Hi nomads, We are in a MUX towing a 20 ft caravan. We are presently in Mallacoota, Victoria and headed for Torquay to begin. Is there any advice for us regarding campgrounds, free camping, driving tips, accessability for a caravan on this amazing road? We do not want to miss this amazing road as we head back to Perth. Thanks
No free camps to speak of, caravan parks are very popular & fairly expensive, you'll be traveling on the outside lane with a large cliff face dropping down to the ocean.
Take it easy & watch out for Asian tourists driving on the wrong side of the road. There are warning signs. It's a fantastic scenic stretch of road & coast, enjoy.
Be prepared for an irate traffic jam behind you.
-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Friday 3rd of February 2017 06:35:36 PM
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Cheers Keith & Judy
Don't take life too seriously, it never ends well.
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Hi, a good place to stay before great ocean rd is geelong showgrounds.Colac showgrounds n u could do day trips to the coast. We did not take our van on the great ocean rd. n scout grounds timboon is good to Do day trips to the coast. We stayed there n drove the top end and geelong for the bottom end. enjoy. U can pm me if u need to know more.
Hi mux 1.. we did the great ocean road in October 2016 ( landcruiser and 19'6 van ) be carefull of van parks, make sure you can get your van in and OUT before booking and in my opinion avoid the 1st park on the left going into warnambool. But it was an easy run no problems and well worth it.
Last time we travelled the GOR, we stayed at Kennett River Caravan Park. Nice park that was not overly expensive, (Powered site was about $37 per night - off peak) compared to the Big 4 at Wye River - nice spacious park but more expensive. (no afilliation to either) Plenty of koalas in and around the Kennett River park. Heading westwards, we also stayed at Johanna Beach which back then was free. Now, Parks Vic or whatever they are called now charge about $30 per night for a unpowered spot on a bit of grass with just a toilet block for facilities - no showers etc. Go figure !!! After Johanna Beach, we stayed at Port Campbell for a few nights and based ourselves there to visit the 12 Apostles etc (or is it 9 Apostles now? !!) I can't help with any other camp spots etc.
As stated, take care on the GOR. 2 full size vans passing each other can be a bit tight in places. I towed my 20' van through there and was very careful to know exactly where the van was sitting on the road. Take your time and travel at a speed you are comfortable with. Pull over when you can to allow following vehicles to pass and you won't have any issues. In any case, it is a great drive. Travelling west, you will be in the ideal position to stop at all the information bays, viewing areas etc - space permitted with a van on the back. Most have displays or boards up outlining the history of the area and the building of the GOR etc. Well worth taking your time to have a look.
Enjoy, it is a beautiful part of Victoria. Having said that, I have not been down there since the fires ravaged the area a while back so be prepared for a few blackened out spots that might not have regenerated fully as yet.
Hope you have enjoyed Mallacoota. My husband is working at the large shire owned caravan park - he's the 'rubbish' man - not the manager.
When you get to Sale take the South Gippsland Hwy ( Port Albert, Yarram) rather than continue on the Princes Hwy. A much nicer drive with some great views and not much longer.
-- Edited by villatranquilla on Friday 3rd of February 2017 10:33:21 PM
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Jenny and Barry
2009 Roma Elegance / 2013 Colorado. Permanent travellers 2011-2015 now just travel for 4-6 mths
Hi, we live on the western end of the GOR. As others have said there is no free camping that I know of between Geelong and Warrnambool. You are going in thr right direction for easy access to all of the sights but watch out for overseas visitors on the road - they easily forget which side to drive on. My advice is to choose a couple of caravan parks enroute and do day trips. That way you can get to see all that there is. Stay on the coast road as going further inland eg to/from Colac is very hilly and narrow. A couple of good CP are Port Campbell, right near the beach and river and Peterborough right on the river. Both good for doing day trips to see the sights.
The western end if you dont want/need to stay in Warrnambool, Killarney and Yambuk are both great CP along with Narrawong closeto Portland. Good free camping in this area is Sawpit campground and Fitzroy River reply. Enjoy it is a stunning coastline so take your time.
We have driven the GOR several times & always choose a place to set up the van & do day trips so that we can better enjoy the scenery.
We have stayed at either end (eg Warrnambool/Torquay & even as far back as Queenscliff/Port Fairy) & done the adjacent half or set up in the 'middle' at Colac & done loops from there. The lake was full when we were at Colac & we had an excellent site on the grass to return to at night.
Too much traffic on the GOR to pull the van AND enjoy the views IMO. Hard to get a van sized park at lookouts too.
So many place's to go and see along the way from Mallacoota, as was said before port Albert, lakes entrance, Wilson's Promontory,
Marlo where the snowy river meets the sea, so many place's to go and free camping virtually everywhere .
And thats before you get to melbourne and check all the places on the west side off Victoria.
Pomme.
Being the driver is a head ach ! Can't look and see the coast you can't take your eyes off . Drive safely .. Pull over on paking areas to have a good look around ..
