What Can I Do, Nature & Wildlife, Torquay, Great Ocean Road and Region, Victoria, Australia

What can't you do? That would be a shorter list. There are attractions, activities, events and features throughout the region to suit all ages and interest groups. From theme parks for children to adventure sports for adrenaline junkies. From gourmet food and wine experiences to bushwalking through campsites. From a simple dip in the ocean to a luxurious spa retreat. There really is something for everyone.

Things to See & Do

Touring Routes & Tour Operators

Torquay

The Surf Coast Walk

Whether you're a nature lover or a fun lover, whether you take an hour, a day or a week, the Surf Coast Walk puts a stunning and unique coastal environment within easy reach. - Offering natural beauty and easy access - A world-class walking destination for all to enjoy - On the edge of the stunning Great Ocean Road - Do a section or do it all; at your own pace - More than a walk, over half the track is suitable for bikes Relish the rich ochre of the Bells Beach cliffs, the deep blue of Bass Strait and the leafy green of eucalypt forects. Discover traditional Wathaurung country, fascinating surf culture and abundant wildlife as the walk connects you with the coastal town comforts of Torquay, Anglesea and Aireys Inlet.

Jan Juc

Adventure for Life

Get away from the everyday and examine life from a different perspective with Adventure for Life. Corporate Team Building. Adventure for Life's team building programs are so much more than conference schedule fillers. Activities are designed that are relevant, safe, fun, and have ongoing benefits for your staff and bottom line. Proposals or concept statements are delivered within 24 hours. Corporate Adventure Activities Getting out of the office for an adventure activity is a great way to recharge your team's batteries and build relationships on a non-work level. Adventure for Life's outdoor activities are perfect for Christmas break-ups, conference activities, or incentive programs. Program durations range from half day activities right through to multi-day expeditions. When it comes to team bonding, find out why the adventure activity has replaced the long boozy lunch. Group Adventures Why not let Adventure for Life handle all your logistics for your next group adventure? Whether you want to climb a volcano in Indonesia or do the Great Ocean Walk, we can organise your guides, accommodation, equipment, transfers, meals etc... Perfect for school, corporate, social groups, and sporting teams. Adventure for Life activities encourage you to get away from the computer screens, big TVs, and Xboxes and get an Adventure for Life. 'Life is not a spectator sport'.

Geelong

More Than A Tour

More than Tour offer their local knowledge will give you the very best opportunity of seeing a range of beautiful native animals in their natural environment. Shorts walks to the scenic attractions, lookouts, beaches and rain forests will be on well-defined tracks and board walks and requires a moderate level of fitness. Their guides will accompany you on all walks and your safety is their priority. Being a boutique tour company they will confirm your pick up point, departure and return times prior to departure. More Than A Tour also offers a Door to Door Service. More Than A Tour can tailor make tours to satisfy your groups desires, including: •Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island two day tours •Great Ocean Road and Grampians two day tours •Tailor made tours also available.

Nature & Wildlife

Near Jan Juc

Blackgate Lodge Alpaca Stud

Blackgate Lodge Alpaca Stud is located near Torquay at the start of the Great Ocean Road. Drop in for a visit and learn all about Alpacas. The herd lives in the luxury of a 14 hectare clearing inside 28 hectares of virgin remnant bushland, consisting of manna gums, prickly acacia, native orchids and grass trees. Living free in their native environment, there are occasional koalas, parrots, finches, cockatoos, kookaburras, and many more animals to see. Entry is free and hand spun fleece is available to purchase. Are you interested in running a couple of alpacas? For anybody looking to escape to the country on a few acres, Blackgate Lodge Alpaca Stud can provide alpacas as pets. They are relatively easy to maintain only requiring shearing once a year.

Lorne

Great Otway National Park

The Great Otway National Park stretches from Torquay through to Princetown and up through the Otways hinterland towards Colac. The park features rugged coastlines, sandy beaches, rock platforms and windswept heathland. In the north, the park features tall forests, ferny gullies, magnificent waterfalls and tranquil lakes. Walking The Great Ocean Walk, stretches 91 kms from the idyllic resort town of Apollo Bay to Glenample Homestead (adjacent to the 12 Apostles). It passes through the National Park and overlooks the Marine National Park. The walk has been designed so that walkers can 'step on and step off' the trail at a number of places, completing short, day or overnight hikes. Horse riding and mountain biking Experience and enjoy the natural environment on horse back or on a mountain bike. A permit is required for horse riders to ride in the National Park and Parks Victoria staff can assist you with this. The formed roads and tracks provide ideal trails for these active endeavours. Picnicking and camping Picnic opportunities abound, with lovely settings at many of the waterfalls as well as Blanket Leaf, Sheoak, Distillery Creek, Moggs Creek, Paradise, Melba Gully, Shelly Beach, Triplet Falls and Blanket Bay to name a few. There are excellent camping opportunities throughout the Parks. Whether you are looking for a family friendly place to park your caravan or a solitary night under the stars there's something to cater to every need. Before you go Conditions can change in parks for many reasons. For the latest information on changes to local conditions, please visit the relevant park page on the Parks Victoria website. Be bushfire ready in the great outdoors. Refer to the Bushfire Safety section on the Parks Victoria website for tips on how to stay safe.

Adventure

Torquay

Torquay Walking Trails

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.

Anglesea

Anglesea Riverbank

A series of flowing channels connected by bike paths and bridges make Anglesea River a popular destination for activities such as fishing from one of the many platforms, canoeing, windsurfing, sailing or hiring a paddle boat. The wide river is ideal for numerous activities to suit all ages. The many bbq’s and tables along the riverbank also make it an ideal picnic 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.

Beaches

Torquay

point-danger-marine-sanctuary

Located in Torquay, one of Victoria's favourite seaside towns, the reef is ideal for snorkelling and exploring the diverse marine life at low tide. The area between Torquay's back and front beaches is formed of beds of crumbling limestone and a narrow rock platform which extends to the west. A small reef which is only exposed at the lowest of summer tides lies just offshore and is often isolated from the beach by a deep sandy channel. One shipwreck is found within the park, the Joseph H. Scammell. The limestone reef is an enthralling feature of this park. Covered in small boulders and intricate seaweed beds, the reef is home to a number of weird and wonderful creatures. Most noteworthy is the huge diversity of seaslugs, currently 96 species known to occur in this sanctuary, many of which are endemic. These fascinating creatures can be any colour of the rainbow and come in a range of exquisite shapes and sizes. Also present are carnivorous worms, delicate brittle stars and majestic eagle rays. See if you can spot a Fairy Tern, a rare and endangered bird which uses habitats in Point Danger Marine Sanctuary for feeding and roosting. Before you go Conditions can change in parks for many reasons. For the latest information on changes to local conditions, please visit the relevant park page on the Parks Victoria website. Be bushfire ready in the great outdoors. Refer to the Bushfire Safety section on the Parks Victoria website for tips on how to stay safe.

Family Activities

Barwon Heads

Barwon Bluff Marine Sanctuary

Located near the mouth of Barwon River, Barwon Bluff Marine Sanctuary protects 17ha of predominately composed of reef. The eastern half of the reef is basalt, formed from lava flow, and is exposed to the flow of the river. The western side is old sandstone and influenced by ocean swell. On the outer edges of the reef are the wrecks of two ships. The variation in conditions across the reef results in the presence of a huge diversity of plants and animals. Visitors can see anything from feather stars and barnacles to rock lobsters, rays and schools of fish. Bull Kelp, sandstone arches and sponge gardens create a fascinating and complex underwater world. Before you go Conditions can change in parks for many reasons. For the latest information on changes to local conditions, please visit the relevant park page on the Parks Victoria website. Be bushfire ready in the great outdoors. Refer to the Bushfire Safety section on the Parks Victoria website for tips on how to stay safe.

Barwon Heads

jirrahlinga-koala-wildlife-sanctuary

The Jirrahlinga Koala & Wildlife Sanctuary is situated on five acres of land on the Northern edge of Barwon Heads. Jirrahlinga, Aboriginal for 'Seek a home for a kangaroo', was established more than 30 years ago by Tehree Gordon to be a haven for injured wildlife. Following the Ash Wednesday Bush fires in 1983, Jirrahlinga received national and international media coverage acclaiming the rescue mission launched to seek out and treat shocked and burnt animals. However, Jirrahlinga is not just for distressed native animals, it is primarily about people. Particularly people who have a disability, a special need, the frail or the aged. What better therapy could there be than to come into a supportive environment to work quietly with animals or just visit and touch a koala or joey that do not place demands on a person's physical or mental capacities.

Anglesea

Anglesea Walks

With a variety of bush, coast and heathland to be explored in the area, Anglesea is a fantastic place to put on your walking shoes. Enjoy a pleasant 20 minute stroll from Main Beach to Pt Roadknight or do the Point Addis Koorie Cultural Walk to see some amazing birdlife including finches and parrots and some very pretty wildflowers in the spring and early summer. Visit the Surf Coast Walk page for more walking tracks: www.surfcoastwalks.com.au. For a more in-depth and educational experience, why not take a guided walk with a local tour company? They will offer insight into the history and ecology of the local area that for an experience that enriches your mind as much as your body.

Anglesea

Coogarah Park

Popular with families for its shipwreck playground, BBQ facilities and picnic areas, Coogarah Park set on the riverbank just a couple of minutes from the centre of town provides the children with hours of entertainment. There are also walking tracks and a skate park in the grounds.

Great Ocean Road Journey

Anglesea

Anglesea Heath

Superb native flowers and rare orchids bloom in the coastal heathlands during spring. Amazingly, over a quarter of Victoria’s plant species grow here including more than 100 varieties of orchids, some of them so rare they are on the verge of extinction. Many vehicle tracks and walking trails offer photographers, walkers, artists and bird watchers great viewing opportunities.

Packages & Offers

See, Do, Stay & Save

Welcome to goTravlr, your passport to great deals in Geelong, the Bellarine and the Great Ocean Road.

Chris's Beacon Point Restaurant & Villas Winter Warmer Getaway Package

Package for two from $350.00.

Stay & Save at Cumberland Lorne Resort

From $411 for a three night stay.

BIG 4 Beacon Resort Blues Train Package

A unique musical experience! Toe tapping entertainment, a cool drink and a good laugh. Rock your stay in Queenscliff with Blues Train tickets and award winning accommodation at BIG4 Beacon Resort.

Seahaven Village - Taste of The Bellarine $495

Relax at stunning Barwon Heads Friday and Saturday night in a cosy 4.5 star one bedroom spa suite.

Barwon Heads Golf Club Winter Escape

$240 per couple per night

Nature & Wildlife

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Nature & Wildlife

Things to See & Do

Nature & Wildlife

Blackgate Lodge Alpaca Stud

Great Otway National Park

Adventure

Torquay Walking Trails

Anglesea Riverbank

Beaches

point-danger-marine-sanctuary

Family Activities

Barwon Bluff Marine Sanctuary

jirrahlinga-koala-wildlife-sanctuary

Anglesea Walks

Coogarah Park

Great Ocean Road Journey

Anglesea Heath

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What's On?

Packages & Offers

See, Do, Stay & Save

Chris's Beacon Point Restaurant & Villas Winter Warmer Getaway Package

Stay & Save at Cumberland Lorne Resort

BIG 4 Beacon Resort Blues Train Package

Seahaven Village - Taste of The Bellarine $495

Barwon Heads Golf Club Winter Escape