trailbitten.com
  • Tour updates
  • About
  • The Journey
  • Equipment
    • Choosing the bicycles
    • Gear reviews
  • Photos
  • Links
  • Contact

Melbourne to Adelaide and the Great Ocean Road

2/22/2014

0 Comments

 
We left Melbourne on the 20th of January and arrived in Adelaide one month later, the 19th of February, after 1420 km of cycling. The route included the Great Ocean Road which is one of the most famous Australian roads.

View Melbourne to Adelaide in a larger map
Here is a short description of how we experienced the trip and some advice for others planning to do the same trip.

Camping:

We prefer to bush camp between the towns but on this leg we stayed many nights on camping sites. Main reasons for that were that it sometimes was difficult to find a good bush camping spot and also as we traveled slow and wanted to see the towns, we had to stay on the organized sites. Some camping spots were better then others. We liked the camping in Port Campbell were we stayed at the recreational area. Big, big grassy area, lots of bushes making it a very private and nothing like the sardine cramped caravan parks. It's only opened for seven weeks around New Year, cost is 25 $. Offer basic facilities but it's the camping style we prefer.

Camping on the lawn behind The Beach backpackers in Warrnambool, 22 $ for two people was good value too. 

Mount Gambier Central caravan park, right in the heart of the city, clean facilities and helpful staff. 22 $ for two people was also great value and gave us the opportunity to see the town and have some rest.

The camping in Mt Eccles NP was also great but it was hot. We decided to have a rest day there on a hot day when the temperatures reached almost 40 degrees. But it turned out to be a very long day. We had no books or other entertainment and it was so hot even in the shade. So from 9 AM until 9 PM it was just sitting and waiting for some cooler weather. And when it finally was a bit cooler we pitched our tent. But we soon found out that the ground was like a hot plate. The dark soil had absorbed the heat during the whole day and now it was like sleeping on a hot radiator. It was a hot and sweaty night in the tent. It was first in the late morning that it cooled down a bit. 

The thing with the hot ground was a new experience for us. Having just camped in Sweden and other places with a cooler climate, this had never been an issue before. There it's the other way around and you have to make sure that you have enough insulation from the chilling ground. 
Weather

The weather was mostly good for cycling. We had a handful of hot days were the temperature were around 40 degrees. Some of those days we just rested and the rest we tried to finish the cycling around 1 PM, before it got too hot. 

We had three days of rain. Not really heavy rain but continues rain for most of the day so still made us soaking wet.

Regarding the wind we didn't have any real problem. No strong headwinds, some day it was a bit more of wind but then mostly from the side or even tailwind. So never something that really slowed us down or made the cycling tougher.
Food

We normally always prepare or cook our own meals. If staying in a caravan park we use the kitchen there and every little town also has a free BBQ area. For lunch the standard food on the road is couscous with canned tuna/chicken/ham plus salad. The big advantage with couscous is that you can mix it with cold water. It tastes really good and on most days you don't want to eat a hot meal for lunch so it's perfect then. 

For breakfast we always have muesli and there is no need to use the stove then. I like to have a cup of coffee on the mornings. But being a bit lazy I just mix instant coffee with water. As long as it's black and strong I can drink it... And when you have a cup of real coffee it taste so much better then.

Many days there were total fire bans. On those days you are not allowed to use the stove. If we were camping in the bush it made things easier, because then it's not so much you have to choose between. It's couscous on the menu again:) On the month we traveled we only used about 3 dl of petrol in total.  
Getting to the Great Ocean Road (GOR) from Melbourne:

My advice would be to take the train from Melbourne to Frankston and cycle from there. We began cycling from Caulfield on the Nepean highway. But only after 5 km we had enough of it. We found that the road was far too busy for us and we decided to take the train instead from Patterson to Frankston. As it was about ten in the morning and we were heading out from the city the train was almost empty. So it was easy to get on board even with bicycle plus the trailer. The train ticket is only about 3 AUD so it's a bargain. 

From Frankston we had to travel on the Nepean hwy again but out there it was much less traffic and once we reached Mornington we could turn right and ride along the coast instead. We both felt that it was when the fun began and we would suggest anyone thinking of cycling from Melbourne to Adelaide to catch the train to the outer suburbs. 
From Sorrento you can catch the ferry over to Queenscliff. No booking is required, it's just to roll onto the ferry. The crossing takes about 45 minutes and was 10 AUD/pp. From Queenscliff it's an easy ride to the beginning of the GOR.

Frankston to Torquay

Mostly flat roads and from Mornington you can cycle along the coast to Sorrento. You will have some nice views over the Port Phillip Bay and not so much traffic. So enjoyable cycling. 

Queenscliff is a beautiful small town with lots of old buildings, a lighthouse and is a good spot for a lunch stop and some sightseeing. From there take the road via Ocean Grove to Torquay, the home of Bell beach, a classic surf beach.
Torquay to Apollo Bay.

GOR starts in Torquay but it's first after Lorne you have the really scenic views of the ocean. Road is winding but still a bit of shoulder for cyclists, so good for cycling. There are also lots of turnouts to stop and admire the views.
Apollo Bay to Twelve Apostles

After Apollo Bay the GOR goes more inland and is not really near the ocean until you are near the iconic Twelve Apostles. Short after Apollo Bay you will reach the highest point on GOR, the Lavers Hill. We heard some warnings about cycling the hill but we found it to be very friendly gradient. Not really hard cycling and the climb is over many kilometers. And still it's just 450 meters above sea level so it's a hill and not a mountain. I personally found the cycling tougher after Lavers Hill, when the road was more undulating up and down for some kilometers. 

The route from Apollo Bay up to Twelve Apostles was also the worst part of GOR when it came to traffic. Much of this section didn't have any shoulder, just a narrow and winding road. We always stay as far left as we can and normally the drivers always give us some extra space. But here that was not the standard. Only part so far in Australia where many passed uncomfortably close. Even if the sight was clear, no oncoming traffic they still so close to us as it sometimes felt a bit scary.

We met one Polish cyclist just after the Twelve Apostles and he told us that he experienced exactly the same. 
Twelve Apostle to Warrnambool

The Twelve Apostles are the most famous and recognized lanmark of GOR. The view around here is really fantastic and a highlight of the GOR. But it's more to see on this section, many turnouts from GOR offer impressive views. We found it really great to also see the London Bridge, Bay of martyres, Loch Ard gorge and bay of islands. Port Campbell is about halfway and a good spot to stay for a night or two.
Warrnambool to Nelson

Warrnambool is a bigger town and is on our top list among the towns wee seen on our trip. Beautiful near the coast, size is good, has everything but still small so easy get around on your bicycle and so much beautiful picnic areas. Camped there at the backpacks for a couple of nights before taking an old railway track that been turned into a bicycle path. The path does a loop up through Koroit, an old Irish settlement, before ending in Port Fairy. 
From Port Fairy we continued on the Princess hwy. Stopped for camping at Yambuk lake, great camp site with a very friendly caretaker and beautiful views. From Yambuk we cycled inland towards Macarthur. Straight, flat and empty roads and great cycling. Was a very hot day but could cool down in the pool at Macarthur. Cycled via Mt Eccles and then Cobboboonee rd to Nelson. Recommend doing the detour over Mt Eccles and Cobboboonee rd. Nice quiet gravel roads and great camping.
Nelson to Meningie

Nelson is the last town before SA and we stop there for lunch. Best way to cycle to Mt Gambier is to take the Border rd and then Caroline Forest hq rd. No traffic and there is good camping spots around Dry Creek. Mount Gambier is a bigger town and a good place to resupply. Famous for it's Blue lake. 

Our advice would then be to take the road via Mt Schank, and old volcano with a distinct crater shape. Continue via Tantanoola where there is a good free camping spot. The road up along the Coorong NP is long, flat and mostly straight. Enjoyed cycling there and a must see on the way is the towns of Beachport, Robe and Kingston S.E. Good places for a swim and a rest. Water is really chilly but it's still nice to cool down on a hot day. 
Meninge - Fleurieu Peninsula - Adelaide


Meningie is a nice place to take a break at with two big food shops, big BBQ area next to the lake and free WIFI near the council office. From there we cycled around Lake Alexandria and through Langhorne Creek-Milang-Finniss to Goolwa. Doing the loop around Fleurieu Peninsula instead of heading direct to Adelaide is something we recommend. Victor Harbor is a realy nice stop beautifully situated next to the sea. Walked over to the Granite Island and could see dolphins hunting in the sea. The roads on the peninsula is a bit undulating but not much traffic.

Before you get to Normanville the road along the cost is stunning, big hills on one side and the sea on the other side. Take the Fork tree road and Reservoir road from Normanville for some scenic views over Gulf St Vincent. Avoid the main road as much as you can going to Adelaide. We traveled up to Norluang Center and took the train from there, 3.10 $ and it saved us a lot of time and stress. And by our definition you got to the city once you reached it's metro network.
0 Comments

    Author

    Here you'll find updates from our tour. 

    Archives

    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013

    Categories

    All
    Abercombie
    Adelaide
    Armidale
    Australian Embassy
    Bath Road
    Bathurst
    Beachport
    Bicycle
    Billycock Hill
    Birdseye Highway
    Bränntorp
    Bruny Island
    Bylong
    Bylong Road
    Camel
    Camping
    Canberra
    Ceduna
    Chain Rings
    Chessnock
    Clare
    Cobboboonee Road
    Cocklebiddy
    Colo Heights Reserve
    Condingup
    Cook Beach
    Couscous
    Cowell
    Crawney Pass
    Customs
    Cycle
    Cycling
    Deralinyup
    Dungog
    Elliston
    Esperance
    Ferry
    Fleurieu Peninsula
    Flight
    Flinders Highway
    Food
    Fork Tree Road
    Freycinet Peninsula
    Google Map
    GOR
    Gps
    Grasstree Hill Road
    Great Ocean Road
    Greece
    Gresford
    Gundaroo
    Hobart
    Immigration Boats
    Kadina
    Kangaroo
    Kapunda
    Kempsey
    Kempsey Road
    Kingston
    Koroit
    Linoln Highway
    Lucky Bay
    Macarthur
    Maitland
    Manilla
    Maria Island
    Mariefred
    Melbourne
    Meningie
    Mount Gambier
    Mt Schank
    Närke
    Navigating
    Nelson
    New England
    New South Wales
    Newspaper
    Nicholls Rivulet Road
    Norluanga Center
    Normanville
    Nullarbor
    Östergötland
    Pacific
    Parcel
    Perth
    Port Fairy
    Port Lincoln
    Queenscliff
    Richmond
    Road 40
    Roadhouse
    Roadtrain
    Robe
    Rylestone
    SA
    SA Border Village
    Södermanland
    Sofala
    Sorrento
    South Australia
    St Helens
    Strängnäs
    Sun
    Sydney
    Tablelands
    Tail-wedge Eagle
    Tamworth
    Tantanoola
    Tasmania
    Train
    TransWA
    Trunkey Road
    Vegemite
    Victor Harbor
    Vikbolandet
    WA
    Wallaroo
    Warrnambool
    Water
    Wielangta Forest Drive
    Zinkgruvan

    RSS Feed


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.