Twelve Apostles

The Twelve Apostles: A Great Ocean Road Icon and the Facts About It

The Twelve Apostles are a set of limestone sea stacks off the Port Campbell coastline in Victoria, Australia, about 230 kilometres west of Melbourne on the Great Ocean Road. They were formed by erosion over millions of years, the same process that continues to reduce them now. There were never actually twelve. At most eight stacks stand above the waterline today, having started as sea arches that collapsed over time. The last collapse, in 2005, reduced the count by one in a matter of seconds when a 50-metre section broke away. The name “Twelve Apostles” was adopted for marketing purposes in 1956; the previous name was the “Sow and Piglets.”

Knowing this doesn’t make them less impressive. It makes them more interesting.

The Viewing Experience

The visitor centre and lookout platform are on the clifftop above the stacks. The main platform gives a view west along the coast where the main group of stacks is visible. A helicopter tour from the site gives the aerial perspective most of the photographs use. Both are worth doing if budget allows; the helicopters run frequently in season and a 12-minute flight costs around AU$145.

The light is best in the two hours after sunrise (eastern light on the eastern-facing stacks) and in the hour before sunset (the orange and pink light on the limestone). Both require early rising. The late afternoon helicopter tours are routinely the most spectacular. At noon in summer, the light is flat and harsh.

The Gibsons Steps, a path down the cliff face about 1 kilometre east of the main viewpoint, descends to the beach at sea level. From the beach you look back up at the stacks from their bases. This angle is genuinely different from the clifftop view and worth the 15-minute walk down (and back up, which is steeper). Access depends on tide and conditions; the steps are sometimes closed after high seas.

Loch Ard Gorge

Two kilometres east of the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge is named for the ship Loch Ard that wrecked here in 1878. Of 54 people aboard, two survived: apprentice officer Tom Pearce and passenger Eva Carmichael. The gorge, where Pearce found Carmichael after swimming through the surf, is a narrow inlet between vertical limestone cliffs with a small beach at its base. The walk down takes 10 minutes. The beach is sheltered and beautiful in a way that the more exposed Apostles location is not. The local sea cave at the west end of the gorge is accessible when conditions allow.

The Island Arch, the Mutton Bird Island, and the Blowhole further along the coast add variety to a half-day east-west exploration of the Port Campbell National Park.

The Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road itself (319 kilometres from Torquay to Allansford) is the context for visiting the Apostles. The road was built between 1919 and 1932 by returned soldiers and is dedicated to World War I servicemen. The cliff-hugging sections between Apollo Bay and Port Campbell are the most dramatic; the section before Apollo Bay runs through temperate rainforest.

Driving west from Melbourne allows you to arrive at the Apostles for late afternoon; driving east from Warrnambool gives you the sunrise light. The full road in one day from Melbourne is too rushed; two days is the minimum that allows proper stopping.

Staying and Eating

Port Campbell is the nearest town, 9 kilometres east. It has several guesthouses, a couple of pubs, and a caravan park. The Port Campbell Hotel pub serves standard pub food and has accommodation above. Apollo Bay, 95 kilometres east, has significantly more options and a more attractive setting on a sheltered bay with fishing boats.

Chris’s Beacon Point Restaurant at Apollo Bay is the best food on the road, with views of the bay and a menu focused on local seafood. Book ahead; it fills in season.

The visitor centre at the Twelve Apostles has a café that does coffee and snacks but nothing that makes a proper meal. Arrive with food if you’re planning a long visit around the golden hours.

Practical Notes

The site is managed by Parks Victoria and access to the lookout is free. Parking is free and the car park is large enough that it rarely fills. The coach tours from Melbourne arrive mid-morning and leave mid-afternoon; the shoulder hours around these windows give quieter viewing. The pedestrian tunnel under the Great Ocean Road connecting the visitor centre to the clifftop lookout is a 5-minute walk.