12 Apostles to Melbourne by Public Transport (GOW Trip)

 26 February 2024 (Post day 1)

 We enjoyed a good nights sleep in a bed and another shower this morning.

https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/port-campbell-national-park/things-to-do/twelve-apostles

https://visitgreatoceanroad.org.au/explore/nature-wildlife/the-12-apostles/ 

Then off to the 12 Apostles to enjoy their beauty and the power of the Southern Ocean before the crowds arrive. So different to last night, no voices just the sound of the ocean. Currently there are 8 apostles, the numbers vary as new ones are formed and old ones collapse. The footprints on the beach below the lookout are from fairy penguins – there is no access to this beach to protect their habitat. It was interesting to watch the changing light on the cliff faces.

The bus to Apollo Bay via the Great Ocean Road picked us up from the Visitor Information Centre.  We were able to see farmland and some forest sections of Otway National Park. We visited George’s for burgers for lunch in Apollo Bay. Next was the bus to Geelong, a super quick toilet stop and then onto the train to Southern Cross Station. There we only had to wait less than 10 minutes for our next train. Last, the short walk to our accommodation.

https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/stop/4033/twelve-apostlesgreat-ocean-rd/3/regional-train/#StopPage:::datetime=2024-04-30T08%3A57%3A07.348Z&directionId=-1&showAllDay=false&_auth=01cf4d0311ef4be07805b61a5ce52a17e5186788e29ee6783743a8ff4d536c28

https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/great-otway-national-park

https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/route/14937/apollo-bay-geelong

https://southerncrossstation.com.au/

2 buses, 2 trains

Walking 4.71km

 

 

 

Melbourne to Apollo Bay by Public Transport (GOW Trip)

 17 February 2024 (Pre day 1)

 

This morning we were up at 6am to be away by 7am.  We took the short walk back to the train station and then a train to Southern Cross Station.  

https://southerncrossstation.com.au/

From here we changed from electric to diesel which was bound for Waurn Ponds – it was quite a smooth ride. The conductor on the train nicely explained to us where to get off and which way to go to connect to our bus in Geelong. We enjoyed our wait sitting in a park near the station.

https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/route/14937/apollo-bay-geelong/

The bus to Apollo Bay follows the Great Ocean Road and hence the views from Torquay to Apollo Bay were great, I have never taken anywhere near that many photos while on public transport in the past. 

We had a picnic lunch in Apollo Bay and then headed to Apollo Bay Holiday Park where we have paid $60 for an unpowered campsite. We were set up by 2:30 and then headed into town for an explore.

https://www.visitvictoria.com/regions/great-ocean-road/destinations/apollo-bay

https://www.apollobayholidaypark.com.au/

The sea was very calm and blue today. The Visitor Information Centre had a good section on the walk, however it was tucked away in a corner near the council desk. We headed back to the park via the beach and the sand was very fine grained and gentle on the feet. For dinner we had delicious burgers at George’s in Apollo Bay. Early night in preparation for tomorrow’s start to our adventure.

https://visitapollobay.com/

2 trains, 1 bus

Walking 1.2km

 

Sunshine Coast to Melbourne by Public Transport (GOW trip)

 16 February 2024 (Pre day 2)

 

We left home at 8:15on foot, arriving right on time for our first bus. We both wore our new raincoats purchased for this walk. We have previously only had cheap raincoats because Queensland rain tends not to leave you cold, but along the Southern Ocean we felt we should be prepared for rain accompanied by cold wind.  The raincoats worked well but everything that was not covered was wet through, including our jeans.  

At Maroochydore Bus Station we waited for our next bus to the Maroochydore Airport.

https://translink.com.au/travel-with-us/around-queensland/sunshine-coast

https://www.sunshinecoastairport.com.au/

Arriving at the airport we queued up with hundreds of Taylor Swift fans heading to Melbourne for her concert.  We were checked in nicely on time for our scheduled flight time, unfortunately the flight was delayed thirty minutes.  By the time it was time to board we were almost dry only to be soaked again getting across the tarmac to the plane.

Our seats were on the emergency exits so while we had loads of leg room, we did not have any view from the windows.  The plane was full of Taylor Swift fans and Drew was definitely in a very small minority on the plane, being male. At the end of the flight one of the hostesses played a Taylor Swift song via her phone through the plane’s announcement system – not exactly great audio, but the fans seemed to love it.  The plane landed in Melbourne approximately twenty to twenty-five minutes behind schedule.  We then collected our baggage and joined the queue for the Skybus.  We only had to wait through two cycles despite the crowds, so pretty quick.

https://www.melbourneairport.com.au/ 

https://www.skybus.com.au/

Arriving at Southern Cross Station we were reminded of Thomas the Tank Engine – with all 16 platforms under one roof.  Being 5:30pm there were a lot of trains running so we only needed to wait for a few minutes before boarding a train .  Then just a short walk to our overnight accommodation.

https://southerncrossstation.com.au/ 

A day full of travel – 4 buses, 1 plane and 1 train

Walking 4.4km