ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land and the significant cultural values, of the area we call the Great Southern Touring Route. We pay our deepest respects to their Elders past, present and future.
Searoad
Sorrento
Grampians
Bacchus Marsh
Hepburn Springs
Trentham Blackwood
Anglesea
Lismore
Lavers Hill
Johanna
Winchelsea Lorne
Dunkeld
A ROAD TRIP FOR THE AGES
The Great Southern Touring Route is much more than a legendary road trip. The central loop from Melbourne through western Victoria brings together three fabulously diverse regions: Great Ocean Road, Grampians and Ballarat, plus the spa region of Daylesford. Each brims with its own brand of stunning natural assets, must-do experiences and intriguing characters.
This is where story-making comes naturally. Where the keepers of 40,000 years of indigenous culture rub shoulders with groovy young gourmet chefs. Where show-stopping scenic icons get photo-bombed by surprise wildlife encounters. Where one minute you’re panning for gold like it’s 1859, and the next you’re soul-deep in a thermal tub at a spa retreat. Where you can hike ancient peaks, tiptoe through a fairy rainforest or poke around a restaurant’s kitchen garden – all on the same day. Where ‘getting real’ means connecting with a bevy of local growers and makers bringing a bounty of food and booze to life.
It's where stories practically write themselves. You can plan every element of your journey ahead – or wing it and let things unfold organically. Whatever your style, the Great Southern Touring Route is all about finding your own adventure, your own unexpected narrative, both on and off the road less travelled.
TOWN AND VILLAGE INSPIRATION
Queenscliff: Arrive via Searoad Ferries to discover this bucket-list tick town with a super stroll-able streetscape and harbour precinct.
Surf culture ground zero, Australian National Surfing Museum, surfwear outlets abound.
Kangaroo spotting at , adventures big and small on the river, ocean beach
Waterfront lunching, treetop and aerial challenges at Live Wire Park, multiple waterfalls within easy reach.
Where the Great Ocean begins, critter crushes at Wildlife , foodie forays – cray cravings
Timboon: Deep in a wooded valley, bush and rail trails to tick off, teeming with top-notch tastings and produce to pick – whisky and liqueur tastings at The Timboon Railway Shed Distillery, pick-your-own strawberries or taste supreme local ice cream.
Warrnambool: World-class whale watching from shore, wind back the clock to the 19th century at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum, wild, woolly and replenishing.
Port Fairy: Soaked in seaside village charm, Griffiths Island’s wild landscapes, cutest lighthouse ever, rule-them-all folk festival, makers and creators for days, seafoodie heaven.
Halls Gap: Gateway to the sacred and spectacular Grampians, wildlife upclose – kangaroos literally bounding up the main road, authentic Indigenous experiences in a natural wonderland.
Ballarat: Quirky goldrush tales, immersive gold heritage at Sovereign Hill, contrast with avant-garde modernday cultural experiences.
Daylesford: Perfect for city escapees, deep in spa country, mecca for wellness, community of fabulous producers and hospitality creators as diverse as Cliffy’s Emporium and the The Lake House
GETTING HERE AND GETTING AROUND
Getting here
Getting here is as much a part of the story as the Great Southern Touring Route itself.
Fly in: Melbourne Airport, 90 minutes from Torquay, is serviced by hundreds of international and interstate flights each week. Avalon Airport, just 50 minutes from Torquay, currently has flights connecting with Sydney, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, with more to be added soon.
Drive in: Book a Hertz rental car and hit the road. Or sort transport and accommodation in one stop with Maui Motorhomes.
Train or bus in: V/Line trains run regularly between Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station and Geelong, Ballarat and Warrnambool. Buses link train services to other regional towns.
Cruise in: Searoad Ferries’ QueenscliffSorrento passenger and vehicle service connects the Great Ocean Road with the Mornington Peninsula, and Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, every hour, every day. While you're here try TARRA Queenscliff, a beachfront dining experience at the sparkling new Queenscliff Ferry terminal.
Getting around
A great road network puts you within easy reach of anything on or around the route. Self-driving is perfect for those who love exploring at their own pace. Or leave the driving to some else with Oceania Tours & Safaris, Acacia Tours or Autopia Tours.
KICK -STARTERS AND STORY THEMES
The Icons
Icons on the Great Southern Touring Route come in many forms. Take these two examples, where legends of old thrive and new stories are written and lived out every single day.
Twelve Apostles
The world-famous Twelve Apostles rise up from the rugged Southern Ocean in all their remarkable glory. The stuff of dreams, of magic moments, of endless photographs.
The Great Ocean Road
This bucket-list road journey officially winds its way 243km along the rugged southern coast from Torquay to Allansford near Warrnambool, before pushing further west towards the quaint fishing village of Port Fairy. It showcases some the most spectacular and diverse scenery in the world.
In mid-2024 Parks Victoria opened a new lookout at the Twelve Apostles called Saddle Lookout (pictured above). It is comprised of two long rectangular sections, one resting on the terrain’s ‘saddle’ and the other cantilevered towards the horizon.
The design momentarily conceals the coastline as visitors enter, before it is revealed as they continue further along. This is a very exciting development and gives visitors a whole new vista of what is one of Australia’s iconic sites.
Drop into the Great Ocean Road Heritage Centre at Lorne to unearth backstories of the thousands of WWI ex-servicemen who carved the roadway from the cliffs in memory of their fellow fallen soldiers. In doing so, they created the world’s largest war memorial.
Let the road lead: to the epic surf break Bells Beach, to the tranquil harbour village of Apollo Bay and through the ancient rainforests of the Great Otway National Park.
Kitchen Gardens
Foodies are all over the growing trend of restaurant kitchen gardens. Explore this garden-to-gourmet culinary movement with these places and faces.
At Port Fairy’s Merrijig Inn chef Tanya Connellan and team love to grow veggies and herbs (among roaming chickens) in the garden surrounding the historic inn. The menu’s written daily based on the garden harvest and what local farmers have on offer.
Ballarat’s Babae offers a stunning 26-seater dining experience championing creativity, provenance and seasonality. Local producers, providores and an in-house team of kitchen farm gardeners inspire culinary director Tim Foster’s distinctive producedriven menu.
Under culinary director Alla Wolf-Tasker AM the team at The Lake House Daylesford take the trend seriously with their own 38acre farm 10 minutes down the road. That’s five acres of veggie gardens, a barn for classes and workshops, 300-tree orchard, olive grove, vineyard and much more.
At Birregurra’s Brae restaurant, oft-awarded chef Dan Hunter a team of hospitality pros and gardeners growing organic fruit and veggies. The result is a unique diner experience immersed in seasonality, nature and eating from the land.
The Royal Mail Hotel at chef Robin Wickens, holds claim to Australia’s largest working restaurant kitchen garden. Travellers love to tour the garden, learn about organic practices, and taste for themselves the link between daily harvest and restaurant menu.
Ever-changing snapshot of the day’s harvest
‘Brae sits on a 20-acre organic farm, inviting visitors to reconnect to their food and the place it comes from. This allows us to offer dishes like “Brae Farm Vegetable Garden”.
On any given day up to 60 organic vegetables, herbs, leaves and flowers are harvested for this dish; some are roasted, barbecued and steamed; others pickled or left raw, before being dressed with a delicate sauce of lovage oil, sheep’s yoghurt and zucchini. An ever-changing snapshot of the day’s harvest and a true reflection of season and place.’
Dan Hunter, Owner and Chef | Brae
Great Ocean Walk
The 110km Great Ocean Walk is an epic 8-day hike through the Great Otway and Port Campbell national parks, including the iconic Twelve Apostles. There are stunning coastal landscapes and wildlife glimpses aplenty on a range of short, day and multi-day hike experiences.
The 2-night/3-day Milanesia to Twelve Apostles section includes overnighting at on-trail campsites for true rainforest-at-night experiences and a brilliant scenic finale of the Twelve Apostles.
Explore a top-end trail experience with luxe digs at architecturally designed Alkina Lodge, Wattle Hill. Tackle the 7km Castle Cove to Johanna trail section before recuperating with a deep bathtub soak while gazing up at the stars through sky windows.
Grampians Peaks Trail
The entire Grampians Peaks Trail is a challenging 160km 13-day/12-night hike through the rugged, nature-laden Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park. Fear not: it can be tackled as day walks, overnight hikes or a combo of multi-days, with a Licensed Tour Operator such as Grampians Peaks Walking Company providing support.
The Northern Peaks (Gar and Werdug) two-night itinerary sees hikers bed down in award-winning eco-friendly huts perched on lofty ridgelines. Must book with local tour operators.
A self-guided day hike (7.8km return) to Signal Peak includes challenging steep sections and a trail winding beneath a rocky escarpment before summiting at 780m for incredible vistas.
Walk the trails of the Great Southern Touring Route.
Spas and Wellness
The Great Southern Touring Route threads through regions famous for spas and wellness. They’re thick with story-making potential, from exotic locales and ultra-niche therapies to inventive packages and passionate wellness gurus. It’s a heady mix of pamper, connect, stay and eat/drink opportunities.
Get started with this round-up.
Lux Spa at Great Ocean Road Resort, Anglesea: Coastal rejuvenation, luxurious resort setting, ‘Waterfall Surrender’ package. Lake House, Daylesford: Bucketlist spa country, iconic property, hospitality ‘old-hands’, on-site healing waters, geisha-style tubs in private treetop houses overlooking lake.
Deep Blue Hotel & Hot Springs at Warrnambool: Spectacular foreshore location, romantic getaway, ultimate geothermal mineral bathing sanctuary.
Indie Spa at Sunnymead Hotel, Aireys Inlet: New kid on the block, retro vibe, fun, colourful, niche, quirky spa package names, cocktails encouraged.
Mineral Springs Hotel Hepburn, Hepburn Springs: Award-winning and renowned, housed in spa central Italian-style hotel, mineral water therapy zone, candle-lit night bathing.
Honu Honi Surf Camp at Torquay: Where the cool kids hang, totally unique offering, learn to surf, ocean-side yoga practice, ‘soul fam’ centric, wellbeing + mental health + environment.
Below us, an ancient water source
‘Deep in the earth below us, an ancient water source known as the Dilwyn Aquifer formed roughly 50 million years ago. We use this water throughout the sanctuary and bath house, offering geothermal baths enriched with naturally occurring minerals and warmth. Day spa guests can experience signature treatments influenced by our coastal surroundings, like the 'Hydra Sea Indulgence' that harnesses the therapeutic properties of seaweed mud. The open-air sanctuary’s rock pools and sensory caves mirror the natural coastline and rocky formations, creating a retreat that leaves guests feeling relaxed and blissful.’
Lauren Orero, Marketing Manager |
Deep Blue Hotel & Hot Springs
Indigenous Experiences
The Great Southern Touring Route gets travellers front and centre for Indigenous cultural experiences like no other – sacred sites, songline journeys, ancient cultures and a mindblowing UNESCO World Heritage site. More than 40,000 years of civilisation woven together by generations of First Nations storytellers.
The Grampians (Gariwerd):
The region is rock art central with southern Australia’s largest number of sites and 80% of Victoria’s sites. They say you can feel the culture in the earth here. A simple walk along one of the many bush trails can have you connecting to the spirit of this timeless land.
Budj Bim Cultural Landscape, Macarthur: Experience Gunditjmara Country on this UNESCO World Heritage listed site. The most authentic way to do it? Join a cultural tour led by a Gunditjmara guide. Discover the remnants and enduring storytelling – the oldest continuing story in human history.
Older than the Pyramids and
Stonehenge
‘Our Gunditjmara ancestors designed and built the world’s oldest engineered aquaculture system over 6,600 years ago. Using the volcanic rock of Budj Bim, our creator being, they engineered an intricate network of channels, weirs and stone walls to manage water flow and sustainably harvest Kooyang (short-finned eels). These structures are older than the Pyramids and Stonehenge. We have always known this because our Elders have passed down these stories, telling us that the stone structures we built are the world’s oldest engineered aquaculture system. Budj Bim is a testament to the ingenuity and resilience of our ancestors, a legacy that continues today and for the future.’
Joseph Saunders, Gunditjmara man and General Manager | Budj Bim
Wildlife Encounters
Travellers rave about the many random glimpses and encounters with native wildlife on the Great Southern Touring Route. For those not keen on missing out, lock in something special at purpose-built wildlife locations.
Nature takes right of way
‘Brian Massey’s approach to the design of Wildlife Wonders was based on the principle that ‘Nature takes right of way’. The creation of the walking path was as much about habitat restoration – removing the weeds and making space for the delicate ferns to return –as it was about the construction of the boardwalks that curve around the trees. Every single tree on the site was retained and thousands more have been planted. Now, little pademelons and bandicoots rest in the shade of the boardwalks and wallabies and emus graze the native grasslands overlooking the ocean. The path is truly a part of the bushland itself.’
Lizzie Corke OAM, Director | Wildlife Wonders
(Brian Massey was a Greensmaster of The Lord of The Rings, an Art Director of The Hobbit, Landscape Designer of Hobbiton and the Creative Director of Wildlife Wonders.)
Ballarat Wildlife Park, Ballarat: Visitors can warm up by hand-feeding the 100 or so roaming kangaroos before a pre-booked encounter with a fave creature. Choose from tree kangaroo, wombat, cassowary, meerkat, Sumatran tiger (!) and more.
Werribee Open Range Zoo, Werribee: Ever wondered what goes on at the zoo before the gates open? Find out with an intimate morning tour with keepers as they go about their morning round feeding and getting the day started with the amazing animals of the Savannah, including rhinos, giraffes and zebras.
Wildlife Wonders, Apollo Bay: Take a walk on the wild side with a Dusk Discovery Wildlife Tour.
As the sun sets over the Otways hills, spot potoroos, bandicoots, pademelons and more emerging for their evening of feeding and foraging. A conservationist guide shares insider insights into the more elusive species. It’s just a taster of what’s on offer at this 30-acre social enterprise sanctuary where native wildlife is protected and conservation is the name of the game.
Ballarat History and Culture
Ballarat is a melting pot of stories stitched together on a backdrop of gold rush history interwoven with art and culture as modern as you like it. There are always new narratives to discover at these two iconic locations.
and events. This gallery’s renowned for to an Early Start intro-to-the-gallery session. (The Art Gallery of Ballarat is undergoing interior upgrades and will remain closed until early 2026).
Sovereign Hill
An expansive open-air living museum of the gold rush era. Old-time streetscapes to wander, underground mine to deep dive and time-worn businesses and shopfronts to explore. Come evening, let an unforgettable sound and light show knock your socks off.
Visit Sovereign Hill’s Centre for Rare Arts & Forgotten Trades where a swag of lost and re-merging trades and arts are getting new life. Learn something new (but old) in a workshop on dilly bag making, the ancient mariner’s craft of rope splicing or even long bow making.
One place but there are many stories
‘These are exciting times at Sovereign Hill as we constantly explore new ideas and events at our living museum. We are one place but there are many stories of the gold rush, its impacts and legacy and lessons. Here you can immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the 1850s by panning for gold, taking a coach ride, talking to our costumed staff in the streets or exploring our network of mines. But there’s much more to experience with our events calendar always changing giving you new reasons to visit or revisit one of the nation’s tourism icons.’
Mark Hermetsberger, Head of External Engagement | Sovereign Hill
Drinks and Food
Letting the fruit tell its own story
The Great Southern Touring Route winds through a rich land of plenty, where the food and beverage offerings are intrinsically connected to place.
An icon of Australian sparkling red
‘The 2012 Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz represents the pinnacle of our sparkling red winemaking tradition – a style we’ve proudly championed here in Great Western for generations. Crafted in the méthode traditionnelle, this wine spent over 10 years maturing on lees, developing extraordinary complexity, finesse and character.
It opens with rich layers of blackberry, dark plum and black cherry, woven with exotic spice, earthy undertones and a hint of savoury oak. The mousse is fine and persistent, bringing freshness and energy to the palate, while velvety tannins and a dry, structural finish give it both power and poise. It’s a wine of remarkable depth and elegance, built to impress and built to age.’
Clare Dry, Winemaker | Seppelt Great Western
‘More than any other Best’s wine, our Shiraz speaks of our place, our vineyards and our family. Our minimalist winemaking approach lets the Great Western fruit tell its own story through the wine. And, with some of the oldest and rarest vines in the world, our fruit has plenty to say about the Grampians region. You can taste it in our elegant, finely structured red wines with great intensity and balance. Every new vintage celebrates resilience, wine wisdom and family heritage stretching back 160 years in this place’
Viv Thomson, Fourth-Generation Owner | Best’s Wines Great Western
The Timboon Railway Shed Distillery, Timboon: True small-batch single malt whiskies bubbling + steaming in a copper still right in the dining area, epic spirits portfolio, tastings, housed in historic 1800s railway shed, join Drams of Wisdom Tour for behind-the-scenes experience.
Pomonal Estate, East Grampians: Family-run boutique winery + brewery + cider house + restaurant, multi awardwinning cellar door, sumptuous platters, and day-making Grampians views.
Grampians Estate, Grampians: With its elegant cool-climate shiraz and sparkling shiraz leading the way, the winery produces a wide range of award-winning wines. Enjoy their tasty lunch menu whilst looking across the historic vineyard planted in 1878.
Best’s Wines Great Western, Grampians: Some of the world’s oldest and rarest vines, family-operated since 1866, underground cellar tours, private tasting experience inside a vintage wine maturation tank, pick-a-platter cheese boards and wine wisdom for days.
Seppelt Great Western, Great Western: Famous for their heritagelisted labyrinth of underground cellars, known as ‘The Drives’, which wind for 3km beneath the historic Great Western home. Guided tours provide a fascinating glimpse into Victorian wine history.
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