Great Ocean Road Itinerary

Are you planning on Visiting the Great Ocean Road during your big lap or even just planning a small trip exploring this beautiful area? This Blog will give you all the tips on where to stay and what to see!

The Great Ocean Road wasn't planned for our Lap of Australia but like everyone else Covid had different plans for us. We were planning on driving straight through Victoria to get to our next Destination - Tasmania! However because Covid struck South Australia we had no choice but to jump into Victoria and wait 14 days before going to Tasmania.

First stop for the night on the Great Ocean Road was:

Heywood 48 Hour Self Contained Rest Area - This campground offers drinking water and a dump point, however you must be fully self contained. It was so green and Lush for our first night in Victoria it really impressed us.

Our next stop on the list was another 48 Hour free Camp in Portland which was perfect to explore the area for 2 days.

Henty Park - 48 Hour Self Contained Only area - While we were there it was quite full but all vans had a good amount of space between them. The camp offered drinking water, toilets and a dump point. and was in the heart of Portland Victoria.

After exploring Portland for 2 days we moved onto a new free camp down the road on the Fitzroy river so we could throw a line in.

Tyrendarra Fitzroy River Reserve - When we say free camp, we generally mean no power no caravan parks, not that it is necessarily FREE.

This camp cost $8 per night however while we were there it was free due to covid so we decided to stay 2 nights on the river. 2 areas occupy this camp, up the top in a beautiful paddock or further down by the river which only has room for about 6 vans.

The day we arrived the caretaker told us to go for a walk down to our site to make sure there was room as it was quite hard to turn the caravan around. We took a walk and it was full , but luckily there was room for one more van so we raced up got the car and van and parked it up right on the river.

This Campsite offers toilets and bins but no water. It can get quite windy so be sure to keep an eye on your awning and watch for flooding, if it rains and the tide comes up.

This part of the Great Ocean Road we found was great for Dump points, water and free camps, however the further we went the harder it got and the more expensive it became.

The Next stop we decided to book a @hipcamp as there were no free camps close to the water mainly caravan parks.

Hampton Park Winslow - This was one of our favourite Camps in Victoria not only because the owners were so lovely and we were the only ones for 5 days but we had a pet koala, yep! And we named him Winslow!

This Hipcamp was a little more on the expensive side at $25 a night but was well worth it.

They ask that you are fully self contained and they only have Non Potable water. There is an amazing fire pit and lots of room for kids to run around. It was the perfect spot to explore the area and do day trips to Warrnambool which was 18 Minutes away. We would definitely stay again.

With a Successful stay at Hampton Park we decided to book another HipCamp a bit closer to the start of the great Ocean road that would be a good base to explore.

10 Acre Produce Camp - Another camp where we were the only ones and had amazing rainforest surrounding us.

You could purchase fresh eggs and they even had toilets which is a bonus for a @Hipcamp. Fire Pits are spread around the camp and you can purchase firewood which is perfect. Only 25 minutes to Port Campbell this camp was $27 a night which again is on the expensive side but so much cheaper than a caravan park.

While we were staying here for 3 nights we explored the following areas:

Petersborough, Port Campbell, Bay of islands, Massacre Bay, The Grotto, The Arch, London Bridge, Port Campbell Stairs, Gibson Steps and 12 Apostles. So it was the perfect base to explore all the main attractions!

After 10 Acre produce we decided to head inland for a couple of days for a free camp to help our budget, this next spot was inland from the Great Ocean Road but it was a great spot for a night or two.

Merideth Park River - Colac - Thankfully it wasn’t busy and we nabbed a spot on the river next to our travelling family friends. Once again this one was actually Free and offered drinking water and toilets, you can also have a fire when no fire bans are in place.

The next spot we stopped at was on the Great Ocean Road in the Great Otway National.

Aire River West Camping Ground - This campground you have to book through Victoria National Parks Website. it is $14.50 a night, offers toilets, non potable water and bins. We really enjoyed our night here and did a little 4wding through the dunes which was fun.

As we continued on the Great Ocean road it was becoming more busy and more difficult to find free camps close to the beach or even just cheap free camps. Victoria is a very expensive place to explore we discovered and made it quite difficult to juggle the budget.

our next stop was one we didn't want to stay at but really had to if we wanted to stay close to the beach. It was our first Caravan Park in over 2 months and we realised why again we don't like to stay in them.

Cumberland River Caravan Park - This caravan Park was the cheapest we could find anywhere along the Great Ocean Road - $40 a night unpowered and small tight sites.

The amenities were old and you still had to pay for a hot shower. The laundry was old and the washing machines couldn't even finish a load without flooding the laundry, yep our washing flooded the laundry and I hung out soaking wet sheets and clothes and it cost us $10 for 2 loads! All we can say is it's a great place to visit lorne without paying $65+ a night for staying in Lorne.

As we were nearing the end of our great Ocean Road Trip we knew we had two more stops before we got on the Boat to Tassie. We headed inland again for this next camp as it was free for 48 hours with water and toilets.

Barwon River Reserve - Winchelsea - Free 48 hour self contained Caravan parking and right on the river. This River is known to rise very quickly and as you pull up you will notice signs all around advising to keep an eye on the markers if it has been raining.

When we pulled up there were two other vans parked up and it was just around the corner from one of the cutest cafes with great coffee.

After spending two nights in Winchelsea we made our way to Torquay! Our last stop on the Great Ocean Road. This was going to be one of our longest stays anywhere since we left for our trip - 9 nights we spent at this @hipcamp!

Country Retreat - Torquay - This @hipcamp was actually really cheap for the location it was in and the owners were so lovely, we would chat most days talking about our trip and things to do in the area. At $22 a night they only allow two sites at a time to book so you are guaranteed privacy and absolute quietness. They don't offer toilets and only non potable water but the location you can't beat.

While we stayed here we explored the following locations, Torquay, Bells Beach, Barwon Heads, Ocean Grove, Geelong,Anglesea and Queenscliff.

Overall We enjoyed doing the Great Ocean Road, we thought it could be a lot more RV friendly with more dump points and places to fill water as this made our trip quite difficult.It is definitely a one in a lifetime chance to see this amazing coastline. Every Corner you turn you are just wowed by what Mother nature has created.

The one thing we are grateful for is that Covid has provided us with a more intimate viewing of this beauty of a coastline as there were no tourist to be seen. we were able to enjoy our backyard without fighting for a park or getting a photo, we truely enjoyed being the only ones at some places.

Here are a few more pictures of our time on the Great Ocean Road! And just remember if you have questions please drop us a message, give this blog a like or a comment it would be greatly Appreciated.

Carly & Kurt xx