Blogs from Torquay, Victoria, Australia, Oceania

Leaving Traralgon, we were faced with a choice of driving to Sorrento and taking the car ferry across the mouth of Port Phillip Bay to Queenscliff, or driving through the centre of Melbourne and across the Westgate Bridge towing a caravan. We elected to drive through the centre of Melbourne, and despite the persistent rain, the journey to Torquay via Geelong went relatively smooth. Torquay is the start of the Great Ocean Road, and is known as the home of Australian Surfing. Ripcurl and Quiksilver were founded in Torquay, and are based here. There is a Museum of Australian Surfing in the town, along with several surf factory outlets, which we visited in order to purchase some extra warm weather clothing as we start to head into winter. After setting up at Ingenia Caravan Park, we ... read more

My third and final day in Melbourne was spent visiting Fitzroy Gardens as well as the nearby Treasury Gardens. Quite a tranquil place with "magnificent" elms lining the pathways, a variety of flowers and ornamental shrubs and trees native to the area. It also includes numerous points of interest including Cooks' Cottage, a scarred tree, a Fairies' tree and numerous walks down tree-lined pathways. It also includes Melbourne's oldest example of public artwork in the form of the River God Fountain. An enjoyable way to spend a few hours. Day 4 was where my journey really began as I picked up my rental and headed to Torquay, the start of the Great Ocean Road. I made it to Torquay relatively easily and after a visit to the information centre I hit the beaches. I stopped counting ... read more

Lorne to Torquay The weather forecast was 17 degrees and light rain for most of the day. Luckily it was wrong and after a cloudy start it became sunny and warm, showing off the great views of the Southern Ocean as we continued on our journey north east towards Torquay. We passed Split Lighthouse at Airey’s Inlet and on to Anglesey where we had some lunch at midday before seeing the resident kangaroos on the golf course. A long climb later and we were on Jarosite Road leading to Bells Beach where we took the Coastal Path giving us a lovely view of the surf coast and monstrous waves coming in. However many times I ride this path I still love the views and the peace of it. As we were about one kilometres from town ... read more

My Aussie friends and I wanted to take a week-long road trip along one of the world's most scenic drives on the Australian coast. We all wanted to see 12 Apostles Marine National Park, which is famous for the hypnotic views at Loch Ard Gorge. Also, we wanted to see the iconic surf breaks and waterfalls that are prevalent throughout the drive. What Did I Bring?Being a Thai woman, I brought Bhuja snacks, which are traditional in my culture for traversing long distances. Bhuja combines the whol... read more

Today I commenced the first leg of my journey on the Gt Ocean Road. At around 10.30am I picked up my car a little Suzuki bit like a BMW mini to look at and set off from Melbourne and headed for Geelong. Spent the afternoon here nothing amazing except some funny statues that look almost like large peg dolls. They were erected at intervals along the esplanade. I saw Jolly Pirates, life guards, bathing belles, and what looked like either an aboriginal family or it could have been African!! Not quite sure what its all about but a bit different I guess. Will have to do some research on that one. The journey to Geelong took about an hour then travelled onwards to my accommodation in Torquay!!! Haven't full explored it yet but went for a ... read more