Exploring the Great Otway National Park in Victoria, Australia.

Drive a few hours south-west of Melbourne and halfway along the Great Ocean Road you’ll enter the Great Otway National Park, or in local Aussie parlance, “The Otways”. It’s a special place at once both wild and serene, with coastline, forests, rolling hills and picturesque lakes for exploring.

We recently took the opportunity to do a short camping trip in the Otways with a group of friends. Of course we couldn’t leave the camera at home – so we took the chance to capture some images of the beautiful ocean landscapes and dense forests in the area.

The Otways encompasses a rolling landscape with lush forests of thick fern undergrowth and giant Eucapyts towering up into the sky. Some of these trees are over 300 years old and are among the tallest trees in the world, stretching up to 100m up above the forest floor. These are impressive forests to traverse.

The beaches that stretch to the point of Cape Otway and beyond have a wild beauty to them. There is a mix of scraggly bushes, golden sand and rough rocky shores – a reminder the beauty and the remoteness of this country.

Crayfish Bay and Castle Cove

Crayfish Bay was a particularly interesting spot with its quasi-lunar landscape of rock formations dotted with tidal pools.

A local at the petrol station in Apollo Bay tipped us off to spot not too far away, which she described as “an enchanted wonderland”. We were a little skeptical, but decided to check it out.

The spot is a plantation of giant California Redwood trees that were planted way back in 1938. Turns out it was a pretty awesome spot – and well deserving of the enchanted label.

Sunlight filters through the tall sleek sequoia trunks while tree ferns border an adjacent stream. It was dreamlike and we spent a lot of time in there just soaking up the atmosphere.

We absolutely loved our short dip into in the Otways, and can’t wait to go back. If you get the chance we highly recommend exploring the area. And make sure to stop at the Ice Cream Tub in Apollo Bay – their homemade banana ice cream is to die for!