Great Ocean Road-Tripping
- naomibowles
- May 23
- 2 min read
What better way to celebrate a quarter century than on the Great Ocean Road? Perhaps golfing with 100+ kangaroos. Well, that’s how ‘old man’ Jack spent his 25th birthday - at the Anglesea golf club.
Nothing could have prepared us for the sheer quantity of kangaroos scattered across the course, completely unfased by flying golf balls and increasingly frustrated golfers. It was surreal. But what an experience, and a brilliant way to kick off our journey along the GOR.
For those unfamiliar, the Great Ocean Road stretches along Australia’s south-east coast and delivers some of the most spectacular driving views in the country. Long, winding roads hug rugged cliff faces on one side and open out to endless blue ocean on the other. And sandwiched in the middle was little Lenny, chugging along in rhythmic bliss.
This three-day stretch mostly consisted of us repeatedly saying “wow” as we slowly made our way toward Adelaide, stopping at some iconic sights along the way:
Teddy’s Lookout
12 Apostles
The Grotto
London Bridge
Razorback Ridge
To bookend our time on the GOR, we (in the royal sense of the word) finished off by playing 18 holes - this time at a public honesty-box course recommended by the staff at Anglesea. An unforgettable experience, where shots stretched directly over dramatic cliff edges and crashing ocean below. The perfect way to close out one of Australia’s great scenic drives.
Continuing west towards Adelaide, we stopped off in Mount Gambier, a manicured little town in the middle of nowhere, famous for being plagued with sinkholes due to the region’s limestone landscape.
With limited time, we settled on visiting just one: the Umpherston botanical garden that is, you guessed it, inside a literal sink hole.
Our final stop on this leg of the journey was Naracoorte Caves, where we explored the UNESCO-listed fossil caves and stepped through thousands of years of natural history.
And to top it all off? We saw not one, but two wild koalas crossing the road.
Not a bad way to spend a birthday week.
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