We’re finally on the road! After months of planning and a relaxing month in South West Rocks, New South Wales, we departed for our road trip to Perth on December 30th.

Getting ready for our big drive not only took a lot of trip planning but logistical planning as well. We had to figure out how to get all of our belongings in Australia over to Perth in our small Mazda 2 while also carrying equipment to mostly camp along the way. With some negotiations, we managed to fit everything in the car while being able to see out the back window. In the end, I only had to end up getting rid of my bike (which I gave away for free due to a growingly faulty front tire) and our bike rack.

Day 1

We set out early on the morning of our first day, with a plan to set up camp in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney for two days. We were excited to explore some scenery that was different from the coastal and beachy atmosphere we have encountered in most of our Australian travels so far. The drive down was pretty straightforward, with about six hours of driving completed by the end of the day.

We were happy to arrive at our conveniently located campsite, which was across the road from walking paths leading to some beautiful viewpoints in the area called Katoomba. These viewpoints included Katoomba Falls, as well as beautiful views of the mountains and valleys around it. The scenery reminded me of the Grand Canyon, except instead of exposed rock, most of the landscape was covered with thick dense trees and other vegetation.

Day 2

We had planned for a second day of hiking and explorations around the Blue Mountains for day 2 of our road trip, but our plans changed quickly when we woke up to pouring rain. It had rained all night, and after consulting the forecast, it appeared that it would be rainy the rest of the day, which was a terrible combination with camping and planning to spend the entire day outside. After having a long breakfast in the campsite’s camp kitchen, we decided to start heading south a day early to break up the drive and try and camp somewhere less rainy for the night.

The location we found after some strategic research on Google Maps, a town called Young in Central New South Wales, was about halfway to our day 3 destination. This impromptu stop ended up working in our favor as it helped break up the next day’s drive, and we were greeted with some absolutely beautiful weather. After setting up camp, we explored the town, which didn’t have a ton going on but did appear to have quite a history. A fun fact is that Young is the cherry capital of Australia! We decided that we couldn’t complete our visit without having cherries in some respect, so we bought a cherry pie from a local farm stand – it was delicious.

Day 3

Our driving on day 3 of the trip took us to the town of Rutherglen, which is across the New South Wales border in Victoria, located in one of the many wine regions of the state. George had found some wineries that we could visit that were within walking distance of our campsite, and we were excited to visit our first Australian vineyards. The first winery we visited was called Chambers Rosewood, and it was a smaller family-owned operation. We were greeted at the tasting room (called “cellar door” in Australia) by a talking cockatoo that apparently was rescued from an unfortunate living situation, which was an unexpected surprise.

We had the cellar door to ourselves when we were there, and really enjoyed chatting with the staff member who was running our tasting. We must have tried 10 different wines each by the end of the tasting, and so many of the wines we tried were from grapes we had never even heard of before.

After our first tasting, we headed to a second winery called De Bortoli, a bigger operation as far as wineries in the area go. We also enjoyed trying the wines at this vineyard, and it was fun to compare between our two experiences.

Day 4

We were excited to finish this last longer segment of driving to arrive in Torquay, Victoria, and the start of the Great Ocean Road (GOR). Our days on the GOR were meant to break up the long driving days of getting to Perth, since we wouldn’t be driving as much over the next few days.

As we were arriving in Torquay, we were greeted by more rain! It was quite unlucky that the most rain we have encountered in Australia so far was on a month-long road trip where we would predominantly be camping. Luckily, after taking a look at some surf shops in town, the rain cleared up enough for us to get our tent set up and then do some sightseeing.

This section of the GOR is the most famous for Bells Beach, a surfing beach surrounded by cliffs and volcanic sand. We had fun driving to different viewpoints and walking along the water. The dark rain clouds helped provide a moody backdrop for our photos.

Day 5

Our second day on the GOR took us from Torquay to the coastal town of Apollo Bay.

The road between the two towns was very scenic and had many points of interest to stop along the way. Our first stop was the famous Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie, which was a huge chocolate shop. The most interesting part of the shop was the factory area where you could see chocolates being made on the conveyor belt! The shop was filled with tourists but still a fun place to stop to break up the drive.

Our next stop was a viewpoint near a lighthouse in a place called Aireys Inlet, where we enjoyed some beautiful beach walking.

Our next major stop of the day was the town of Lorne, which is definitely the most resort-like town on the GOR. The streets surrounding the beachfront were filled with higher-end shops and restaurants and brightly painted accommodations. We enjoyed the visitor information centre, which had a walk-in display outlining the history of the GOR. There was also a lot going on on the beachfront itself, with swimmers, surfers, and a beachfront pool and spa. This area was busy and there was a lot to take in!

Before we left the Lorne area, we drove up to see one of the famous waterfalls in the area, called Erskine Falls. The falls were beautiful but reminded us of many waterfalls we have in Canada, so we didn’t spend long at this spot.

We were excited to reach Apollo Bay after all of our sightseeing. The town has a huge beachfront and a lovely row of shops and businesses on the waterfront.

Day 6

We were very excited for our third day on the GOR as the weather had finally improved, and it was the part of the drive where we would be seeing some of the “big ticket” sights that the GOR was famous for. We were spending the evening in the next major town over, called Port Campbell.

The drive between Apollo Bay and Port Campbell surprised us, as it was the only major section of the GOR that wasn’t on the water! Instead, this section of the drive took us through Great Otway National Park, and the roads were mostly surrounded by forests or farmland. The scenery was beautiful, particularly the expanse of many eucalyptus trees.

After re-emerging from the forest back onto the coastal road, we made it to the sight I was most excited for: The Twelve Apostles. This landform was what I had imagined in my head that we would be seeing when we decided to move to Australia, so I was happy that it was finally happening. Apparently, everyone else in the world feels the same way, as this was by far the busiest and most touristy place that George and I have been to in Australia.

We parked in a very busy parking lot and then walked down to get our first glimpses of the cliffs. While very busy, it was still magical to see the sea stacks in person. I always like to say that these super-touristy places are so busy for good reason. We also took a short path down to the Gibson Steps, which is a series of steps that take you down the beach where you can see some limestone cliffs up close and walk on the smooth sands of the nearby beach.

There are also many other interesting landmarks nearby that aren’t as talked about but are just as beautiful. We particularly enjoyed Loch Ard Gorge, which is just down the road from the Twelve Apostles.

After getting set up in Port Campbell, we walked around the town and really liked looking around. The town is very small, and its main draw is the beautiful beach cove that is great for many water activities. As Port Campbell is only about a ten-minute drive from The Twelve Apostles, we headed back for a sunset viewing and hoped for fewer crowds. While the crowds didn’t really subside, the twilight viewing was beautiful, and we were happy that we made the extra trip!

Day 7

Our final day on the GOR took us from Port Campbell to Port Fairy.

We spent the morning stopping off at viewpoints west of Port Campbell, comprised of various rock formations that offered vistas, caves, clear waters, and islands. My favourite formation was called the Grotto, and our favourite view was from a viewpoint called the Bay of Martyrs.

We were also excited to stop off at a cheese factory as we were leaving the Great Ocean Road called Cheese World in Allansford. While it sounds ridiculous, we took a look around and ended up enjoying an early lunch, which was one of the many highlights of the day.

Another highlight of the day was stopping at the Tower Hill Reserve, a protected natural area that was quite close to Port Fairy. We had read many reviews stating that people had seen wild koalas and emus in this reserve, and that was all the information we needed to make a stop. After seeing a koala sitting in a tree on our drive in, we went on a short hike to a lookout, then drove around to the main visitor area. We were delighted and thrilled to see two wild emus walking around, as well as four koalas in the trees. While these animals were wild, it was quite obvious that the emus had been fed by people who were sharing their lunches, as the emus were not afraid of humans at all. This is one of the sad and frustrating parts of some wildlife viewing here for me, as it seems to happen more often than not.

We loved Port Fairy. I had heard about it from seeing a social media post from a friend I had met traveling, and the town was just as magical as it sounds.

After setting up camp, we ventured around town, where we saw beautiful views and beaches, a stingray from the pier, and even a group of camels being walked down one of the side roads.

One of the sights we were told to see in Port Fairy was the mutton birds coming in to their nests on Griffiths Island at dusk. We made our way back to the waterfront to try and get a look when the sun was going down. It was a very windy evening, but the sunset was beautiful, and it was magical to see the island during sunset. We also had the bonus of seeing many swamp wallabies begin their evenings hopping around the island.

Next: South Australia!

With a bit of a bumpy start to the road trip due to all of the rain, we were happy to finally see the Great Ocean Road and find so many other hidden gems along the way. I am looking forward to giving my next update about our adventures in South Australia, which is where I am currently writing this post. If you’d like to find out about some very colorful lakes, the oldest town in the Flinders mountain range, and the best pizza ever, tune in next week!