Great Ocean Road compared to Big Sur
 

Please excuse my reference to USA location,but I have spent a lot of time driving Big Sur. Will a day spent touring the Great Ocean Road be sufficiently different from Big Sur to merit the time,or should I do another activity instead?

Highway 1 ain't got no port campbell,twelve apostles etc

Martha<BR>I think if you do some research, or check with your hotel in Melbourne - you can take a helicopter tour of the <BR>GOR. It is a looooong drive down the GOR on a very windy road (much like Big Sur) but absolutely beautiful. I wish we had considered the helicopter tour.

Martha, I have driven the GOR, Big Sur, & the coast north of San Francisco between Pt Reyes & Ft Ross State Historic Monument. I rank the GOR last amongst the three, however it is also a wonderful drive. We enjoyed the towns & villages along the GOR more than anything. You can only look at so many ocean stacks along a coast without becoming bored with it all. Myself I would recommend the GOR as a drive & I don't regret doing it, but include the villages & towns along the way to make it worthwhile. It is a curvy but well maintained road - not that difficult of a drive.

If you like Big Sur you'll love the Great Ocean Rd. Just drove the coast road from San Francisco to LA last week and couldn't help but compare the two. Great Ocean Rd is more majestic - huge sweeping views, more colour, more isolation and no fog! I know there are lots of state parks and vista points around Big Sur, but it was so rugged it was best viewed from the car window. If we'd had proper hiking gear and more time to explore, maybe my opinion would be different. The beauty of driving the Great Ocean Rd is that it's so accessible - no need to enter a state park and hike, therefore you should be able to see a lot in a day, so I say it's definitely worth doing. Lots of places to stop, take your shoes off and actually get down to the beaches and explore the coves, walk alongside the towering rock formations, watch the pounding waves, read about the many shipwrecks. I found a lot of the California coast to be a bit repetitive, but Great Ocean Rd was truly dramatic from start to finish. If you've got the time, I'd most definitely do it.

The Great Ocean Road is just as spectacular as Big Sur - just take your time doing it, as there is a lot to see along the way. Make it at least a two day trip. Our favourite place to stop overnight is Port Fairy - pretty little old fishing port. Check out Mariners' Lookout at Apollo Bay, and Tower Hill at Warrnambool. Also check whether it is worth whale watching at Warrnambool. If you have plenty of time, consider returning to Melbourne through the Grampians National Park - you can usually see kangeroos, koalas, emus etc there, plus great scenery.