Cycling UK Forum

Hi there,wondering if any one out there has done a tour of this part of Australia?The plan is to fly into Melbourne i have a week up my sleave so i hope this is enough time?Also what is the ride from Warranbool to Adelaide like?i was going to get the train back to Melbourne or is it worth it to keep riding to Adelaide?.Plan on staying in hotels bbs etc doing around 80/100ks per day,what were your highlights of this trip??

I Cycled Melbourne to Adelaide in 2007. It's not worth cycling on to Adelaide. Mostly long days of dull farmland. Unfortunately I didn't get to check out Kangaroo Island properly due to a big bush fire.

Great Ocean Road is fine, but coming from the UK with plenty of spectacular coast it's not a must do route in my opinion. Antrim coast would be above it. But if you are going to be there then GOR is a good option.Tazmania was better cycling.

I cycled from Adelaide to Melbourne a few years ago.

I agree that the GOR is over rated, like many things in Oz , its certainly not "the greatest ocean drive in the world", as they claim. Nonetheless, it is an enjoyable ride with good scenery and reasonable accom options. I stayed in hostels or cheap pubs most of the time. Avoid busy holiday times as it is a bit narrow in places and Aussie drivers aren't used to bikes on the highways.

I really enjoyed from Adelaide to Warrambol, but then again I was going to see Oz, the towns, the landscape, the people, the contrasts, etc and not just looking for good riding. From Ad, the Ad hills were nice. Then I cycled the Coroong - 150ish kms of sand dunes and desert - OK not stunning cycling, but its what is there (and why I was there). Then it is small town Oz through S Australia. They even have a Southend on Sea, plus plenty of other picturesque seaside towns. Mt Gambier has an old prison (granite blocks) which is now a hostel and you sleep in 2 man cells, complete with very basic open toilet/washbasin. Quite spooky as you slam the big heavy cell door at night.

I stayed in a one lovely little pub (Nelson?) where I watched England win the rugby world cup - fortunately the locals were very friendly. Port Fairy is another lovely little town.

Beware the wind. When I went it should have been westerly - but it blew SE for the whole trip and made it hard work. The SE'er blows straight off Antarctica so is cold and dry - horrible.

From the end of the GOR, don't go the Geelong way into Melly, but take the ferry over and ride up the Mornington.

I liked Oz and am going back for my 4th trip soon (to Tassy), but its not a patch on Asia for cycling, so don't expect to be wowed by scenery, roads, traffic, etc.

Cheers guys for your replys,very much appreciated.I am actually a Aussie but you guys have comfirmed my suspicions,the GOR could be a little overated.I have been tossing up between GOR and Tassie for months starting to lean towards Tassie a little,im booking fares in a month or so.All the info i have searched says its the greatest drive etc out there,so i thought it must be a good ride.I live in north qld(the other end of AUS)so its completly different to what i am used to.Would love to swap it for a ride over there,done Provence a few years ago and nothing in this country comes even close including NZ,but its all different i suppose better then a days work i say!!!!

If you are from FNQ, then you will probably have ridden the Captain Cook Highway north of Cairns - I reckoned that was better than the GOR !!! Of course, it could have been that I was getting so peed off with the winds in S Australia and was loving the heat of Queensland that skewed my opinion.

The backpacker trip buses do out on the GOR and back through the Grampians (or vv) - that would make an easy trip to do out of Melbourne and a lot easier and cheaper than hopping over to Tassie.

For some reason the guides always cover it east-west, out of Melbourne, which is INTO the prevailing wind. I rode it the other way (so the wind was behind me) in 2001. It was a really great ride, similar to the Pacific Coast of Oregon. I thoroughly recommend it. The train from Melbourne to Warrnambool is very simple.

There is only one tough bit, climbing in the Otway range, otherwise it's very flat and an easy ride. I rode in September, so early springtime.

Thought I would use my first ever post to throw my 2pence ( cents ) worth into the ring. I rode Adelaide to Melbourne ( as part of a much longer tour ) in August 2001 and loved every minute of it. I would recommend coming out of Adelaide up the Old Mount Barker Rd ( has a bike track ) and then following the quiet roads through to Strathalbyn and then on to Langhorne Creek through the vineyards and cross the Murray at Wellington on the little ferry. I agree that the road along the Coorong can be a little dull at times, but I really enjoyed the quiet - weekdays in non-school holidays was nearly traffic free. I used a mixture of camping, backpackers ( YHA's ) and pubs.( I also remember the pub in Nelson ). I had a little rain coming down the Coorong, but had generally fine weather except for a deluge when crossing the Otway ranges from Port Campbell to Apollo Bay. My panniers ended up as two 20L water containers. I followed the road from Mt Gambier to Nelson, Port Fairy, Warrnumbool and on to the GOR. I too would recommend crossing over to Sorrento on the ferry and coming up the Mornington peninsula rather than heading into Melbourne from the Geelong side, however there may be a bike path/route on that side of the Bay now which would make it an easier end to the journey. I have great memories of that trip - the independant hostel in Apollo Bay with the old record player and the collection of records which included such gems as the Soviet Red Army Band plays Marching Tunes, and the young kid staying there who didn't know how a record player worked. I also remember the other cyclists I met ( Katie from New Mexico and Mick from Batemans Bay - where are you now? ). I'm sure there are other " Greater " ocean roads in the world, but I thought it was a great route to cycle and would recommend it to anyone. All the best if you decide to give it a go.
An Adelaidian in Dorset.

Well the only way to find out i suppose is to get out there and give it a go,differing reports so far!!Yes i do agree the Captain Cook is nice i live south of Townsville in Ayr so i havent cycled it but have driven it a few times(it is on the to do list)Was looking at late Sept,starting to think about getting the train to Warranbool and cycling back to melbourne(hoping for a tail wind)

Late Sept - mind the maggies!!

very true,the worst thing about cycling here.