The great thing about a Great Ocean Road Trip is that if the weather is good, you can enjoy the beaches and the coast. If the weather is miserable, simply head inland and enjoy the rainforests and other delights of the Otways.
Although the weather was pretty good this trip, I couldn’t resist visiting one of my favourite places in the Otways again – the Californian Redwood forest. They were planted in the 1930’s and are already towering above. The older trees in the US would be amazing. The redwood forest has limited parking, but is a great place to just walk through the massive trees, breath in the fresh air and enjoy the wind rushing through the trees. It’s worth coming here early as it can get crowded. There’s some great photo opportunities here, including a beautiful creek which runs through the forest.
Not far from the redwood forest is Hopetoun Falls, one of the more impressive waterfalls in the Otways. Once again, parking is limited so get here early. I wanted the place to myself, so dragged my sorry butt out of bed in the pre-dawn gloom to get here for sunrise. I had the place to myself, which is quite a feat if you have ever been here before. Due to fallen trees just behind where this photo was taken, composition options were limited, however I think the results are acceptable for a first go.
Another take on Hopetoun Falls. Which do you prefer?
