The_Effys

Hi all,

I know this is a bit off subject but wondered if any of you would be able to enlighten me more?

We were planning a fact finding trip to Oz next month & thought we could fit in a little sight seeing as well!
We ideally wanted to drive from Adelaide to Melbourne in 3 days(2 nights), I know there is a lot to see along this route but that is all the time we have

This is what we want to do, Bearing in mind we have 2 kids(5 & 9) with us & won't be able to do a lot of walking:

Drive from Adelaide to Port Fairy & stay overnight.
Drive from Port Fairy to Apollo Bay & stay overnight.
Drive from Apollo Bay to Melbourne.

Here are my questions:
1. Is this trip feasable?
2. Would it be better to stop overnight in Portland instead of Port fairy?
3. Apart from the 'Twelve Apostles' is there any other kid friendly place/site we could see along the route?

Hope I don't sound too forward & if there is anyone from Oz or who has done this trip that can help then that would be great
Chris Effy.

steve-n-jo

Hi Chris

We drove from Sydney to Adelaide, through Melbourne in 3 days with 2 overnight stops, so thats plenty of time. I would stop in Port Fairy as you can see the penguins there and your kids will really enjoy it. We also had two kids with us aged 5 and 7. we also stopped overnight at Apollo Bay and its lovely. Theres a large kids playground on the main drag by the water and loads of places to stay and eat. It was really busy when we drove through so it might be worth your while looking on the net for places to stay and booking a room.

We drove along the Great Ocean Road and stopped at the 12 Apostles etc which were nice to look at but just big lumps of rock in the sea at the end of the day. We can look at stuff like that along the dorset coastline any day so a bit of a let down for us!!

Theres lots of touristy stuff along the way, animal parks and things like that. Its a long long trip but our kids were fantastic considering they had to sit in a car for 3 days. Just take loads of things for them to do in the car and you'll have fun.

Jo

mlbonner

Hi

I drove a lot of it very quickly due to limited time.

Started about 10am at Melbourne airport, drove all the way down to Warrnambool and back to Lorne by 8pm that night. I was however by myself, so could just drive until I came across something I liked, stop, look and carry on.

Apart from the 12 Apostles, there's also a Blow-hole thats quite good. From memory its near The Bay of Islands (see link below)

I found this website really useful when trying to get an idea of where to stop at, also has some examples for driving tours.
Avis also have quite a good map if you happen to be hiring a car with them.

http://www.greatoceanrd.org.au/index.asp

wombat42

My advice is to stay at both Portland and Port fairy to give you a chance to see more of the area without having to rush onto your
next destination. While at Portland make sure you travel to
Bridgewater Bay about 18 Km's West of Portland and then go
about 2Km's further on untill you get to the Blowholes which
has a walking track along some spectacular high cliff coastal scenery. Then the next day it is only a 1 hour drive to Port Fairy,
about half way, just past the town of Yambuk, there is a quick
turn off the highway, that will take you to Yambuk Lakes, which
has some nice scenery, have a short break here and once you get
to Port Fairy make sure you do the walk around Griffith Island.

The_Effys

Thanks for the info you guys, much appreciated

if anyone's got anything to add that would be great,

Cheers all Chris Effy.

Bluerobot

As you have kids, I'd stop at Mount Gambier & take them to feed the Possums at Engelbrecht Caves. My 2 girls loved it. Take some fruit & a camera & get there at Dusk. The Possums are so tame you wouldn't believe (very touristy but the kids will love it).

Have you thought about joining the Big4 caravan club? We stayed at Big 4's along the way. You don't have to have a caravan - they have plenty of cabins. Some are pretty ordinary, but some are really good. Join for $30 for the year & get 10% off each stay. Worth every penny. There are 2 parks in the Mount & 1 in Warnambool & they are scattered all around the country.

Dave

Caroline G

Hi, we are going on our validation trip beginning of May and are also planning to do the Gt. Coastal Road drive. We have a baby so were also trying to ensure he's not in the car seat for too long.

Even though we are not booking a package or any organised tours etc. I got a holiday brochure which featured fly-drives providing routes, estimated drive times and suggested sights to visit. I've found this info useful as a guide.

Also, BIG4 holiday parks was mentioned on this thread. We plan to use them - only hiring a car but their cabin rates look reasonable. If you visit their website you can order a free brochure which details their various sites.

Actually, might see you en-route!

clevs

Hi Chris

We did this drive from Adelaide to Sydney, through Melbourne and throught the Blue Mountains. It took us 5/6 days and we saw alot along the coastal road.

Unfortuantely or fortunately we are the type of people who just found accommodation when we arrrived into different towns by night fall. Spur of the moment. Worth doing...

Have fun
Lara