After our recent Australia Day trip to Johanna Beach we invited some friends to join us for another weekend. We suggested Johanna beach as it was a normal weekend and we were sure there would be no crowds. We were to meet there on Friday.
At about 4pm I recieved a phone call. Our friends had arrived at the camp site only to find that there was a fishing comp on and the place was packed again!
We were only leaving Melbourne at that stage and with a 2.5hr drive we would have been guaranteed to miss out on a spot. What to do??? A quick search on wikicamps and our friends suggested a caravan park they had passed on the way to Johanna Beach just out of Colac called Otways Tourist Park.
What a little gem. This is the sort of place if you blink you will miss it. Only about 20 kms south of Colac in a little town called Gellibrand. This camp is a labour of love of the owners and they built it up from scratch over about 15yrs. Lots of green grass and shade. They allow dogs and you can hire fire pits ($5) and a wheelbarrow load of wood ($20).
Since starting this post we actually went back and spent another weekend. It really is that good and will most likely become one of our go to spots being less than 2hrs from home.
We took the opportunity to ride the Beach Forrest to Gellibrand Rail Trail (twice) on the second visit. We went in the downhill direction and it was an amazing ride through rainforest and farming land with an array of history boards and relics from the past. The ride is approx. 18kms mostly downhill so little pedalling was needed. My type of bike riding. It’s not really one for the kids unless they are experienced riders.
There is a great little cafe across the road that does good coffee and the food looks good too and the Otway Estate Brewery is only 10 kms away on the road back to Colac. So if you are in the area don’t hesitate to stop here. It would make a nice base camp to visit the nearby beaches on day trips.
Not nomads yet! 
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