Don't Blink. Drive Slowly.

The Great Ocean Road stretches 243km along Victoria's southern coast from Torquay to Allansford, following a cliff edge built by returning WWI soldiers between 1919 and 1932 — the world's largest war memorial. Rushing it is one of Australia's most committed tourist mistakes.

Day One: Torquay to Apollo Bay

Leave Melbourne early. Stop at Bells Beach, the spiritual home of Australian surfing and site of the Rip Curl Pro. Even in flat conditions, watching the geography of the break tells you why this place became legendary.

Lunch at Lorne — the most civilised town on the road. Walk the Erskine Falls in the afternoon, where a 30m waterfall drops into a fern gully.

Stay in Apollo Bay. The fishing boats come in at sunset.

Day Two: Apollo Bay to Port Campbell

This is the day. The Otway Rainforest in the morning — one of Australia's last temperate rainforest ecosystems, where 300-year-old myrtle beeches arch over tracks of extraordinary stillness.

Then the cliffs begin. Loch Ard Gorge first — named for the iron clipper that wrecked here in 1878 with only two survivors, both 18 years old. The beach at the gorge floor is a perfect and haunted crescent.

The 12 Apostles at sunset. Arrive at 4pm. Walk the eastern platform first. Wait.

The Light

The limestone stacks change colour from pale gold to deep amber to burning orange as the sun drops. There are only eight of them now — the ninth collapsed in 2005, watched by 50 tourists. The Southern Ocean does not stop.

Get there before the tour buses. Stay until after they leave. The apostles at dusk, nearly alone, are a different experience entirely.

Practical Notes

• Drive direction: Torquay to Warrnambool (sun behind you for afternoon photography)
• Best months: March-May and September-November
• Fuel: Fill up at Apollo Bay
• Koalas: Roadside at Kennett River — look up in the gum trees