The Great Ocean Road is one of the most iconic tourist drives in Australia, and one that won’t disappoint the senses. From never ending horizons of turquoise oceans, to luscious green rainforest retreats, quaint fishing villages and delicious boutique eateries, fun activities, everything from great camp sites to exquisite accommodation options, it’s definitely one of our most recommended Australian family holidays. Taking in winding coastline and breathtaking rainforest, the journey offers a visual feast for the eyes.
Getting to the Great Ocean Road.
The Great Ocean Road is located in Victoria. The official road is the B100, starting around Torquay and ending around Warrnambool. It stretches for about 250kms, although there are gorgeous towns such as Port Fairy and Portland a little further down the road than this and it’s well worth continuing on to include them in your journey.
The closest city to the Great Ocean Road is Melbourne. If flying in to begin your road trip, Melbourne airport offers a range of car hire options and is 1.5 hours from the starting point, Torquay.
Family Transportation on the Great Ocean Road
For families, a self drive tour is recommended as it’s much easier to adjust your itinerary to suit the kids needs. If you decide to drive your own car, factoring in the travel distance and accommodation and time requirements to get to the starting point is important. If the distance is prohibitive, then hiring a car is a great option.
For those people who don’t feel comfortable driving long distances with children, or on roads they aren’t familiar with, or the distance to travel from home to the starting point in your own car is prohibitive, there are still options for a Great Ocean Road tour. There are plenty of bus and coach tours available that offer tours taking in a variety of tourist sites and budgets. If opting for a guided tour or bus tour, be sure that children are able to handle sitting quietly so to not affect other travellers.
Family Accommodation Options Along the Great Ocean Road
There are many great towns, sites and natural wonders along this amazing stretch of highway. The great news is that there are also a large number of accommodation options to suit all budgets. Towns such as Lorne, Apollo Bay, Cape Otway, Warrnambool and Port Campbell all offer accommodation ranging from luxurious to basic camping. Add to this a variety of options within Cape Otway National Park and you can be sure that whether it’s cheap campsites, gorgeous B&B accommodation or 5 star options, there’s something for all families on this road trip.
Head over to our next addition to this series where we are taking a closer look at family camping along the Great Ocean Road as we continue with the next addition to our Great Ocean Road for Families series…..
Do you have family travel stories from the Great Ocean Road? Share them in the comments section below, we’d love to hear them!
The vast, flat desert lands stretching out before us, have become our backyard.The short green desert shrubs offer a stark contrast to rich redness of the soil which stains our clothing, our tent and our feet.
This is it.
This is what we’ve been waiting for.
My memories drift back to the pictures in Primary School. That day, when the teacher returned from his trip to “Ayers Rock” (back then it wasn’t really referred to as Uluru, white man’s name was still more popular). He held up 4×6 photographs, one by one, flicking through to reveal a golden sunset cascading across the grand red rock. There I was, a child, sitting hundreds of Kilometres away from central Australia, in a tiny school of 60 children in the middle of the drought ravaged bush of NSW. There I sat, in awe, wondering if I would ever get the chance to take photos like that myself.
That’s the power of the rock. Uluru. The grand heart of Australia. It draws you in. Calls you to it.
So here we are. Finally. Almost 15 years later, I was here. The heartland of Australia. Not only did I make it, I was about to take my children, my little people, to stand on the red soils, to see “The Rock”. I knew it would be a special place, but nothing can prepare you for just how special.
As the red dirt and shrubbery whiz by, the view out of the car window changes. Or rather it remains the same, other than one bump appearing on the horizon. There, in the distance, a bump, a rock. It looks so tiny.
The approach to Uluru is surreal. Looking out the car window feels so similar to viewing Uluru through a TV screen. It looks just like I imagined it would. Just like those photos, those documentaries, the collection of images in my mind seem to do it justice, and it looks so small.
We keep driving. All the while our eyes locked on this grand, grand, monolith.
It gets closer.
Closer still.
The shape changes, the view changes, and the real character of Uluru appears.
A weathered exterior, a wounded, battered exterior, ravaged by wind, rain and people, for centuries.
The spirits of the land dance around us. Our eyes look up, and up, and up. I breathe in. I’m here. It’s not small anymore. There is just a grandness, the sheer size cannot be described. I breathe it in again. Now all that’s left is to explore, and take those photos.
When we headed off on our National Geographic Holiday, we started our journey with a kind offer by Melbourne Aquarium to explore for the day. We’d been to other aquariums before, so we didn’t expect to be blown away with how wonderful this place was!
We’re keeping our past promise and we’ve combined some of our footage into a video so you can see just how wonderful Melbourne Aquarium is! Welcome to Little Aussie Travellers Video Blogging!
We’d really love your feedback at our first real video attempt, and
Be sure to join our Newsletter over on the Right -> So you can have the chance to win a family pass to the Aquarium!
Nestled off the coast of South Australia is a dreamy island where some of Australia’s precious animals, flora and fauna flourish amongst a largely protected expanse of National Parks. Kangaroo Island has been described as “Australia’s Galapagos”, a title which it more than deserves to hold. Within it’s boundaries it has a world of discovery tucked away for you to explore.
While Kangaroo Island may not be at the top of everyone’s list of best holiday destinations in Australia, for those looking for a truly unique insight into Australia that cannot be found elsewhere, we believe this piece of island paradise is without a doubt an experience not to be missed.
Situated around 14kms from South Australian shoreline town of Cape Jervis, KI is Australia’s 3rd largest island, with a fluctuating population of 4,400 residents. It’s widest and longest points are 155kms in length and 57kms width, which results in an island that is easy to explore, yet large enough to offer a wonderous variety of landscapes and coastal stretches to bring your inner explorer to life.
Who Should Visit Kangaroo Island?
With it’s Koalas lazing in gumtrees, Sea Lions and Fur Seals basking or playing, Goannas shuffling through the red soils, or Little Penguins waddling up the beach at sunset, this National Treasure offers a wildlife experience that can’t be beat anywhere else within Australia.
Over a third of the island is classified as National Park or Conservation area. This fact coupled with the absence of rabbits and foxes, means a large range of native wildlife has blossomed on KI, with little interference from introduced species or settlers.
As Eagles glide overhead and dolphins bring their young in to rest along the shoreline, KI offers a wildlife wonderland to those travellers who are inspired by nature.
There is also a bustling art scene and intriguing history to be explored, not to mention the rocky formations, white sandy beaches and unique flora that treat your eyes at every turn. Not to be forgotten is the spectacular, mouth watering local cuisine! The fertile lands of KI mean that there is locally produced food, dairy and other delicacies that are offered up fresh on the island at a range of farms and eateries.
Anyone with a love of nature or sense of adventure for activities like sand boarding, quad biking or boating, will also appreciate all KI has to offer.
When To Visit?
Each season offers a different experience on Kangaroo Island. The summer months are the most popular for visitors and tourists as the weather is warmer. During the summer months, animals will predominately shelter from the day time heat and be more visible during dusk and dawn. Visitors are treated to a range of summer wildflowers and Fur Seal pups.
Autumn is the start of the nesting season for the Little Penguins and Glossy Black Cockatoos. Winter is the time that baby Koalas emerge and begin riding on their mothers backs, baby Wallabies emerge from their mother’s pouches too. Look out for Echidna mating trains & Southern Right Whales passing the shoreline too. Visit in Spring for a Wildflower spectacular!
Other Considerations:
One of the most common question we are asked when it comes to choosing whether or not to visit Kangaroo Island is due to the high cost involved. Getting to the island involves either arriving via the ferry with or without your car, or flying in and hiring a car or exploring via guided tour. It can cost around $500 for a return trip on the Sealink ferry and it’s understandable that many people find this cost prohibitive to visiting KI without knowing what to expect. Flying in also means the cost of flights as well as tour or car hire expenses.
So is it worth it? – Without a doubt, yes! If you love all the things we’ve mentioned above you’ll LOVE KI! We’ve got some videos coming soon just so you can see for yourself before you arrive, just how amazing it is. Don’t worry about the cost in getting to the island, as there’s a range of accommodation that will suit your budget. We camped for only $10 a night for all 5 of us including power! So there are ways to get there and afford it, so in our opinion the cost of getting there can be buffered in other ways.
Have you been to Kangaroo Island Already? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
If you’re looking for Melbourne family activities then we’ve got the place! We were so very, very lucky to be welcomed by Melbourne Aquarium to explore for the day. Sometimes I LOVE being a photographer, because not only do I get to experience the amazingness of places like this first hand, I also get to capture them so memories never fade! Here’s a photographic look at just a few things you’ll see around the Aquarium. If you are in Melbourne with your children and are wondering whether to visit, then DO IT!
Forget the cool morning breeze, when there’s a beach to explore nothing can stop us! During our family holiday to Kangaroo Island we hit the shores of Vivonne Bay to see what we could find, and mother nature let us in on some great finds!
Today for Wordless Wednesday I’m sharing a great one with you: a big cuttlefish bone with teeth marks in it!
Family Transportation on the Great Ocean Road
