South West Victoria On Line A
travelogue of South West Victoria - independent and impartial travel
advice for the Southwest of Victoria and the Southeast of South
Australia
featuring the towns of Warrnambool,
Port Fairy, Port Campbell, Apollo Bay, Robe, Halls Gap, Lorne, Torquay,
Robe and Mt Gambier
Summer Holiday Destinations
The coastal towns and cities that extend from Geelong in the east, through to Robe in the west lie along what is occasionally refereed to as the "Ocean Road" ( as distinct to The Great Ocean Road which technically only runs from near Torquay to Apollo Bay) This 600 kilometer section of the Southern Australian coat offers a huge variety of summer holiday options from five star resort style accommodation through to budget camping.
The following guide is presented as an independant and impartial guide to each of the major towns and cities along the road to help you choose the right destination for your summer holiday.
Warrnambool Aside from Geelong (which isn’t generally considered to be a holiday destination) Warrnambool is the largest city between Melbourne and Adelaide and the main service centre for the Western District of Victoria. With a population of 30,000+ it means a diversity of accommodation, restaurants and entertainment and also has a competitive market place, so generally prices in Warrnambool, both for accommodation, entertainment and restaurants are a little bit cheaper.
The main central business district (CBD) is spread over 16 city blocks ( 4 x 4 ) and located about 2 kilometres from the beach. The city has about a dozen hotels, over 50 restaurants in the cities CBD plus an enormous array of accommodation options. The two beachside caravan parks can accommodate up to 10,000 visitors alone and when combined with all the hotels, motels, B&B’s plus apartments rental properties the city can easily double its population during holiday periods. Motel accommodation is generally restricted to either side of the main highway with a couple of motels located close to the centre of the city but none are within a kilometre of the beach. The rest of Warrnambool's accommodation is spread around the city with a diverse array of B&B's, apartments, holiday homes and also a number of caravan parks located some distance away from the beach. For more information on Warrnambool click here
Warrnambool's main beach this is Warrnambool's trump card in attracting visitors
- A three kilometer strip of sand that runs from the mouth of the Merri river to the mouth of the Hopkins river.
Port Campbell This small village has a resident population of about 450, but attracts a huge number of visitors, due in no small part to its proximity to the coastal scenery at the 12 Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge. The town has one pub and a couple of restaurants and several takeaway food vendors who cater to the passing parade of tourists and quite a few accommodation options ranging from backpackers through to motels and self contained apartments. The township is situated at the edge of a small square bay with most of the townships businesses located along a 200 metre section of the main street. The accommodation properties are spread arcoss the whole township with some having views across the bay ( these are generally the most expensive ) and the rest basically priced accoring to the view and quality of accomodation. The main tourist attraction - 12 Apostles and Loch Ard etc. are located about 7 − 12 kilometres away, so it is worth keeping in mind, that despite the fact that every accommodation property has pictures of the 12 Apostles in their advertising brochures, you won’t see them from your room.
Port Campbell is quite small so just about everything is within walking distance and the beach at Port Campbell is quite sheltered and offers a safe swimming location
For more information on Port Campbell Click Here
Photo above- The small bay at Port Campbell taken during November - In the next few weeks the beach will be quite crowded as the number of visitors to Port Campbell increases.
Apollo Bay The township of Apollo Bay is built around a single main street which runs parallel to the beach with shops and restaurants on one side and a grassed park on the opposite side and the beach just behind a row on sand dunes. Apollo Bay has a number of Motels, B&B’s and backpacker style accommodation but the main accommodation in the town is two and three bedroom holiday rentals houses. This has been the result of the buoyant economic conditions of the last 20 years and the overcrowding in places like Lorne and Torquay. Large numbers of Melbourne investors were enticed into building holiday homes in the less crowded town of Apollo Bay. This has created something of an investment boom in the town and also revived the rest of the accommodation industry in the region. It has also created something of a set of different circumstances for accommodation bookings. Because of the large number of absentee landlords and the task of servicing accommodation for a short stay being difficult, and it is not unusual to see 7 night minimum bookings for houses in and around Apollo Bay. For more information on Apollo Bay click here
Photo above- The main beach at Apollo Bay is protected by a breakwater / marina and provides safe swimming on the western end of the beach
Port Fairy Port Fairy is one of the oldest towns in the region with its history dating back to 1835 and the first settlement of Victoria. It also has a personality of its own and possibly best described as a very Arts and Crafts feel. There are numerous antique stores around the town and the town holds a number of related functions during the year including book fairs, antique exhibitions with the most famous being the Port Fairy Folk Festival which is staged on the Labour day weekend in March each year. The main town shopping centre is located about 2 kilometres away from the beach and like many other towns in the region there is virtually accommodation “right on the beach” ( apart from a handful of tightly held private properties with very old titles)
The main beach (East Beach) is a wide strip of sand that runs almost to Warrnambool and one of Port Fairies main summertime attractionsFor more information on Port Fairy click here
Photo above- The Moyne river provides safe mooring for a number of boat owners across the region as well as a small fleet of fishing boats. This is a popular picnic spot at virtually any time of year
Robe Robe is often ( and appropriately) described as a historic seaside holiday village with a wonderful holiday feel to it, but its one drawback is is is just a bit far away from the major population centres. In recent times when the economy was a little more upbeat then everything in Robe was fine but recently Robe ( like everyone else) is feeling the pinch. Robe's history dates back to the establishment of South Australia itself, and with over 80 buildings listed on the state historic buildings register ( all carefully preserved) the town is a veritable treasure trove of fascinating places to explore.
Robe’s beaches are excellent and offer a variety of swimming and surfing conditions plus at present accommodation prices in Robe are quite competitive For more information on Robe click here
Photo above- Robe town beach which is located direct across the road from the Post Office and one of the more popular family beaches in the town
Grampians For those who don’t care for seaside holidays, there are a number of holiday and accommodation options within the Grampians National Park. The wine regions around Moyston on the Eastern side of the Grampians are quite popular , along with historic gold mining towns of Ararat and Stawell. The good seasonal rains in the last 12 months have managed to resupply Lake Bellfield and after almost a decade, boating has now returned to the lake. The traditional accommodation centres of Halls Gap and Dunkeld are favoured destinations of those who enjoy the Aussie bush in the middle in summer.
Despite its inland location and summer temperatures, the Grampians is actually quite a popular summer holiday destination, so don’t expect any bargains as there is still enough visitor numbers to keep prices to levels similar to some of the coastal resorts, in addition the practice of demanding two and three night minimum stays over the holiday periods is widespread so a bit of pre planning is worthwhile if you intend to visit the Grampians. All this notwithstanding, the Grampians is still a very pleasant place to visit and has a similar appeal to places like the Lakes District in England where hiking and bush walking are the most popular pursuits. The Grampians is also filled with most of Australia’s native flora and fauna and popular with overseas visitors looking to see Australia’s wild life in one location. Not to mention the Grampians is one of better wine growing regions and so attracts many wine and food buffs..For more information on the Gramopians click here
Photo above- main street Halls Gap - to the left is the car park and on the right, is the Supermarket, Post Office and set back rom the road are the "Stoney Creek" group of souvenir and take away food shops
Getaways
Whales
Fish and Chips
if your 'e looking for a secluded rural getaway close to the Otway's rain forest then our latest property listing might be just what your 'e looking for.
To find out more about
Kookaburra's Rest click the photo below
The whales are on their way and although it will be about 6 to 8 weeks before they arrive in Warrnambool, we have already started to prepare for their arrival. The Whale page has been updated and we will keep the page updated with news and sightings as they come to hand
The South West coast is also famous for the quality of its fish and chips and there are dozens of restaurants and take away's that serve good fish and chips. We've listed six of our favourites fish and chip shops - Click the photo to see our choices
In This Issue Best Summer Holiday Destinations We take a no holds barred look at the regions best accommodation deals and where you should look for this summers holiday getaway . Warrnambool
The largest town in the South West but is it too big?. and has it lost its personal touch? - we look at these questions and - More.... Port Campbell. The best known destination but does Port Campbell live up to the hype? More..... Apollo Bay Bustling and busy and full of Melbourne visitors wanting to escape the rush of the city - can you have a quiet holiday in Apollo Bay? More..... Port Fairy The township of Port Fairy has a some interesting history and we look at the best places to visit and how to fill in your time in Port Fairy More..
Free
Booking Inquiry Service
Instead of searching dozens of web sites - fill in the form below and we will contact all of our accommodation providers and get them to contact you directly with their best deals
