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Why is Australia’s Great Ocean Road on (Almost) Every Bucket List?

There’s a reason the Great Ocean Drive in Australia is on so many bucket lists – and why Indians especially love it.

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It’s almost the same routine every single time I attempt to drive along a scenic coastal drive. I get behind the wheel at flag-off – and then, within no time, I swap the driver’s seat for a window seat where I can put my camera into overdrive.

I had hardly warmed up in the hot seat and the sight of Albert Park – Melbourne’s emblematic F1 venue popped up in front of me – becoming the inspiration I needed for the long drive ahead. Except, I wished I was in a more powerful set of wheels.

There’s at least two good reasons you should plan a road trip in Australia – your Indian license is valid here and more importantly, you’re driving on the same side of the road.
There’s a reason the Great Ocean Drive in Australia is on so many bucket lists – and why Indians especially love it.
Aussie humour at its best – at a small cafe in Lorne along the Great Ocean Road. (Photo Courtesy: Ashwin Rajagopalan)

But very soon the inevitable happened; I traded the wheel for that customary window seat focusing on the views. It wasn’t the perfect day for a coastal drive – most tourists and locals reserve this road trip for a balmy summer’s day.

We chose a cold, overcast day (with Melbourne’s infamous wind chill in the mix) in winter. It turned out to be a masterstroke – the roads were near empty along the drive.

There’s a reason the Great Ocean Drive in Australia is on so many bucket lists – and why Indians especially love it.
Quiet spot at Lorne beach along the Great Ocean Road. (Photo Courtesy: Ashwin Rajagopalan)
It’s been almost a century since this 200 km-long road was built along the Victorian coast by World War I troops in memory of their comrades who lost their lives in this horrific war. In effect this is one of the largest war memorials anywhere in the world.
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The Many Detours That Make This Great Drive Special

There’s a reason the Great Ocean Drive in Australia is on so many bucket lists – and why Indians especially love it.
Bells Beach. (Photo Courtesy: Ashwin Rajagopalan)

Bells Beach is typically a busy spot. It’s where Rip Curl Pro Surf and Music Festival – the world’s longest running surfing competition takes place every year. Only a surfing maniac would show up on a cold winter’s morning and I spotted a couple. This is Australia after all! As for us we spent more time at the factory stores of iconic surfing brands at Torquay town (near the beach) in search of deals rather than search for waves.

(I have discovered that it’s hard enough to surf on a summer’s day.)

There’s a reason the Great Ocean Drive in Australia is on so many bucket lists – and why Indians especially love it.
The Split Point lighthouse. (Photo Courtesy: Ashwin Rajagopalan)

It’s a given – almost every coastal drive inevitably throws up a whitewashed lighthouse with a view. The Split Point lighthouse is a minor deviation that’s well worth it – fabulous 360-degree panoramas from atop. But even before we spotted this lighthouse I spotted a slew of massive rainbows (including double and triple rainbows) that seemed to seamlessly connect one coastal town with the next.

The parallels between life and a highway drive are quite interesting – you can reach your destination faster if you don’t deviate course but there’s always a fun experience waiting at every detour.

Like our deviations in the Cape Otway region that included Kennet River where hundred rupees of birdfeed can go a long way.

There’s a reason the Great Ocean Drive in Australia is on so many bucket lists – and why Indians especially love it.
When a flock of exotic birds from Kookaburras to king parrots had swooped down on us – many of which used me as a mobile tree. (Photo Courtesy: Ashwin Rajagopalan)

My companions strictly advised restraint while I was busy sprinkling birdfeed. I ignored their warnings and in no time a flock of exotic birds from Kookaburras to king parrots had swooped down on us – many of which used me as a mobile tree.

There’s a reason the Great Ocean Drive in Australia is on so many bucket lists – and why Indians especially love it.
Aussie humour comes at the fore in this morphed road sign! (Photo Courtesy: Ashwin Rajagopalan)

In a few minutes we’d moved on to koala spotting in the area – but a more interesting pursuit (than the koalas and camera-shy kangaroos) turned out to be the famous road sign where local graffiti artists (no one has officially taken credit for it yet) have morphed kangaroos and emus into pre-historic animals.

There’s a reason the Great Ocean Drive in Australia is on so many bucket lists – and why Indians especially love it.
Kangaroos shy away from the camera. (Photo Courtesy: Ashwin Rajagopalan)

These stops ended up being more fun than the routine stops along the drive – Lorne and Anglesea, charming coastal towns with magical beaches and heaps of quaint cafes.

If there’s one reason why this road trip is on many bucket lists, it’s the imposing 12 Apostles – one of Australia’s most photographed sites. As you keep ticking off locations around the world from your wish list, you soon realise that the best cameras never capture those sights the way your photographic memory does. These craggy limestone cliffs on the edge of the ocean are a great example.
There’s a reason the Great Ocean Drive in Australia is on so many bucket lists – and why Indians especially love it.
The famous 12 Apostles. (Photo Courtesy: Ashwin Rajagopalan)

If you want more there’s another site further down the road – the Loch and Gorge in the Port Campbell National Park where sunsets can be particularly magical. But even that sunset pales before the sheer scale of the 12 Apostles on a day when icy cold winds threatened to knock my mobile shooter out of my hand.

I noticed one of the chartered choppers encircling the 12 Apostles but I’d gladly settle for the panoramas from the viewing deck even on my next visit. Who ever said bucket lists are meant to be ticked only once!

There’s a reason the Great Ocean Drive in Australia is on so many bucket lists – and why Indians especially love it.
Rainbow spotting. (Photo Courtesy: Ashwin Rajagopalan)
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Getting there and around: You can cover this stretch in five hours from Melbourne if you drive in a hurry or take all day (like I did).

Accommodation: Lady Bay Hotel in Warrnambool (www.ladybayresort.com.au) is the perfect spot for an overnight stay at the end of the drive. You can choose to drive back to Melbourne or stay an extra day and go whale watching at Logan Beach close by.

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(Ashwin Rajagopalan enjoys communicating across boundaries in his three distinct roles as a widely published lifestyle writer, one of India’s only cross cultural trainers and a consultant for a global brand services firm. Ashwin writes extensively on travel, food, technology and trends)

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Topics:  Australia   Travelogue   Kangaroos 

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