great ocean road
 

Is the road an easy drive or should we take a tour? We're from Canada and have driven in Au before but not sure about this road.

It is easy. Just watch your speed around some corners/bends. Watch for cars coming the other way. There is plenty of room it just looks narrow.

The scenery is great and it much better to drive yourself and take your time stopping where and when you like.

thanks for the info. Any recommendations on stays between melborne and Adelaide?

Anywhere along there is lovely. Victoria has plenty, South Australia is a bit more sparce.
Lorne and Port Campbell are very touristy. Warrnambool is a large country town almost a city by our standards.

There is no shortage of accommodation both is types and numbers. Hotels (not big Hilton types, though) Motels, B&Bs farm stays etc.

We haven't stayed at any as we have a campervan.

My favourite stop is Port Fairy http://www.visitvictoria.com/Regions...ort-Fairy.aspx

The Great Ocean Road is an easy drive, but be aware that you will need to pull into a parking area to see some of the landmarks because of sand dunes between the road & the ocean. It is no big deal and you'll be on the ocean side of the road going Melbourne - Adelaide.

Was also thinking of doing this drive but not as far as Adelaide, just r/t Melbourne. Would make stops to include Geelong, Torquay, Lorne, Apollo Bay, Port Campbell, Port Fairy, then north up to the Grampians and then returning to Melbourne. Would also combine this with a trip over to Tassie (north of Hobart). Thought of doing this in either March or April and was wondering what type of weather to expect either month in both locations? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I did this a couple of years ago and it was fantastic. We drove from Melbourne to Port Campbell, which is the closest town to the viewing platform to the 12 Apostles. We left Melbourne reasonably early and drove to Port Campbell. We checked into our hotel (http://www.southernoceanvillas.com/photos.html which was fantastic) and then backtracked slightly so that we were at the 12 Apostles at sunset. It was beautiful light then and we even saw an echidna foraging right beside the walkway! Also waaay down below on the beach we could see penguins starting to make their way up the beach to their burrows for the evening. Magical. Then it was just a short ride back to the hotel.
About the weather... In that part of Australia we use the saying 'four seasons in one day'. You could look at it a few ways but my philosophy is that if it's raining then it's at least it's likely that it won't last long. Everything is set up for good and bad weather and I think the Great Ocean Road could be pretty dramatic and beautiful if you're willing to bring a raincoat and brave it if it's raining. There have lots of shipwrecks along this part of the coast - so evocative of bad weather! It's worth researching the history of shipwrecks around here, it's really interesting.

Thanks Newground. Sounds like a great trip but from what you're saying, March and April could both be rainy months? Are you familiar with Tassie weather that time of year or should I post under separate forum?

Southern Auatralia ie Vic and Tas have rain all year but get slightly more in Autumn and Spring. You just have to be lucky.

Here is the Bureau of Meteorology site.

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/

Did the Melbourne to Adelaide scenic route around March/April (for Easter) only last year.
Such a delightful drive along the coast (to warnambool anyway haha, thereafter along the limestone coast can be less eventful!)

Our trip went along the lines of:

DAY 1
2.5 HOURS driving from Melb
visiting:
Torquay for lunch
Anglesea
Airlies Inlet
Lorne
Get to Apollo Bay by 2pm

DAY 2
2.5 HOURS driving
(visit the Otways for much of the morning/arvo)
Drive 2 hours through:
Port Campbell
(stop at 12 Apostles, LochArd Gorge etc)
To Warnambool

DAY 3
2.5 HOURS driving
Visit Port Fairy then drive
2 hours Onto Grampians to stay and look around

Day 4
3 HOURS 7 MINS
Drive 3 hours to:
Mt Gambier, see the Sinkhole & Blue Lake

Day5
6 HOURS 25MINS
5 hour drive to Victor Harbour
Then 1 hour to Adelaide
(plenty of wineries along the way you could stay at to break this day into two if you like)

Some good visitors resources:
http://www.visitvictoria.com/Regions...cean-Road.aspx
http://www.visitgreatoceanroad.org.au/
http://www.greatoceanroad.com/

giggleguts: sorry it took so long for me to say thanks for the info, but we just got back from a 3 week Canadian vacation. Your itinerary looks great but wondering how the weather was (temperature/rain)?