Walking Through the Tree Tops Along the Great Ocean Road

If you are at all afraid of heights, you do NOT want to climb up here!

Located just 19 km off the Great Ocean Road, the Otway Fly Treetop Walk boasts itself as the highest and longest steel canopy walk in the world – and it’s found right here in Australia. I’m all for adventure, but I freaked out a bit when I first stepped out onto the metal walkway – 30 meters (about 8 stories) above ground level! If you're an thrill seeker, you can even do a zipline through the forest.

Looking down, all you see is lush palm trees, greenery and a jungle of trees – mainly Myrtle Beech and Blackwood trees. It almost looks like a scene from a Jurassic Park movie – as if you’re waiting for a pterodactyl to come swooping down out of the sky!

In fact what you’re looking down at is the Otway Cool Temperate Rainforest – a landscape that dates back 140 million years to Gondwana when dinosaurs roamed the earth. I’d never heard of a cool temperate rainforest until this trip, but the Otway Rainforest exists because of a lot of rain, in fact the highest rainfall in Victoria. The Otways are the most westernly located cool temperate rainforest in Australia.

Starting from the visitor’s center, the walk is a 1.9km round walk and takes about 45 minutes or so, depending on how many photos you want to take. There are several interactive panels along the way with information about the surrounding to one hour to complete.

In the middle of the walk, you also can climb up a 45-meter high tower via a spiral staircase. You’ll be rewarded with even more amazing views over the rainforest and the fellow walkers below.

Walking through the Otways here you’re reminded just how diverse and gorgeous Australia’s scenery is! Don’t miss the Otway Fly Treetop Walk when you visit the Great Ocean Road!

An Eastern Yellow Robin

I swear, the tree was this big!

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Where to Find Koalas along the Great Ocean Road

How can you resist this adorable Australian marsupial with its fluffy ears and a black-button nose?

When you visit Australia, seeing a koala, especially in the wild, should be on your to-do list!

Or you can see koalas up-close like this one at many animal sanctuaries in Australia.
You can pay extra at Moonlight Sanctuary in Victoria to take photos with this koala.

Interestingly, the koala gets its name from an ancient Aboriginal word meaning “no drink” because the animal receives over 90 percent of its water from the Eucalyptus or gum tree leaves it eats.

And when you spot koalas in the wild, you’ll see them doing one of two things – eating or sleeping!

Since we’ve travelled along the Great OceanRoad route on two separate occasions, I thought I’d share the best spots to see a koala in its natural habitat. Fortunately, the Victoria region contains the country’s highest population of koalas. You’ll also find koalas in most coastal regions of eastern and southern Australia as well as in inland woodlands, but none in western Australia or Tasmania.

  

Where to Find Koalas along the Great Ocean Road:

Apollo Bay to Lorne

After spending the night in a tranquil setting with seaviews of Apollo Bay, we hit the road in the morning. My husband had just turned onto the main road when I squealed. He pulled the rental car over to the side of the road in a furry and asked me what the hell was wrong. I had just seen my first koala up in a tree!

Hubby didn’t find this too funny and said my squeals of delight and imminent danger should be different sounds. Ha ha! Unfortunately, I didn’t get any photos of this koala, but basically be on the lookout when driving from Apollo Bay to Lorne. According to the Victoria Parks website, the coastal bushland between Lorne and Apollo Bay is home to a large population of koalas.

Beautiful view of Apollo Bay, but no koalas here.

Cape Otway

Driving along the 12-km route on Otway Lighthouse Road, I became the master koala spotter and found heaps of these cuddly creatures in the middle of the Great Otway National Park. We drove slowly and pulled over whenever I spotted a potential koala or when another car ahead of us did.

The koalas blend into their surroundings quite well…grey-colored fur next to grey gum tree bark and silver-green eucalyptus leaves. But as you’re gazing up into the trees, you start to recognize the shapes of koalas and the search becomes pretty easy!

Sadly, the koalas recently had overpopulated in this area and basically ate themselves out of house and home on the local manna gum trees. At the end of 2015, about 400 koalas were moved from Cape Otway to northeast of Lorne so they would have a different species of gum trees to munch on in the forest.

It's worth driving all the way to the end of the road and checking out the historic lighthouse at Cape Otway.

Kennett River

Thanks to the helpful tourist information lady in Lorne, we heard about the tiny village of Kennett River, which became the easiest place to spot koalas. Just park near the Koala Cove Café and follow the rest of the tourists gazing up into the gum trees. The koalas are usually more active in the late afternoon when they are eating leaves or seeking new branches to climb.

Did you know that koalas eat half a kilo of leaves per day?

Or you might find a lot of koalas sleeping amongst the branches like we did! Koalas spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping because eating is such difficult work! The eucalyptus leaves are very low in nutrition and high in fibrous matter so they take a large amount of energy to digest.

If you’re lucky, you’ll also see some of the colorful Australian parrots that call Kennett River home. These cheeky birds will land right on you and feed out of your hand!

Have you seen koalas in the wild too?

Pin this to plan your trip to the Great Ocean Road!

This post is linked up with #WeekendWanderlust by travel bloggers A Southern Gypsy, A Brit and a Southerner, Justin Plus Lauren and One Modern Couple. Hop on over to their blogs to see more travel stories!

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Great Ocean Road Still Amazing, Reopens After Fires

After planning our second trip to the Great Ocean Road nearly two months ago, we weren’t expecting a widespread bushfire to alter our plans.

Unfortunately, the combination of a lighting storm, dry land and hot temperatures caused a large bushfire on Christmas Day that has destroyed more than 100 houses along this famous tourist route. The fire occurred in and near the small towns of Wye River and Separation Creek. According to the latest Melbourne news, the fire still continues to burn in dense bushland about 6km west of Wye River; and more than 200 firefighters are battling this blaze.

A small section of the Great Ocean Road had been closed because of the fires, but just reopened yesterday (January 6^th). Basically, we got lucky because we started our road trip on the same day.

Not too far outside of the bustling town of Lorne, we started seeing the devastating effects of the raging fire. Blackened trees and shrubbery as well as dusty brown leaves on tops of the trees still standing.

You could tell where the fire had jumped across the road and consumed any remaining vegetation along the beach.

This was my first experience seeing the damaging effects of a fire upclose and I was shocked. I thought about all those displaced people and animals that called this beautiful area of Australia home. How long will it take to rebuild their homes? How long will it take for the forest to rebound and turn green again?

It’s devastating.

Driving through the small town of Wye River on January 6th, 2016, you can certainly see where the bushfires hit.

But at the same time, it’s important to note that the Great Ocean Road IS open for business.

These small communities rely heavily on tourism, and they need YOUR support. The month of January is one of the busiest tourism months because children are on school break. There’s still plenty to see and do along the GOR.

We have three days to re-explore this lovely area that’s famous for its beautiful beaches and sweeping landscapes.

I can’t wait.

Important information to note from the Great Ocean Road Tourism Site:

• No vehicles will be allowed to stop between Cumberland River and Wye River bridge. This includes look-out points and pull-over areas on the sides of the road.
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• The turnoff for Sheaok Falls is closed.
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• Speed limits have been reduced, and there is a stronger police presence along the road.
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• There is restricted access to residential areas in Wye River North and Separation Creek due to the health and safety risks from the bushfire that has affected the area. Residents of these areas have been granted limited access.
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• If you see wildlife that appear injured or distressed, please contact the Wildlife Welfare Officer on 5233 5565. 

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8 More Dramatic Landscapes Along the Great Ocean Road

As we drove along the Great Ocean Road, I constantly found myself being awestruck by all the indescribable natural beauty around me.

Sure, we came to tick the 12 Apostles off our bucket list, but in the end, we discovered so much more here. Standing along this rugged coastline, with the howling winds whirling around and the light sea spray in your face, is an invigorating feeling. I was amazed at every turn we took!

Don’t do this trip in one day! You’ll barely scratch the surface if you do. I’d recommend at least two days, three preferred, to see as much as you can on one of Australia’s most famous road trips. In fact, we’re preparing to visit for a second time once my in-laws arrive for the holidays.

Here are 8 more dramatic landscapes you’ll find along the GOR:

Bay of Martyrs

Starting at the western end of the GOR trail, just on the outskirts of the small town of Peterborough, this is a wonderful place to see the beautiful Bay of Martyrs. This area has several walking paths that run along the cliff-hugging coast and feature several lookout platforms. The Bay of Martyrs is not as popular as the 12 Apostles, but I’ve heard this area is just as beautiful at sunset when the rocks are backlit by the sun.

2 km west of Peterborough

As you can see from the photos, we were plenty impressed with the Bay of Martyrs.

The Grotto

Our next stop was at The Grotto, basically a sinkhole that was created in the limestone cliffs. I took dozens of photos here trying to frame the peaceful Grotto in contrast with the wild ocean behind it.  

9 km west of Port Campbell

The London Bridge

Well, I guess technically this rock formation is now called the London Arch because of the relentless waves. Originally called London Bridge, this natural archway and tunnel collapsed in 1990 and became a bridge without a middle section. Mother Nature also left two tourists stranded here that had to be rescued by helicopter. There are several wooden platforms here to look out over the rugged landscapes.
7 km west of Port Campbell

The Arch

This natural arch gets pummeled by the surrounding rough seas as the waves crash around and continue to erode the rock. I also took dozen of photos here, trying to capture that perfect moment when the waves crashed into The Arch.

6 km west of Port Campbell

Loch Ard Gorge

Another popular tourist spot right before you land at the 12 Apostles is the Loch Ard Gorge. The gorge is named after the ship Loch Ard, which ran aground in May 1878 on nearby Muttonbird Island at the end of a three-month journey from England to Melbourne. Only two passengers survived. Here, you can stand on top of the cliff and be amazed by the sheer size of the nearby cliffs, or wander down to beach and sit awhile watching the crashing waves.

8 km east of Port Campbell

The Loch Ard Gorge also featured predominately on the cover of my Lonely Planetguide for Melbourne and Victoria.

In addition, the shipwreck site is a good dive spot where you can still see general cargo such as lead ingots, lead shot, tiles, bottles and pottery.

Creating shadows along the Great Ocean Road.

The Razorback

The next three landscapes are all located at the Loch Ard Gorge site. Simply park your car and give yourself an hour or two to explore these amazing landscapes.

This rock stack is called the Razorback because of its sharp edges and bumps along the top, caused by wind-spray and erosion. Notice how the waves also cause deep smooth grooves along its base. You can even see vertical cracks along the Razorback’s side, so it’s only a matter of time before more rocks collapse.

Island Archway

We followed the signs out to the Island Archway, which collapsed in 2009 and crumbled into the sea. Mother Nature continues to erode Victoria’s coastline, so it will be interesting to see how the coast changes over the years.

Thunder Cave

We could see Thunder Cave, but we couldn’t really hear it (apparently as loud as thunder) during our visit. The cave is about 25 metres deep and a local dive site that can be accessed only by charter boat.

Have you visited the Great Ocean Road? Or would you like to do so?

 This Great Ocean Road trip was my first time driving on the "wrong side" of the road.
Definitely takes some adjustment!

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