Great Ocean Road: Reverse Day Trip, 12 Apostles & Small Group

4.89

(240 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure about waking up before sunrise for a day trip from Melbourne. But the idea of seeing the Twelve Apostles before the crowds sounded worth it — so there I was, half-awake as our guide, Dave, greeted us outside the hotel with that easy Aussie warmth. The van was quiet at first (everyone clutching coffee), but by the time we hit that first bakery stop — still smelling of warm bread and rain-soaked earth — people started to chat. Dave told us about farming families here; you could almost picture them in those fields just beyond the window.

Reaching the Twelve Apostles early felt like cheating time. There was this hush over everything — just wind and distant waves. No selfie sticks poking into your shot. I stood there longer than I meant to, watching light move across those limestone stacks. Someone in our group tried to say “Gog and Magog” with an American accent and even Dave laughed. We took our time at Loch Ard Gorge too; I didn’t expect to feel much about a shipwreck story but hearing it right there, cliffs towering above you, made it stick somehow.

The Great Ocean Road itself is all bends and sudden blue glimpses through gum trees. At one point we pulled over because someone spotted a koala (I missed it at first — they’re like fuzzy punctuation marks in the branches). Lunch was casual — you pick what you want in a seaside town where gulls eye your chips like they own the place. Later we wandered into Otway rainforest; air thick with eucalyptus and that green smell you only get after rain. My shoes got muddy but honestly? Worth it.

I kept thinking how different it felt doing this route backwards — less rushed, more space to just notice things. By late afternoon, as we stopped at a lookout high above everything, I realized I’d barely checked my phone all day. That’s rare for me. The drive back was quieter; some folks napped, others swapped photos or just watched the coastline slip past in gold light. It’s funny what sticks: that first cold wind at the Apostles, or how Dave pointed out carvings on a roadside memorial for workers who built this road by hand. Even now I remember that view more than any postcard could show.