The Great Ocean Walk (Apollo Bay to Shelly Beach)

Day Five - Australia & the Great Ocean Walk - 2025

A day spent visiting sights along the Great Ocean Road before kicking-off the first leg of the Great Ocean Walk.

1. Good Morning Melbourne

As of 2025, five of Australia’s tallest eight buildings are located in Melbourne.

Following the Anzac Day ceremony, I spent my free time visiting a few local bars before taking the afternoon to prepare my equipment (and myself) for the multi-day Great Ocean Walk. To be honest, I don’t recall where I first heard about the Great Ocean Walk, but I suspect given the time the trail was inaugurated -2006- it very well could have been mentioned on the Dutch news (I was living in the Netherlands at the time) or on the BBC. However it happened, this idea of a multi-day walking trail hugging the Australian coast occupied my consciousness since and I knew I’d just have to hike it one day. That it became the main activity on my first trip to Australia surprised even me, but -given the time of year of my window of opportunity for an Australia trip- it just clicked into place nicely with Anzac Day and my previously described strange desire to see an Aussie Rules Football match.

I booked my tour with an Australian company called Inspiration Outdoors (which has subsequently merged with Intrepid Travel.) I will do a complete review of this product before long, but for the purposes of this travelogue know that this is a top-notch tour and is perhaps the best organized, well-executed, and most entertaining group tour I have ever been on.

That said, the tour began rather early, and so I made a very awkward sunrise walk with my backpack and duffel bag the short distance to the Arts Centre Melbourne. Soon the group was all together: me (the token American), a Brit, and several Australians from Queensland, New South Wales, and Western Australia. Much to my relief given my experience in Peru, I wasn’t the oldest hiker in the group!

We set off to make the two-hour drive down to our first stop. Along the way, I had a chance to find out more about my travel companions. Our trekking experience and fitness varied, with a long-distance runner here and a weekend walker there. Thankfully, the Great Ocean Walk is accessible to people with a wide range of fitness and the tour I booked was accommodated, meaning we only had to carry a day pack. Like every other trek I’ve been on, of course my bag was the largest with all of my camera equipment, but -in this case- I think I had the most lifetime hiking distance by a good bit.

2. Split Point Lookout #1

Spit Point, located within the Victorian village of Aireys Inlet, is home to the Spit Point Lighthouse and the Eagle Rock Marine Sanctuary.

Our first stop was at the Split Point Lookout, a scenic viewpoint nearby a famous lighthouse of the same name (or, at least, its Australia famous.) These were my first views of the beautiful coastline I had so longed to see and they did not disappoint!

Three more photos from Split Point Lookout follow.

3. Split Point Lookout #2

4. Split Point Lookout #3

5. Split Point Lookout #4

6. Memorial Arch

The Great Ocean Road is a 240-kilometer / 150-mile long road between Torquay and Allansford and was built by hand between 1919 and 1932, primarily by 3,000 returned World War I soldiers to whom the road is dedicated.

A bit further down the road we stopped at the Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch.

7. Lorne Beach #1

Lorne, Victoria, is home to Pier to Pub, a 1.2 kilometer / 3,900 foot swim from the Lorne Pier to the beach in front of Lorne Pub; it attracts upwards of 5,000 participants a year.

We next stopped for a coffee and tea break -a staple of the upcoming journey- along Lorne Beach.

8. Lorne Beach #2

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9. Cape Patton Lookout

West of Apollo Bay, Cape Patton Lookout is considered one of the best vantage points along the Great Ocean Road with dramatic cliffs and views of the Southern Ocean.

Lastly, we stopped at Cape Patton Lookout for an epic view down the Victorian coastline.

10. Apollo Bay to Shelly Beach #1

Inaugurated in January 2006, the Great Ocean Walk is a 104-kilometer / 65-mile walking track from Apollo Bay to Glenample Homestead (nearby the Twelve Apostles) in Victoria, Australia.

Arriving in the village of Apollo Bay, it was time to suit up, grab requisite photos at the trailhead, and begin our trek down the Great Ocean Walk! The first day is a generally undemanding afternoon walk mostly along the beaches of Apollo Bay, Marengo, and the Elliot River - Addis Bay Coastal Reserve en route to Shelly Beach. This is certainly by design, as it not only eases you into hiking (especially after an early morning), but also gives the guides an idea of the hiking pace of the group.

11. Apollo Bay to Shelly Beach #2

The first stretch of the Great Ocean Walk -between Apollo Bay and Shelly Beach- is 8.75 kilometers / 5.44 miles long.

While you spend a good amount of the first day in and around small beach towns without much in the way of fauna, you may get as lucky as we did and see some fur seals out on the rocks (trust me, they’re there.)

12. Apollo Bay to Shelly Beach #3

There is quite a bit of kelp washed up on the beach (at least there was at the end of April) and -along with it- a fair number of wasps, so be mindful to take a kit with you if you are allergic to wasp stings.

13. Apollo Bay to Shelly Beach #4

Near the edge of Marengo, the beach became more rocky and the oceanside cottages became fewer in number.

14. Apollo Bay to Shelly Beach #5

15. Apollo Bay to Shelly Beach #6

Entering Elliot River - Addis Bay Coastal Reserve is where I’d say the Great Ocean Walk really comes into its own as you begin to traverse dirt paths that become increasingly more separated from the Great Ocean Road. This, in essence, is what makes the Great Ocean Walk so special: you get to see viewpoints and features that you can’t see any other way than on foot.

16. Apollo Bay to Shelly Beach #7

17. Apollo Bay to Shelly Beach #8

Again, the first day of the trek is not terribly demanding but you do get the occasional rise to a viewpoint here and there.

18. Apollo Bay to Shelly Beach #9

Our day ended with a walk-out to our tour van at the Shelly Beach Walking Track, just across the “border” of Great Otway National Park. If you are reading this and plan to go on-track, this hike uphill to the car park will certainly give you a taste of what’s to come over the next few days.

19. Wildlife Wonders Sunset #1

Wildlife Wonders is a 30 acres / 12 hectare fenced-off free range animal sanctuary located just outside Otway Ranges National Park in Victoria.

My tour group was the pilot for a new tour addition, a visit to Wildlife Wonders for dinner followed by a sunset walking tour to spot nocturnal animals. This was a solid addition, and I am pleased that -as of the writing of this travelogue- they have continued with this option. Since we were the pilot, I think our timing was a tiny bit off … maybe ten to twenty minutes or so. All the same, we had a lovely dinner followed by the aforementioned nature walk where we spotted pademelons and potoroos. The enthusiasm of the guide there -Erin- was unmatched. The timing -coupled with the fact that I didn’t bring a low-light lens- meant that I don’t have any photos from this experience. No big deal, it was enjoyable all the same! I was able to get some photos of the sunset, for which Wildlife Wonders has an excellent vantage.

20. Wildlife Wonders Sunset #2

Following our time at Wildlife Wonders, we made our way back to Apollo Bay for our overnight at the Apollo Bay Motel in town. I took a bit of time in the evening to explore the town, checking out a couple of bars before calling it an evening after a long and eventful day.

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