Event: Australia

Great Ocean Road

When:	Daily
Where:	Great Ocean Road
Costs:	Free
Opening Hours:	All day

The Great Ocean Road is one of Australia's most spectacular drives. Along the way, you'll pass deserted golden beaches, fern-filled rainforests, spectacular rock stacks, pounding surf, historic towns and tranquil bays. Don't rush it!

The 300km route divides neatly into two halves: Surf Coast between Torquay and Cape Otway and Shipwreck Coast between Cape Otway and Port Fairy. Torquay is known for its great surf and is home to the Surfworld Australia Surfing Museum, which anyone with a passing interest in waves should catch.

Make your next stop the town of Lorne, the trendiest spot on the Great Ocean Road. The gourmet restaurants cook with local mussels, crayfish, honey and herbs as well as offering a good choice of wines made around nearby Geelong.

Lorne and Apollo Bay, located a little further along the Surf Coast, are both great bases for exploring the Otway Ranges just inland, a national reserve of rainforest and waterfalls.

Once around the headland of Cape Otway, the Shipwreck Coast begins. Stop to bathe at the beautiful Johanna and Blanket Bay beaches.

Next up are the iconic Twelve Apostles. These huge limestone rock stacks are washed by waves and only seven can be seen from the Great Ocean Road - to see all 12 you'll have to take a helicopter!

Soon after you'll pass Lord Ard Gorge. Think with pity of two exhausted, freezing 18-year olds who staggered to shore here after surviving the shipwreck of the Glasgow-built Loch Ard which foundered on the reefs in 1878.

Finally, as you near the end of this amazing drive, don't miss a chance to glimpse Southern Right Whales at Logans Beach near Warrnambool. They migrate along this stretch of coast between June and October.