Australia Great Ocean Road – Part 1 –
Driving down the Fleurieu Peninsula, past the Coorong, along the Shipwreck Coast and through the Surf Coast, you will discover that there is more than meets the eye between Adelaide and Melbourne.
To start there was just the Great Ocean Road – one of Australia’s classic travelling routes, whether you subscribe to the tourist hype or not. Not knowing quite how long the ‘Road’ was – or where it started and ended – I did some research and found that it ran from Warrnambool to Lorne (which is a couple of hours west of Melbourne in Victoria). Those familiar icons – the Twelve Apostles, London Bridge and sweeping roads above the ocean – looked appealing enough but I wanted more. Hence the decision to drive the full coastal route from Adelaide to Melbourne.
The plan nearly stalled right away. All the books and brochures talk of going from Melbourne to Adelaide. What was it with going the other way? Was I committing a giant faux pas? Sometimes reading guidebooks can really screw you up and you start doubting your own plans. So, out with the books and on with the original idea – maybe I’d start a new trend! Of course, on the road you find there’s no reason not to go the other way, and because the other suckers follow the books you have a clear road in front of you.
