# Australia's Great Ocean Road: A Day Trip to the Twelve Apostles > The Twelve Apostles, wild beaches and natural wonders: here's how to plan a one-day trip along Australia's Great Ocean Road. Route and tips. - URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/velyka-okeanska-doroha-v-avstralii-odnodenna-poizdka-do-12-apostoliv/ - Language: en - Published: 2025-05-12 - Categories: Historic Sites, Beaches, Tours, Australia, Surfing & Diving, Seas & Oceans --- Much like the Pacific Coast Highway in California or the Sea-to-Sky Highway near Vancouver, the Great Ocean Road in the Australian state of Victoria is one of the most spectacular drives on the planet. Running between Torquay and Warrnambool, the Great Ocean Road has become one of Australia's most popular destinations, drawing 2 million visitors a year. While much of the road serves up jaw-dropping scenery, the star attraction is the Twelve Apostles, a cluster of limestone formations rising out of the ocean. Erosion from wind and waves has acted like a sculptor, slowly carving the soft limestone landscape into stacks, cliffs and arches. Today the stacks reach up to 50 metres tall. This natural process of destruction is still underway, at a rate of roughly 2 centimetres a year. A little explanation is in order here. When Victorian tourism christened them the Twelve Apostles back in the 1920s, the cluster held just nine. Now there are eight. And with erosion moving so quickly, that number is expected to shrink even further. In reality, there are plenty more striking limestone formations scattered along this wild coastline. You can spot them from the road, which at times runs quite literally along the tops of the cliffs. ## The Great Ocean Road ![](/storage/image/prev/june-article-image-11-1-2025.jpg) It isn't just the stunning views of land meeting the Southern Ocean that make the Great Ocean Road so remarkable. The road itself is a masterpiece of human achievement, often called "Victoria's largest war memorial". Between 1919 and 1932, more than 3,000 returned soldiers built the road in honour of the over 60,000 Australians who died in the First World War. Sleeping in tents through brutal storms, the workers built the road by hand, using picks, shovels, wheelbarrows and explosives. At the time, its main purpose was to connect isolated fishing villages and logging camps. Once it was fully completed, it wasn't long before the road began to fuel the local tourism industry. The Great Ocean Road offers so much of what many travellers hope to see in Australia. Native wildlife, such as koalas and colourful birds, lives in an untamed setting of lush greenery and dramatic cliffs. Although I took in the Twelve Apostles and most of the Great Ocean Road on a single day trip, it's better not to rush. ## The Journey to the Twelve Apostles ![](/storage/image/prev/june-article-image-11-2-2025.jpg) My trip with Autopia Tours began with a 7:30 a.m. pickup on Collins Street in central Melbourne. On a bus full of young travellers, a cheerful Aussie drove us out to the famous surf breaks at Bells Beach, just past Torquay, for breakfast. Then we set off along the narrow, winding highway. Signs warned foreigners to keep to the left, watch for falling rocks and steer clear of the cliff edge. "Don't go over the edge," the driver joked as we pulled up at a lookout. "I don't like paperwork." After a stop at the Kennett River to spot some Australian wildlife (the aforementioned koalas and an assortment of birds), the highway then wound its way between the historic town of Lorne and the artsy Apollo Bay. By that point, the drive into the giant trees and ferns of Great Otway National Park had begun. And it was at this stage of the trip that we took in the Twelve Apostles and the other sights of Port Campbell National Park. After driving along the cliff faces, travellers will hopefully have grown used to the heights, because the viewing platform for the Twelve Apostles is every bit as nerve-wracking as the drive itself. It opens onto breathtaking views of waves crashing against the jagged edges of the stacks below you. I strongly recommend seeing them before they all crumble away. That said, many geologists believe nature is already in the process of forming new stacks for future visitors. There are other fascinating formations nearby. The London Arch formation was recently renamed. It used to be London Bridge, until part of it collapsed unexpectedly in January 1990. There's a lot to see in a single day, and many people take it slow, stretching out their trip to soak up everything on offer along the full length of the Great Ocean Road, spending nights in pubs, campgrounds, hotels and charming bed and breakfasts along the way. Or, if the drive feels too fast, the Great Ocean Walk, opened in 2004, links 104 kilometres of coastal trails between Apollo Bay and the Twelve Apostles.