Port Campbell National Park

Introducing Port Campbell National Park

The most photographed stretch of the Great Ocean Rd offers sheer limestone cliffs towering over fierce seas. For thousands of years, waves and tides have relentlessly sculpted the soft rock into a fascinating series of rock stacks, gorges, arches and blowholes.

The Gibson Steps, hand-carved into the cliffs in the 19th century (and later replaced with concrete steps), lead down to feral Gibson Beach. This beach, and others along this stretch of coast, are not recommended for swimming – you can walk along the beach, but be wary of high-tide strandings.

The Twelve Apostles are the best-known rock formations in Victoria. These lonely rocky stacks have been abandoned to the ocean by the eroding headland. Today their number has been whittled down to six apostles, visible from the viewing platforms. There’s an interpretive display at the visitor facility. Timber boardwalks ring the cliff tops, providing viewing platforms and seats.

At Loch Ard Gorge , haunting tales of woe await. It’s one of the Shipwreck Coast’s most notorious sections. You can find out more at the Port Campbell visitor information centre (03-5598 6089; 26 Morris St, Port Campbell; www.visit12apostles.com; 9am-5pm).

West of Port Campbell, the next ocean sculpture is the Arch, a rocky archway offshore from Point Hesse. Nearby is London Bridge, albeit fallen down. It was once a double-arched rock platform linked to the mainland, but in 1990 one of the arches collapsed into the sea.

About 200m up the road from London Bridge, 12 Apostles Helicopters (03-5598 6161; www.12ah.com; tours from $80) offers a range of tours recorded on a ‘Skycam’ video as a souvenir. If you want to explore under your own steam, GORATS (0409-514 963; www.gorats.com.au; bike tours from $66, canoe trips from $29) does mountain bike or canoe tours throughout the Otways.

Last updated: Aug 27, 2009