Before I tried to do any homework for the trip, I thought all we'd do are endless oceans and beaches and capes. But as I read more and more, I realised there are more than ocean to that Great Ocean Road. There are forest, national parks and waterfalls.
And then, I stumbled upon photos of redwoods forest. Then I was hooked. Very hooked. However, I had my concerns too because I was bringing my two very young kids and I wasn't sure what was there to expect.
So I tried to find blogs, vlogs, official site of Great Ocean Road etc, but information given was mostly very basic and brief. I left a few comments here and there on Youtube videos, and PM certain accounts which showed they've recently been there. But only one very kind person reached back to put me at ease.
So, here I am to write some information about this very beautiful forest.
Tips:
- Plan to go in the morning, when it's bright. The road to redwoods forest is winding, and the last 15-20 mins of the journey is gravel, so do plan to do this in the morning for your own safety.
- While four wheel drive is not required, it's a good to have.
- It's about 40 mins drive from Apollo Bay
- You can plan it with Twelve Apostles if you depart from Apollo Bay (or Marengo Bay for us) in the morning.
Our initial plan was to take Binns Road to the forest in the morning, and then continue with Binns Road and Beech Forest Mount Sabine Road (C159) to Twelve Apostles.
(Note: We didn't do it as plan because the weather wasn't on our side, so we actually did a return trip of Redwoods Forest to Apollo Bay on our last day and continued our journey back to Melbourne.)
If you do take this route Apollo Bay-Redwoods Forest-C159-Twelve Apostles, do make sure you have packed simple lunches for yourself. The only stop that might have food is Princetown. (Do your research before you go!) - The GPS in the forest disconnects easily. So do save the route in your mobile phone so that it's available offline. Save yourself from being panic
- Try not to go if it's raining or it has been raining a lot prior to the day you plan to visit.
- You can also make a turn to Hopetoun Falls, we didn't do it because time was tight.
- Drive slowly, you might spot a wild koala crossing the road! Like we did =)
Hope you enjoy this place as much as we did. You'll find a lot of peace in the forest. When we were there, at one time there were only max 5 cars of tourists. So it's quiet and serene.
