Aireys Inlet
Possibly the Great Ocean Road’s best-kept secret, Aireys Inlet is a pint-sized seaside village with a family-friendly soul that’s larger than life. Scale a lighthouse, picnic with a view, surf or dive, discover local history or chill out and take in an amazing coastal landscape. Lighthouse Loving The 34-metre Split Point Lighthouse is Aireys Inlet’s most famous landmark. Much of the award-winning Australian children’s TV series Round the Twist was filmed here. Take a 45-minute…
Anglesea
Where beach, bush and river collide for lots of fun and natural adventure. There’s a relaxed, eco-friendly vibe to Anglesea that will have you treading lightly on beautiful beaches and idyllic riverside trails. Expect to fall in love with funky little shops and the renowned hospitality of the local pub. One quarter of Victoria’s plant species grow in the surrounding Anglesea Heath, including more than a hundred varieties of orchids, best seen during the spring wildflower show. You don’t have…
Apollo Bay
Apollo Bay is the easy-going all-rounder destination of the Great Ocean Road region – a smorgasbord of quality experiences hosted in the most picturesque of settings nestled into the foothills of the Otways Ranges. Charming all year-round, Apollo Bay makes a perfect location to base yourself for a few days. You’ll be spoiled for accommodation options from one of the state’s best backpackers through to family-style apartments and cabins, or luxury villas. Everything seems within easy walking…
Armstrong Creek
Armstrong Creek was gazetted in February 2012 as part of the Armstrong Creek Growth Area, from largely undeveloped land which had formerly been part of Connewarre and Mount Duneed. The Armstrong Creek urban growth area will be developed into a sustainable community that sets new benchmarks in best practice urban development. Natural and cultural features will be protected and enhanced to create a distinct urban character. Armstrong Creek will become a highly sought-after location f or living, working…
Bellbrae
Bellbrae is a bounded rural locality in Victoria, Australia located just off the Great Ocean Road between Torquay and Anglesea. At the 2006 census, Bellbrae had a population of 1,388. Bellbrae Post Office opened on 1 July 1923 (renamed from an earlier Jan Juc office) and closed in 1982. Bellbrae has a public hall, a football oval where the Aireys Inlet Eels (a junior Australian Rules club) play their home games, Bellbrae Primary School and a winery.…
Bells Beach
Bells Beach is a coastal locality of Victoria, Australia in Surf Coast Shire and a renowned surf beach, located 100 km south-west of Melbourne, on the Great Ocean Road near the towns of Torquay and Jan Juc. It is named after John Cavert Bell of the family that first took up a pastoral run there in the 1840s. The beach and coastal reserve are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. Bells Beach is the home of the world's longest continuously running surfing competition – now known as the…
Breamlea
Breamlea, Victoria, Australia, is a secluded seaside hamlet located on the south coast of the Bellarine Peninsula, 18 kilometres south of Geelong and halfway between Barwon Heads and Torquay. It is divided between the City of Greater Geelong and the Surf Coast Shire. Breamlea is nestled in the sand dunes between Thomsons Creek and the beach. The nearest township to Breamlea is Connewarre. Thomsons Creek, also known as Bream Creek, runs through a natural network of reedy canals and widens before…
Eastern View
Eastern View is a small coastal town in the Surf Coast Shire, Victoria, Australia. Eastern View was a remote coastal area prior to the construction of the Great Ocean Road, which was opened to Eastern View, albeit in the form of a narrow gravel track, in March 1922. Only four houses were located in the area in 1924; a fifth was later extended and granted a liquor license as the Eastern View Hotel in 1927. The hotel owners later leased land on the ocean side of the Great Ocean Road and built a…
Fairhaven
Fairhaven is a small coastal locality in the Surf Coast Shire, Victoria, Australia. The village is a popular holiday destination, with many homes being used for that purpose. It adjoins Fairhaven Beach, which at 6 km long is the longest beach on the Great Ocean Road. The village is separated from adjoining Aireys Inlet by the Painkalac Creek, and development in recent years has seen Fairhaven become increasingly joined to the Aireys Inlet township. Fairhaven Beach is a popular surfing destination,…
Freshwater Creek
Freshwater Creek is a small town in the Surf Coast Shire, Victoria, Australia. It is named after the drainage creek that flows through the area after heavy rain. The town has only two shops: a petrol station, general store, and restaurant, and a bakery, Freshwater Creek Cakes. Freshwater Creek Cakes is well known within the region, and has been listed in the Foodies Guide to Melbourne. The town also has a public hall, tennis courts, and Freshwater Creek Steiner School. Freshwater Creek Post…
Gherang
Gherang is a small rural township in Victoria, Australia. It is in the Surf Coast Shire local government area, and is located on the northern edge of the Great Otway National Park and the Anglesea Heath. The area is mostly farmland, although there has been some rural residential subdivision. Quarries in the area produce good quality gravel which is mostly used for roads.…
Jan Juc
A surf beach favoured by local surfers, also home to Jan Juc Surf Life Saving Club. Has car parking, public toilets and great viewing platforms from the top of the cliffs. This is also the start of the 30km Surf Coast Walk and where local conservation groups have mounted a major revegetation program to protect the delicate coast.…
Lorne
Lorne is the stylish, elegant lady everyone wants to lunch with. Her setting is perfect and sophisticated – a cosmopolitan coastal village with a magnificent beach against a backdrop of the majestic rainforest of the Great Otway National Park. Chic and Delish Lorne has an enchanting small town warmth mingled with a delightful touch of urban chic. Mountjoy Parade is home to galleries, crafts, specialty shops, provedores and boutiques. This resort-style town dishes up some of the…
Modewarre
Modewarre is a locality in the Surf Coast Shire, Victoria, Australia. The town adjoins Lake Modewarre. Modewarre Primary School began as a local Anglican school in the 1850s, became a vested National School in 1859, and closed in 1971. A post office at Modewarre opened in 1859 and closed in 1967. The Modewarre Memorial Hall was erected in 1923 in memory of World War I.[5] The Modewarre Avenue of Honour on Cape Otway Road was planted in 1918, and is the last surviving Avenue of Honour in…
Moriac
Moriac is a rural town in Victoria, Australia, located approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Geelong. It forms part of the Surf Coast Shire. The town was surveyed in the 1920s as a village that had developed around the Moriac railway station on the Port Fairy line. The station had been provided to serve the adjacent community of Mount Moriac. The railway through Moriac opened in 1876, followed by the Wensleydale branch line which junctioned with the main line just past Moriac. The branch…
Mount Duneed
Mount Duneed is a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is divided between the City of Greater Geelong and Surf Coast Shire local government areas. Much of the locality north of Lower Duneed Road is part of the large Armstrong Creek Growth Area, which was opened up for urban development from 2010. With the gazetting of the suburb Armstrong Creek in February 2012, Mount Duneed's southern boundary between Surf Coast Highway and Horseshoe Bend Road follows the boundary of the Armstrong Creek…
Paraparap
Paraparap is a rural locality in the Surf Coast Shire, Victoria, Australia. The Paraparap Parish was made available for sale in the 1850s, but was much less successful than other sales in the region, with slightly more than half of the lots being sold in the initial sales. The remaining lots were sold gradually over the subsequent decades, with some not being sold until the early twentieth century. Paraparap was first listed as an address in the 1890-91 directory. The area had a local progress…
Torquay
Buzzes with vitality and a sun- blessed spirit that embraces the great outdoors. It’s where the Great Ocean Road officially begins, where Australia’s colourful surfing culture was born and where you’ll discover a world of fun and adventure. Surf City Torquay is the birthplace of global surf brands like Rip Curl and Quiksilver. Surfing gear, fashion and accessories: it’s all here. You can even have a surfboard custom-made. The Surf World Museum houses an amazing collection…
Winchelsea
Hinterland towns like Winchelsea and Deans marsh whisper of the pioneering efforts of colonial settlers and pastoralists. They boast unique character-filled bed and breakfast cottages and a palpable appreciation of the natural environment. Wonderful Winch Winchelsea is a natural beauty…a lovely, historic township on the shady banks of the Barwon River, inland from the Surf Coast. The river is a renowned fishing haunt; brown trout, redfin and eels go on the bite here. Come early…