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.
How to Use this Trek Note
Click the "Map" tab below to see the route we've provided. Icons on the map are the POIs you'll need for navigation purposes. Be sure to check the list of Nearby
Places on each POI page.
If you'd like to save this information there are a couple of ways to go about it, depending on what you're actually after:-
- Ideal solution - download the ExplorOz Traveller App from Google Play or the App Store. The app enables you to carry the ExplorOz Places, Treks, & Maps data offline in your mobile device ready for your adventures. It is a complete mapping, navigation and tracking app. For more details, read our ExplorOz Traveller page.
- You can print a paper copy of the text using the print icon button shown above, near the social media buttons. For the best output it is advised to open each tab/section to load all images and artwork. You will still need to click open each Place page (listed in Where to Stay, What to See) to print off all available information.
- If you have a Hema Navigator or use Mapping Software such as OziExplorer, or TrackRanger AND you are an ExplorOz Member, then you can click the Download Trek button at the top of this page to obtain the raw data files (eg. GPX) for this Trek.
- If you're not a Member, or you'd like to batch download the entire Treks database you can obtain this by buying a product called EOTreks Route Files from our online shop.
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.
