road, but I guess its not a bad thing that its not very commercialised but the thing is that it was totally flat, there was barely a ripple! I spoke to one of the surfies there and he said that he’d been surfing there every day the past week and that was the flattest he’s seen it in a long time!

But the Great Ocean Road in general was amazing, certainly the most stunning scenery I’ve ever seen on any drive. From Torquay to Apollo Bay we were at times stopping every few hundred meters to take photos and enjoy the views. I went for a swim at Point Addis and was surprised at how warm the water was, better than in Sydney! We did the Otway Fly tree top walk, which was pretty nice, but that day was terribly cold, it was only 9C around the tree top area, amazingly cold and then later at Cape Otway lighthouse it was extremely cold, especially on top of the lighthouse where we experienced some of the strongest winds ever, certainly an experience! We also spotted koalas in the trees on the way to Cape Otway which was really amazing to see them in the wild.

Later in the afternoon when we arrived at the Apostles we had glimpses of sun and also strong wind, disappointingly in the evening it got more cloudy and we didn’t get to see the Apostles at sunset, likewise the following morning was very cloudy and we didn’t get to see a sunrise either, however the day warmed up beautifully and cleared, so later we went back and saw the Apostles on a lovely sunny day and the wind from the previous day was almost gone, and in its place the flies we’d been warned about were everywhere!!

The only thing that would have made the journey even better would have been
more time, if we had 2 nights at each stop to give us more time to relax
would have been great, but doing the GOR in 3 days 1 way is not too bad, we
stopped a lot and went to places along the way like the Apostle Whey Cheese
Factory and GORGE Chocolates which are absolutely amazing! We brought back
cheese and chocolate which survived the trip through SA and back to Sydney
via Mildura and still tastes just as good as when we tried it there.

This is certainly a drive that I will do again in the future, I think it’s a
road that you could never get sick of, without a doubt one of the most
amazing parts of our country.

Thanks for all your help. I am sorting through all our photos, if there are
any parts that you’d like to see please let me know and I’d be happy to send
you some, otherwise I’ll see if I can upload them to Flickr or something
similar and will be sure to send you a link.

Thanks again,
Mark

—–Original Message—–
From: Tim Kottek [mailto:tim@experiencetorquay.com.au]
Sent: Thursday, 8 January 2009 10:19 PM
To:
Subject: RE: Great Ocean Road Information — Torquay on the Great Ocean Road
contact form

Looking forward to hearing how your trip went. You may like to consider
leaving Melbourne towards the EAST and getting the Sorrento Queenscliff
Ferry on your way to Torquay.
Regards
YvonneHunter & TimKottek
Experience Torquay
03 5261 9354; 0409 707 780

—–Original Message—–
From: Mark
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2009 8:08 PM
To: Tim Kottek
Subject: Re: Great Ocean Road Information — Torquay on the Great Ocean Road
contact form

Hi Tim,

Thank you for those ideas, that’s a great list, I just hope we have some
nice weather to enjoy the trip. I’ll let you know how we go.

Thanks again for your help.

Mark

—–Original Message—–
From: “Tim Kottek”
Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2009 15:37:03
To: Mark
Subject: RE: Great Ocean Road Information — Torquay on the Great Ocean Road
contact form

Hi Mark,
The Great Ocean Road is well signed for photo opportunities,
Between Torquay and Apollo Bay I’d recommend:-
o A quick look at Bells Beach,
o Walking into the indigenous interpreted walk off the Point Addis Road
(after leaving Bells)
o Split Point Lighthouse at Aires Inlet – a very short detour.
o Teddy’s Look out in Lorne. Depending on your interests Erskine Falls is a
pleasant walk not too far from Lorne.
o An indulgent lunch at Chris’ Beacon Point Restaurant (for the view as well
as the food).
In Port Campbell see if you can book into Shearwater Haven which has
capacity later this month
o Cape Otway is a worthwhile visit – between Apollo Bay and Port Campbell
unless Split Point fills your need for Lighthouses.
o The tree top walk out of Apollo Bay may be of interest to you, loved by
some, seen as a bit commercial by others.
Let us know if there is more we can do for you
Regards
YvonneHunter & TimKottek
Experience Torquay
03 5261 9354; 0409 707 780

—–Original Message—–
From: Mark
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2009 2:03 AM
To: ‘Tim Kottek’
Subject: RE: Great Ocean Road Information — Torquay on the Great Ocean Road
contact form

Hi Tim,

Thanks for your quick reply and sorry I wasn’t very specific initially with
details. Basically I am interested in sightseeing, lookouts and open to
exploring any other interesting attractions along the way.

I would also like to see some of the national parks along the way and
hopefully some wildlife as well as the coastline, in general to get a feel
for the area. Basically places to visit or things to do that would take a
couple of hours to half a day or so would be ideal, so any recommendations
are appreciated.

We have adjusted our plans and agree that spending a night at
Geelong/Torquay is a good idea and will give us more time to explore and
make the trip less rushed.

I have looked into Bruce’s tours, it seems he specialises more in longer
tours of several days, so perhaps we’ll leave this for another time when we
have more time to spend in the area, but certainly seems like his tours
would be very interesting.

Thanks again for your help.

Mark

—–Original Message—–
From: Tim Kottek [mailto:tim@experiencetorquay.com.au]
Sent: Monday, 5 January 2009 5:34 PM
To: Mark
Subject: RE: Great Ocean Road Information — Torquay on the Great Ocean Road
contact form

Hi Mark,
I’d be able to give you better reply if I had a handle on your interests.
One way for you to come to grips with what’s available is to get the Torquay
to Apostles set of CD’s mentioned at

http://greatoceanroad-torquay.com.au/blog/audio-guided-tour-of-the-great-oce
an-road/ - they have good information.
A possible small change is to have night in Torquay rather than starting our
trip from Melbourne, it can make for a more relaxed drive from there to
Apollo Bay.
You can find accommodation for Torquay, Apollo Bay, Port Campbell, as well
as points beyond at
http://greatoceanroad-torquay.com.au/find-a-room-on-the-great-oceanroad/ .
For a different experience make contact with Bruce at
http://greatoceanroad-torquay.com.au/blog/otway-eco-tours-a-hidden-jewel/ -
we have met Bruce but haven’t found time ourselves to take the tour but
would love to hear of your experience.
A really important note – January is very busy so for a hassle free trip pre
bok your accommodation.
Regards
YvonneHunter & TimKottek
Experience Torquay
03 5261 9354; 0409 707 780

—–Original Message—–
From: Mark
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 12:04 PM
To: tim@experiencetorquay.com.au
Subject: Great Ocean Road Information — Torquay on the Great Ocean Road
contact form

Hi Yvonne and Tim,

I came across your website while looking for things to do along the Great
Ocean Road. We are planning a drive down from Sydney to Melbourne and along
the Great Ocean road to Adelaide and I am wondering what are the main
attractions and things to do along the way.

Some local knowledge would be of great assistance so we don’t miss any
great spots or attractions. Also what would be the best towns to stay at
along the way, I was considering 1 night in Apollo Bay and 1 night in Port
Campbell, so that we could see the 12 Apostles both at sunset and sunrise
the next morning because from what I’ve read they are most spectacular
during these times.

Let me know what you’d suggest, we are planning on leaving in about a week
or so, so hopefully you will get my email before then.

Thanks in advance for your help, looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Mark