Apostles, Great Ocean Road

The Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road

In January 1990, the seaward arch of London Bridge, a natural rock formation near Port Campbell, collapsed into the sea without warning. Two tourists who had walked out onto the now-isolated section required helicopter rescue. What remains is a freestanding platform offshore. This is not an unusual event along this coast: the Twelve Apostles themselves number eight, not twelve, because four have collapsed since the formation was named. The whole coastline is actively eroding, losing between two and three centimetres per year, and the formations people photograph today will look different in ten years. Visiting now is always the right time.

The Great Ocean Road runs for 243 kilometres between Torquay and Allansford in Victoria, Australia. It was built between 1919 and 1932 by returned soldiers as a war memorial – the longest in the world by any measure – and dedicated to the fallen upon completion. That context matters. The road was built with hand tools and explosives into cliffs above the Southern Ocean by men who had survived the Western Front, and it shows in the effort and the alignment.

The Twelve Apostles

The limestone stacks at Port Campbell National Park were never twelve in number; the formation was called the “Sow and Piglets” before being renamed for marketing purposes in the 1950s. Eight stand today. The viewing platforms on both sides of the highway offer different perspectives, and the 15-minute walk from the large car park (free entry to the national park) is accessible to all. Gibson Steps, a short drive east, leads to the beach at the base of the stacks – standing on the sand with columns rising 45 metres overhead is a different experience from viewing them from above. The beach is not suitable for swimming due to rip currents, but it gives the scale that the clifftop views don’t.

Arrive before 9am or after 4pm. The car park fills between 10am and 3pm in peak season, and the formation is not improved by the presence of several hundred other visitors simultaneously.

Loch Ard Gorge

Three kilometres east of the Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge takes its name from the iron clipper ship that wrecked here in June 1878. Of the 54 people aboard, only two survived: Eva Carmichael, a young Irish immigrant, and Tom Pearce, a ship’s apprentice who dragged her to shore through the gorge’s narrow entrance after the impact. The interpretive signs tell this story properly. The gorge itself is a deep inlet with a sheltered beach accessible by stairs; the cliffs funnel ocean swells into a churning mass at the entrance while the beach behind remains relatively calm. One of the more protected swimming spots on this coast.

The Great Ocean Walk

The 104-kilometre Great Ocean Walk from Apollo Bay to the Twelve Apostles can be done as an 8-day through-walk or in day sections from various trailheads. The final day arrives at the Apostles from the east along the clifftops – one of the more dramatic walk finishes in Victoria. The multi-day version requires permits and camping bookings through Parks Victoria.

Practical Notes

Fuel up in Apollo Bay before continuing west; prices are higher in Port Campbell and hours can be limited. The koala population in the Kennett River area of the Otway Ranges is one of the more accessible in Victoria; a short loop walk through eucalyptus forest produces reliable sightings. Wildlife on the road itself at night is a genuine hazard; avoid driving the Great Ocean Road after dark. Weather is variable in all seasons; a waterproof layer is necessary regardless of forecast.