Things to See & Do
Apollo Bay Fishing & Adventure Tours cater for the inexperienced to the professional fisherman. From baiting up for you and taking your fish off your hooks, to teaching you how to fish. You will fish in 20 fathoms of water using heavy gear, targeting bottom feeding fish, such as flathead or gummy shark, barracouta and snapper.
Trips vary from two hours for families to eight hours for the more keen fisherman. The most popular trip is four hours long. This trip usually runs twice a day starting at 7am or 8am in the morning and again at 2pm or 3pm in the afternoon.
Apollo Bay Fishing & Adventure Tours supply all the best fishing gear, rod, bait and tackle; Ice for your fishing and to keep your drinks cold; bags to take your catch home.
The crew is trained and helpful. The skipper is an expert operator with all the necessary local knowledge.
Four Hour Fishing Trip
From: 7am - 11am or 3pm - 7pm
Two Hour Fishing Trip
From: 11.30am - 1.30pm
Seal Colony Cruise
From: 2pm - 3pm
Sunset Cruise
From: 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Torquay lives and breathes surfing, and the region has a global reputation as an amazing surf destination. Bells Beach hosts the annual Rip Curl Pro, where the best surfers in the world compete each Easter.
Nearby Winkipop is also popular with experienced surfers. Torquay and Jan Juc offer good conditions for those wanting to learn to surf, and several schools operate classes at local beaches.
Surf conditions can vary greatly, check with the Visitor Information Centre or local Surf Life Saving Club.
What better place to learn to surf than in the birthplace of Australian surfing? There are several licensed tour operators and qualified instructors who run learn to surf classes on beaches close to Torquay. Catering for individuals or groups, often equipment hire and transport can be included in the price.
The best fishing spots in Lorne include Reedy Creek, Loutit Bay, Lorne Pier and Lorne Beach. There are also some opportunities for freshwater fishing in the hinterland areas.
Fishing licenses are available at the Lorne Visitor Information Centre.
The Great Otway National Park is a spectacular area of native forest, and there are plenty of opportunities to get closer to nature with walking tracks and trails in the area, many leading to spectacular crashing waterfalls.
There are seven waterfalls within the bushland surrounding Lorne, with different accessibility levels – some are a quick ten minute stroll from the carpark, others are a more strenuous rainforest hike rewarded with the majestic roar of a waterfall.
CORA LYNN CASCADES
Car park options:
- Blanket Leaf picnic ground carpark (4 km return walk to the falls)
- Cora Lynn Cascades carpark (7 km return walk to the falls)
- Allenvale Mill carpark (8 km return walk to the falls)
Walking track information:
- Start: Blanket Leaf picnic ground, off Erskine Falls Road
- Finish: Allenvale Mill car park
- Distance: 4 km return to Cora Lynn cascades, 12 km return to
Allenvale Mill
- Duration: 2 hours to Cora Lynn cascades, 5 1/2 hours to Allenvale Mill
- Difficulty: Moderate (to Cora Lynn cascades), Strenuous (to Allenvale Mill)
Details:
The Cora Lynn Cascades walk passes through fern gullies and rocky gorges to Cora Lynn Cascades (about 2 km from the picnic area). The next section (from the Cascades to the Cora Lynn carpark) is only for experienced walkers. From the carpark the track continues on to Phantom Falls to Allenvale Road. From here you can walk east along Allenvale Road then turn left onto the Green Break Track which joins up with Erskine Falls Road which leads back to the picnic area. Another option is to follow Saint George River from the Allenvale Mill site to the coast.
ERSKINE FALLS & STRAW FALLS
Car park options:
- Erskine Falls car park (300m return walk to falls 1st lookout, 700 m to 2nd lookout)
Walking track information (Erskine River Track):
- Start: Erskine Falls car park
- Finish: Lorne
- Distance: 7.5 km one way
- Duration: 3 hours
- Difficulty: Strenuous
Details:
Erskine Falls is a short drive out of Lorne on appropriately named Erskine Falls Road. It is one of the most popular falls in the Otways and easily accessible. A five-minute walk from the car park brings you to a lookout of the falls, cascading 30 metres into a beautiful tree fern gullyYou also can take steps down to the Erskine River to view the falls from below. . Straw Falls are a 15m cascade on the Erskine River and are a further 400m downstreams of Erskine Falls. Experienced walkers can follow the river from Erksine Falls to Lorne. The 7.5km one-way walk takes about three hours and passes Straw Falls and Splitter Falls. It should not be attempted when water levels are high.
HENDERSON FALLS, THE CANYON & PHANTOM FALLS
Car park options:
- Sheoak Creek Picnic area carpark, along Allenvale Rd (21/2 hours return walk to Phantom Falls)
- Allenvale Mill site, on Allenvale Road (90 minute return walk to Phantom Falls)
Walking track information:
- Start: Sheoak Creek Picnic area carpark
- Finish: Sheoak Creek Picnic area carpark
- Distance: 6.5 km return
- Duration: 21/2 hours
- Difficulty: Strenuous
Details:
Henderson Falls, the Canyon and Phantom Falls are reached from the Sheoak Creek Picnic area, along Allenvale Rd. There are barbecue facilities, toilets, picnic tables, fireplaces and drinking water. From the Canyon, you can return to Sheoak picnic area by the same track or continue on to Phantom Falls and then down to the Allenvale Mill carpark and along Allenvale Rd back to the Sheoak picnic area. On the way is also Won Wondha Falls. Henderson Falls is about 8 to10 meters, Panthom Falls about 15 meters high. The total distance of this circuit is around 9 km.
KALIMNA FALLS (UPPER & LOWER FALLS)
Car park options:
- Sheoak picnic area carpark (2.5 hours walk to Lower Falls, 31/2 hours to Upper Falls)
Walking track information:
- Start: Sheoak picnic area carpark
- Finish: Sheoak picnic area carpark
- Distance: Lower Falls – 6.5 km; Upper Falls – 8.5 km
- Duration: Lower Falls – 21/2 hours: Upper Falls – 31/2 hou
At the end of George Street, Teddy’s Lookout offers spectacular views of the St. George River and the Great Ocean Road coastline. There is walking trail connecting Teddy’s Lookout with two other lookouts, and takes about 30 minutes return.
There are several designated walking trails offering a different perspective on Torquay.
The foreshore trail, beginning at Deep Creek Reserve on the Esplanade, takes in spectacular coastal views, children’s playgrounds and public art.
The Surf Coast walk is a 30km long marked trail and individual sections can be completed depending on energy levels. It begins at Jan Juc and passes through Bells Beach, Point Addis, Anglesea, Aireys Inlet, Fairhaven and Torquay. A complete guide is available from the Torquay Visitor Information Centre.
The Deep Creek Reserve is a strip of land extending along the watercourse between the Surf Coast Highway and The Esplanade. It is the last remnant of Torquay’s indigenous vegetation and there are walking tracks throughout the reserve.
A stretch of road that takes perfect curves through towering rainforest, a drive along Turtons Track will have you feeling like the star of a new sports car commercial. It is considered the prettiest section of road in the forest, linking Tanybryn with Beech Forest.
If your team don't mind getting a little dirty, a little sweaty and love the adrenaline rush of competing in a adventure race against their colleagues (or another company) then this is the team building option for you!
The title really says what its all about - a race full of adventure: riding mountain bikes down hill, hiking through bush, canoeing stretches of water, battling the waves on a kayak, holding on tight in a four wheel drive and more if you can handle it...
This Big Stick Adventures program is also perfect for "before event training" to promote a healthy lifestyle within your business and help build the team whilst training for a common goal.
Spring Creek Horse Riding takes you through the Great Otway National Park, for beginners to experienced riders. One hour rides, one and half hour rides, two hour rides or longer. Small friendly groups, families welcome. Discounts available for groups
A series of flowing channels connected by bike paths and bridges make Anglesea River a popular destination for canoeing, fishing, walking & biking alike. Paddle boats and canoes are available to hire close by and make an interesting way to explore the area.
The river and its surroundings is also an important habitat for native wildlife including owls, possums, echidnas, kangaroo and wallabies, as well as native fish, eels and many species of waterbird.
At the base of the Split Point Lighthouse, the 17 hectare Eagle Rock Marine Sanctuary is home to a huge variety of marine life. Popular with snorkellers and scuba divers, you can expect to see a diverse range of invertebrates.
The rockpools around the sandy coves in this area are also teeming with marine life and are terrific for families to explore.
The 6 km long Fairhaven Beach is the longest beach on the Great Ocean Road. The Fairhaven Surf Life Saving Club, founded in 1957, is located toward the eastern end of the beach - and its members average 10 rescues annually.
The bar and restaurant are open during the summer months.