Australia: Traveling the Otways
My month in Australia was definitely one for the books. I had one of the most incredible experiences and I will give you some of the highlights of my trip to hopefully give you some inspiration for your future Australian adventures!
I traveled with WorkAway and stayed with an incredible host family in Barongarook, Victoria. The most recent census taken in 2011 confirmed a total population of 463. Not 463 thousand. Just 463. So yea, talk about small town life. It is a very rustic, rural community located on the northern end of the Otway National Park and it is beautiful and so peaceful. It definitely has a small-town community vibe and I loved exploring the area and hanging out with all the neighbors.
Just about 20 minutes north of Barongarook was the small town of Colac. It is a cute little city with population of about 12,000, so still sticking to the small-town life. My favorite thing to do there was hang out by the beautiful Lake Colac. The best place to admire the lake was just outside of the Botanical Gardens. After having a nice picnic by the lake, take a stroll through the Gardens to admire some of the beautiful, natural Australian flora. It is a great (free!) spot in the city.
The best part of living just outside of a national park was the easy access to the best waterfalls in the area. On my third day there, one of the guys I was staying with gave me one of his “famous” Alex’s Otway Tours. On this world-famous tour, we explored Triplet falls, Hopetoun falls, Beauchamp falls, and the California Redwood Forest.
Every one of these stops was insanely beautiful and they all had fairly easy hikes to access them. Make sure to check these out during the rainy season because they can have some pretty skimpy flow during the dry season. No matter the water flow, the hikes are still worth checking out.
After exploring all the waterfalls, Alex and I headed down south to dip our feet into the beautiful waters of the Southern Ocean and grab a drink in Apollo Bay. Apollo Bay is a great little beach town full of fun spots to explore. If you find yourself here, definitely check out Marriners Lookout. It is the best view of the ocean and the city and has a pretty short hike up to the top. There’s also a great waterfall called Marriners Falls a short drive out of the city. The signs technically say it is closed, but if you’re a little bit more of an adventurer and you’re fine with hurdling over and limbo-ing under fallen trees and rock hopping across the river for about 2km, then this is a great hike for you! The hike was really fun and the fall was so peaceful. Another fun thing to do in Apollo Bay is just take a stroll along the main road to check out the fun shops and restaurants. I am a thrifter by nature and if you are too, check out the Second Sails Op Shop (thrift shop) in town. It’s pretty small, but they have some great finds there. This cute little town is also right on the water, so if you’re an early riser (and even if you’re not), make sure to find at least one morning to wake up for the sunrise. It won’t disappoint.
An absolute must do when visiting Victoria is drive down the Great Ocean Road (while listening to the Great Ocean Road by John Williamson!). It is a breathtaking drive along the Southern Ocean and partly through the forests of the Otways. I honestly could not get enough of some of the views along the drive, with the cliffs dropping straight onto the shoreline opening up to the crystal-clear aquamarine waters. While the drive itself is incredible, there are also lots of fun stops along the way. Some of my favorites include Teddy’s Lookout in Lorne, The Great Ocean Walk starting at Cape Otway, and the famous Twelve Apostles. There is a reason the Twelve Apostles is the most well-known stop along the Great Ocean Road. It is a breathtaking rock formation just off the shore. While it was completely worth it for the view, it is one of the most well-known tourist attractions, so there were hundreds of people there. I’m more of a sucker for quieter, more serine spots, so as beautiful as it was, I think I more so enjoyed the similar views we got along the less populated Great Ocean Walk.
One weekend, Alex had a footie game down in Lorne, so we decided to make a two-day trip out of it. Lorne is a fun beach town with lots of great places to check out! My favorite spot was Teddy’s Lookout. It was a beautiful view of the mountains dropping off into the ocean. After checking out that view, head down to the pier to get more great views of the ocean and the city. Also, say hi to the sealion who hangs out just under the pier! We also checked out the waterfalls around the area and they did not disappoint. Erskine Falls had a pretty steep hike down to the lower viewing site, but it was well worth the leg pain going back up. It was beautiful and it even had a fun, unmarked hike behind the viewing area that lead to a smaller waterfall. It’s also fairly easy to get up pretty close to most of the waterfalls in the area if you’re feeling a little adventurous and you’re okay with some rock hopping. But be careful because the rocks can be very slippery!
We also went to Kalimna Falls, which was probably the smallest fall that we had seen so far. It was a cute little fall just in front of a cave and the hike in was a pretty easy 1.1km, so it’s fun to check out if you have some extra time. A little more on the beaten path was Sheoak Falls and Swallow Cave. Since this spot is just off the Great Ocean Road, it’s a little more populated, but definitely worth checking out. The cave was really cool and it was very easy to hop off the trail and do a little exploring. It hadn’t rained much before we went, so the fall was pretty small, but still beautiful and a fun hike down to it. We camped at Sharps Campground, which was a free spot a short drive out of the city in a beautiful, peaceful spot in the middle of the bush. Lorne is a great little city and definitely worth a stop on your Great Ocean Road adventure.
Another day-trip that I found myself on was one to the coastal city of Geelong. I loved this great little city. The best part is just checking out the waterfront. It’s beautiful and peaceful to just walk along the water. I started near Deakin University and walked to the Botanical Gardens, also making the loop on the Eastern Beach Swimming Enclosure.
After this nice little walk, I checked out the Botanical Gardens, which is a (free!) must-see when you visit. The Gardens were very beautiful and there was so much to see. The rest of the day was just spent exploring the city, admiring the street art, hanging out by the water, walking through the shops, and checking out the rooftop view of the city from the library. I had a great day in Geelong and I would definitely suggest it as a fun day-trip stop.
If you’re more of a city dweller, then make sure to spend some time in Melbourne (and use HostelWorld to find the cheapest accommodations). It is a great, very active and happenin’ city with lots to do and explore. The first night I was there, I stayed in Nomads All Nations Hostel, which was a pretty cool place and they had events going on almost every night. Unfortunately, Sundays are the only nights they don’t have an event and that happened to be the only night I was staying there. So I decided to do my own thing and explore the city at night. My hostel was in a convenient, central location, so it had pretty easy access to lots of cool spots in the area. We were only about two blocks from the Yara River, so I just walked around the river and checked out all the city lights. I grabbed some quick takeout at a pizza place and headed back to the hostel. I ate my dinner in the community room at the hostel and hung out with the other hostel-dwellers and met some really cool travelers from all over the world.
I didn’t have much of a plan for the next day in Melbourne because living in the middle of the bush does have some draw backs including having zero wifi. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love living on the simple side and being detached from technology, but it does make planning trips a little more difficult. Since I had no wifi for about 3 weeks, when I got to the city, I really had no idea about what were the must-see spots and the fun things to do around the area. Thankfully, my hostel offered a free walking tour with the other hostels in the area, also giving me a chance to meet other travelers. This tour was with Walks101 and it was wonderful. We explored the city alleyways, saw some incredible street art, drank famous Melbourne flat whites at a local coffee shop, walked around Fed Square, checked out the Yara River, and finished the tour off at a historic pub where we got lunch and free beer. After the tour, I utilized the free tram system and rode around the city, hopping off at random locations to check out the parks and shops. At the end of the day, I hopped on the train and headed back to Barongarook for my last week there.
The night before my flight back home, I went back up to Melbourne and spent the night at Nomads Hostel and loved it. It had a very fun and inviting atmosphere, with a bar and pool tables right near the lobby, a cool outdoor back patio, and an awesome rooftop deck with a great view of the city. That night, I just hung out at the hostel and chatted with the other travelers staying there. My flight the next day was at noon, so I needed to head to the airport around 9:30. I had heard the Queen Victoria Market was a must-see in Melbourne, but unfortunately it had been closed the first day I was in Melbourne. So I decided to check it out before my flight because online, the hours of operation were from 6am to 2pm. I thought it was strange that they would be open so early, but I didn’t question it, so I set my alarm for 5:55am and headed over, sadly to find out that only the produce stands are open that early and the actual booths don’t open till around 8, so I walked around the city for a little while then headed back around 8. Most of the shops were still setting up, so I really didn’t get to see much of the actual market since I had to make my way to the airport. I have heard nothing but good things about the market, so it is definitely on my list to check out on my next trip to Australia! There are literally dozens of things to do in Melbourne, but since I was only there for such a short time, I was very limited with what I was able to do and see.
When I look back at my month in Victoria, I feel like I did and saw so much, but then when I look at the map of how much of Australia I actually saw, it is such a small little dot on the map. It seriously blows my mind how big the world is! I honestly loved every single day that I was in Australia and I cannot wait till I can go back and explore more of this amazing country. If you have any awesome Australian adventures, I would love to hear about them! Or if you have any questions about my travels in Australia, just ask!
Thanks for reading, and as always, remember to make every day an adventure!
Do you enjoy reading about all my travels and adventures? Would you like to help my adventures continue by supporting me financially? If you do, then please know, that would mean the world to me! To do this, you can go to my Patreon page to choose which level you would like to support me at! Thanks for your love and support and remember to make every day an adventure!
Fill your life with adventure, not things
-Unknown
