Description
This trek is a great long weekender, particularly if you live in or around
Melbourne. Our start and end point is only 120kms from
Victoria's capital city and this trek is a wonderful introduction to the first time 4WDer with a good combination of tar and gravel roads. It is a 4WDer's dream - close to the city with plenty of tracks to explore.
The trek begins at
Aireys Inlet on the famous Great Ocean Road and finishes in the township of
Forrest. The Great Ocean Road follows the coast and there are numerous coastal towns, fantastic scenery and excellent
fishing and surfing opportunities. At
Aireys Inlet, there are a number of great walks and a particular favourite is before Lorne at the Cumberland River Reserve with walks to Jebbs Pool and Cumberland Falls. This is a great spot for
camping if you can find a free space in the caravan park.
Interactive Route Map

Position: 144.1039ºE 38.4640ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place: Gentle Annie Hill
Distance: 10.67km
Average Speed: 32.9km/h
Features:

Position: 144.0110ºE 38.4432ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place: Benwerrin
Distance: 10.13km
Average Speed: 39.5km/h
Features: Place Name
Position: 143.9328ºE 38.4684ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place: Big Hill Camping Area
Distance: 0.84km
Average Speed: 63.37km/h
Features:

Position: 143.9319ºE 38.4754ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place: Mount Cowley
Distance: 14.38km
Average Speed: 50.66km/h
Features:

Position: 143.8598ºE 38.5483ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place: Sharps Track Camping Area
Distance: 7.43km
Average Speed: 35.76km/h
Features:

Position: 143.9319ºE 38.5510ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place: Allenvale Mill Camp Ground
Distance: 2.84km
Average Speed: 40.49km/h
Features:

Position: 143.9602ºE 38.5496ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place: Lorne
Distance: 2.16km
Average Speed: 35.46km/h
Position: 143.9764ºE 38.5404ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place: Point Grey
Distance: 1.25km
Average Speed: 49.61km/h
Features:


Position: 143.9879ºE 38.5483ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place: The Spit
Distance: 4.13km
Average Speed: 53.99km/h
Features:


Position: 143.9662ºE 38.5712ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place: The Brothers
Distance: 1.17km
Average Speed: 62.78km/h
Features:

Position: 143.9556ºE 38.5770ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place: Cumberland River Holiday Park
Distance: 0.62km
Average Speed: 43.61km/h
Cumberland River Holiday Park
Fantastic Park on banks of Cumberland River in a Gorge, across the Road [Great Ocean Road] from beach,sstacks of things to do, bush walks to Gebbs pool - lovely waterfall, safe paddeling, swimming in River, swimming in ocean, rock pools, play ground.
Features:

Position: 143.9486ºE 38.5744ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place: Mount Defiance Lookout
Distance: 2.01km
Average Speed: 50.42km/h
Mount Defiance Lookout
Westbound travellers easily pull over into the parking bay but if you are heading east it's a blind corner and too dangerous to stop. The next headland is safer.
Features:

Position: 143.9339ºE 38.5858ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place: Jamieson Track Camp Ground
Distance: 2.66km
Average Speed: 38.2km/h
Features:

Position: 143.9180ºE 38.5999ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place: Lake Elizabeth Camp Ground
Distance: 39.1km
Average Speed: 29.83km/h
Lake Elizabeth Camp Ground
Lake Elizabeth campground should be noted as not being suitable for vehicle based camping. It is a walk-in campground only, approximately 100m from the car park. Nearest vehicle camp sites are Big Hill near Lorne and Dandos, near Gellibrand.
Features:

Position: 143.7440ºE 38.5492ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place: Forrest
Distance: 7.62km
Average Speed: 33.06km/h
Position: 143.7155ºE 38.5145ºS (GDA 94)
Permits
Only required for
camping in Otways National Park. The Otway Range Forests and the Angahook-Lorne State Park do not currently charge for
camping.
Camping fees do apply for
the Otways National Park ranging from $3.50 per night/site for bush
camping, to $8.30 per night/site where facilities are provided. Bookings are advised, particularly for school holidays and Blanket Bay
camping area. Full details on facilities and fees are provided in
Camping in Victoria by Boiling Billy.
Some tracks in the Otway Parks and Forests are closed between 1 June to 31 October. This trek travels on some seasonally closed tracks, so its best to contact Parks
Victoria before finding you can't get through! For more information, call the Parks
Victoria Information Line on 13 1963.
Things to See & Do
Mount Defiance Lookout - VIC
Westbound travellers easily pull over into the parking bay but if you are heading east it's a blind corner and too dangerous to stop. The next headland is safer.
Other notable info. Large reservoir, river, state forest, mountain bike tracks. Lots of 4WD tracks in area, subject to winter closure.
For more information on the Great Otways National Park, call the Parks
Victoria Information Line on 13 1963.
Parks Victoria
Level 10, 535
Bourke Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: 13 1963 (within
Australia)
Website:
www.parkweb.vic.gov.auEmail:
info@parks.vic.gov.au
Preparation
Fuel Supplies & Usage
 | Aireys Inlet, Lorne |
Diesel | 4cyl 15 litres |
ULP | 4cyl 13 litres * |
LPG | 4cyl 21 litres |
| 6cyl 16 litres | 6cyl 19 litres | 6cyl 19 litres |
| 8cyl 17 litres | 8cyl 18 litres | |
Usage is averaged from
TrekFuel (* specific to trek) submissions and calculated based on trek distance.
There is NO fuel available in
Forrest, nearest fuel is in Barwon Downs, 8 km to the north. (Limited hours only)
Best Time To Visit
All year round - maybe avoid June to October when parts of the Parks are closed.
Closest Climatic Station
Aireys Inlet
Distance from Trek Mid Point 17.52km NE
| | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| Mean Max. °C |
22.3 | 23.0 | 21.1 | 18.9 |
16.1 | 13.8 | 13.3 | 14.4 |
15.9 | 17.7 | 19.2 | 20.7 |
| Mean Min. °C |
13.8 | 14.6 | 13.4 | 11.5 |
9.8 | 8.1 | 7.4 | 7.5 |
8.1 | 9.2 | 10.6 | 12.1 |
| Mean Rain mm |
36.2 | 38.6 | 29.7 | 54.7 |
49.6 | 59.4 | 64.0 | 66.4 |
61.3 | 65.7 | 55.6 | 30.9 |
Best time to travel Ok time to travel Travel NOT recommended
Camp Sites & Accomodation
Cumberland River Holiday Park - VIC 



Fantastic Park on banks of Cumberland River in a Gorge, across the Road [Great Ocean Road] from beach,sstacks of things to do, bush walks to Gebbs pool - lovely waterfall, safe paddeling, swimming in River, swimming in ocean, rock pools, play ground. Fires permitted in drums, no power, hot showers -20cents for 6 minutes. Very Friendly.
Lake Elizabeth Camp Ground - VIC
Lake Elizabeth campground should be noted as not being suitable for vehicle based camping. It is a walk-in campground only, approximately 100m from the car park. Nearest vehicle camp sites are Big Hill near Lorne and Dandos, near Gellibrand.
Environment
There is a great variety of landscape in this region. The coastal heathlands and open woodlands contrast greatly with the rainforests which are hundreds of years old. There is a large amount of wild life that may be seen throughout your trip to
the Otways.
History
At the turn of the century most of the villages along the coast such as Lorne were cut off by the Otway Ranges and the only way of communicating easily with the outside world was by sea. In 1916, during the middle of the war, it was suggested that returned servicemen be employed to build roads to cut off areas.
From this initiative the Great Ocean Road trust was founded to provide employment for returned service men, and to create the road as a
memorial to those who had served in the war. The road was mainly hacked out of the earth by manual labour and was completed in 1932. It is a long and winding road that starts officially at
Torquay and finishes at Warrnambool.
The Otways or Otway Ranges were formed 150 million years ago when Gondwana began to break up. Home to the Katabanut Aboriginal people, the steepness and tall forests of the ranges prevented European settlement until the 1870's when some land was cleared.
The Otways National Park was created in the mid-1980's. The Angahook-Lorne State Park comprises the Eastern Otways.
Distance is GPS recorded driving distance (not straight line), Direction is straight line from start to end, Time is calculated from actual GPS driving data.