The Great Ocean Road is famous for its coastal views, but it’s also one of the best routes in Australia for seeing native wildlife. From kangaroos and koalas to seals and glowworms, here’s where to find them – starting with the most surprising golf course in Victoria.
Seeing kangaroos at Anglesea Golf Course
The disgruntled golfer, having given his tee shot the most ugly of hooks, stomps off into the bushes to find his ball. Anywhere else, it would be an almighty surprise to encounter half a dozen kangaroos bounding out to greet him. But at Anglesea Golf Course, this is just a normal round. The roos are as much a standard hazard as the bunkers and the water features.
Near the start of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, this is quite probably the most visited golf course in Australia. Most visitors aren’t shelling out for the green fees, though. It’s just the perfect spot for most overseas visitors’ holy grail – reliable sightings of kangaroos in the wild.
Anglesea Golf Club kangaroo tours
After years of people rocking up and wandering around, the club has got wise and started offering half hour tours in golf buggies. These head out to the spots where the roos most often hang out – and that’s generally the bit of bushland that the course was built around.
“There are around 300 of them,” says volunteer guide Tony. “About 250 on the course and 50 around town, dodging the cars.” Some are adorably cute, too. Especially the little joeys just out of mum’s pouch and tottering around nervously rather than confidently bounding. Apparently, they do occasionally get hit by a flying golf ball – with the most dangerous time being in the mornings, when the roos hang out on the fairways, feeding.
Wildlife encounters along the Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road is usually regarded as a classic drive because it twists and turns around the coast, showing off delightful beach towns and impressive rock formations. But it isn’t half a good route for taking in native wildlife. Park up and wander down any number of trails in the Great Otway National Park, and you’ll be serenaded with birdsong. Complete a couple of kilometres’ bushwalk without spotting at least a crimson rosella or a parrot flitting by, and you can count yourself as rather unlucky.
The most notorious birds, however, are the cockatoos at Kennett River. Outside the holiday park, there are dozens of them, strutting about like they own the place and monopolising the wooden posts on the Grey River Road. It feels slightly wrong to be entertained when unsuspecting tourists scream in weirdly fascinated terror as the cockies try to snaffle sandwiches. But, let’s face it, it’s like when monkeys try to steal handbags – a little scary for the person set upon, while thoroughly amusing for absolutely everyone else watching.
Why choose the Great Ocean Road Reverse Tour from Melbourne?
- Beat the Crowds: The reverse route lets you visit landmarks like the 12 Apostles earlier, when it’s quieter.
- Full-day coastal voyage: See Loch Ard Gorge, Apollo Bay, Gibson Steps, and dramatic coastal scenery in one day.
- All inclusions: National park fees, bottled water, guide commentary, and round-trip transport in a comfortable minivan.
- Hotel pickup/drop-off: Convenient central meeting points in Melbourne and return service included.
- Small-group format: Easier stops, more flexibility, and better views than big-bus tours.
Spotting koalas at Kennett River
Less amusing are the most famous residents of the Grey River Road. The koalas do what koalas do: sleep. Amble up the road, and it shouldn’t take too long to spot one – but it’s likely to be a furry grey ball in the branches of the gum trees. The creatures that every visitor to Oz wants to see rarely put on a performance.
Kayaking with seals at Apollo Bay
Thoroughly reliable showmen can be found further along the coast at Apollo Bay. Here the Marengo Reefs Marine Sanctuary is designed to protect the fish found around two reefs that jut out of the ocean. But it’s what’s sitting on top of those reefs that Mark Kininmonth is interested in.
Mark has been running Apollo Bay Surf and Kayak’s paddling tours for a decade and a half. They’re partly about the thrill ride of taking on the swell and breaking waves in a kayak, but the main attraction is getting up close to the Australian fur seals.
Watching Australian fur seals in the wild
“They haul out here,” says Mark. “It’s where they come to rest, and they’re mainly adolescent males. The big boys are elsewhere, with plenty around Phillip Island.” This is why you don’t tend to see those other, less cute creatures that tend to regard fur seals as a delicious snack. The Apollo Bay colony is not a pupping colony as it’s full of awkward teenagers that can’t get laid – and it’s the pups that are the easy targets for sharks, rather than those who’ve already proved they can swim hundreds of kilometres from their birthplace.
Seals are superb to watch. They’re grumpy, feisty and forever picking fights with each other. They look ridiculous when they heave their way down the rocks into the sea, and once in the water they leap around in high arcs like dolphins, warily checking out whoever’s in the bobbing kayak.
Unforgettable moments with Great Ocean Road wildlife
They also sound like a bad-tempered hospital ward, grunting and barking and moaning without the faintest shred of decorum. Soon after entering the shallows created by an arm of the reef, Mark says: “We’d better get out of here. They’re about to move.” We get out just in time to witness something genuinely extraordinary.
Around 20 of the seals suddenly break into a galumph down the rocks, charging directly towards us. It’s not done in a threatening way – they’ve all just decided to go for a dip. They breach and dart all around the kayak, and are soon joined by a second wave. The whole scene is an absolute privilege to witness.
Exploring the Otway Ranges and Shelly Beach
After Apollo Bay, the Great Ocean Road heads inland through the lush, green and thickly forested Otway Ranges. It’s the bit people whizz through on the way to the Twelve Apostles, but is home to several walking trails, including the multi-day Great Ocean Walk.
One chunk of this – a cheat’s method 2km round trip accessed via a dirt road – heads down to Shelly Beach. It’s as good a short bushwalk as you could ever wish for, descending through soaring silvery gum trees with peeling bark and ferny forest floor towards a deserted beach covered in mysterious boulders. Birdsong soundtracks every footstep, but then come less pretty grunting pig-like sounds.
Koala sightings near Shelly Beach
Unless that’s a wild boar, one of the koalas is awake. But he’s hidden from view. Ever the disappointment, koalas. That’s an opinion that lasts for about half an hour. Driving back towards the main road, something emerges from the ferns and starts padding down the track. It’s a momma koala, and she’s carrying her joey on her back. Suddenly, all my bitching about them has to be taken back. It’s one of the cutest sights I’ve ever seen – and the memory stays burned in long after they’ve scurried back into the bush.
Five more Great Ocean Road animal hotspots
- Penguins: Hang around at the beaches and viewing platforms at the Twelve Apostles and London Bridge long after the tour buses have departed – the local penguin colonies will come in from the sea around sunset.
- Glowworm caves: The walking tracks around Melba Gully in the Otways twinkle at night – glowworms live there.
- Platypus: The elusive monotremes can be found in Lake Elizabeth – Otway Eco Tours runs dawn and dusk canoeing trips to see them.
- Whales: Between June and September, a parade of Southern Right Whales passes by Warrnambool. They’re best spotted from the viewing platform at Logan’s Beach.
- Emus et al: The Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve, 20 minutes’ drive from Warrnambool, hosts roos, echidnas and picnic-snaffling emus inside an ancient volcano crater.
Anglesea Golf Club and Apollo Bay tour details
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What are the Anglesea Golf Club kangaroo tour prices? | Tours cost $17 per person for a 25–30 minute guided buggy tour. |
| What are the Anglesea Golf Club tour hours? | Tours run daily between 10am and 4pm, with departures roughly every half hour. |
| Do you need to book in advance? | Advance booking is recommended, especially in school holidays. Tickets can be purchased through the official Anglesea Golf Club website. |
| Is there parking at Anglesea Golf Club? | Yes, free on-site parking is available at the clubhouse for visitors and tour guests. |
| How much is the Apollo Bay Surf and Kayak seal tour? | The seal kayaking tour costs $99 per person and lasts approximately 2 hours. Details at Apollo Bay Surf and Kayak. |
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More Victoria travel
- Why Echuca is Australia’s paddlesteamer capital.
- What it’s like to visit the Phillip Island Penguin Parade.
- Going underground at Bendigo’s Central Deborah Gold Mine.
- On the Ned Kelly Trail in Victoria’s High Country.
- Discovering Australia’s immigration history at the Bonegilla Migrant Experience.
