Bellevue Farmstay

OUR SUGGESTED SELF-DRIVE ITINERARY FOR A 3 NIGHT STAY:

DAY ONE: Arrival, Milking Cows and Native Wildlife Spotting.

Arrive Tullamarine Airport. Have your hire car pre arranged from Budget Car Rental. (We suggest Budget because it is the only company with insurance which will cover you on the gravel roads).  Drive directly to Bellevue Farmstay on the A1 Princes Highway arriving anytime around 2.00 p.m. Come with us at 4.00 p.m. to watch 600 cows being milked in a fully computerized rotary dairy; we will spend at least one hour there. If calving time (winter) see the little calves as well as the milking. On the return trip to Bellevue at dusk, we do our best  to spot a koala and kangaroos before dark.  You can purchase food supplies at the local supermarket in Timboon (open till 8.00 p.m.) and fix your own dinner.

DAY TWO:  12 Apostles, Port Campbell and Peterborough  Loop via Simpson

Feed Bellevue Farmstay animals (8.30 am-9.30 am), then set off for Simpson (12 mins drive) to view the Ball and Chain and bulldozer that was used to clear thousands of acres of farmland in the 1950s. Suggested stops as you head to the Great Ocean Road include: Heytesbury Ridge Winery; Apostle Whey Cheese; Gorge Chocolates; The 12 Apostles; Loch Ard Gorge; Port Campbell township for lunch; The Grotto; London Bridge;  Peterborough township (whose incredible 9-hole golf course is along a cliff face and you have to hit over the sea!); Curdies Inlet; Bay of Islands (just on the outskirts of Peterborough). Your return to Bellevue from Peterborough can be inland via Curdievale and their famous Boggy Creek Pub. Your last stop will be at Timboon where you can have a latte or a home-made whiskey (and learn about local bootleggers) at the Timboon Distillery.

DAY THREE: Join us to feed the animals at 8.30am. Then around 9.30am set off for your sightseeing armed with our color coded map and suggested stopovers. Select one of the examples of DAY TOURS as listed below.

DAY TOURS (SELF-DRIVE) FROM BELLEVUE FARMSTAY

WARRNAMBOOL LOOP

Depart early Bellevue for Peterborough (30 mins drive) and then head west on the Great Ocean Road. Suggested stops include: Curdies Inlet; Bay of Islands (just on the outskirts of Peterborough); Cheese World at Allansford or cheese tasting; Warrnambool city; Logans Beach (whale watching); Enjoy a late lunch, before Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum (which also houses the spectacular Sound and Light show) and see Australia's most valuable shipwreck artifact: the life-size porcelain Loch Ard Peacock statue, valued at $4million, which was salvaged from the wreck of the Loch Ard schooner in 1878 near Port Campbell; Tower Hill and the Wurn Gundidg Aboriginal Culture Centre (stocked with roaming emus, koalas and kangaroos). For the children there is a fantastic playground at Lake Pertobe in Warrnambool complete with ponds, mazes and flying foxes, before browsing the shops and restaurants in Warrnambool city. Enjoy a dinner in Warrnambool or head back to Bellevue.

COBDEN/CAMPERDOWN LOOP (Lakes & Craters Country)

Volcanic peaks, craters lakes and charming historic towns wait on this journey through this heartland. Depart Bellevue for Cobden (20 mins drive). Suggested stops include: Camperdown, Lake Bullen Merri, Mt Leura, Lake Purrumbete (great for cycling) all featuring their distinctive stone walls handmade at the turn of the century. Invigorating walks, crafts, antiques, models/collectables for the kids (and kids at heart) and a Benedictine Abbey will be sure to entertain and enlighten. Anglers and lovers of scenery may want to take the additional side trip to Lake Purrumbete. Bird lovers and lovers of wildlife should consider side trips to Lake Bookar (north of the Princes Hwy) or Ralph Illidge Sanctuary (south west of Terang). Antique hunters should scour The Silver Nickel at Camperdown, Baimbridge Antiques and Art at Panmure and  Pombo Mart with the singing cobbler at Pomborneit North.

THE RAIL TRAIL

A taxi can drop you at Camperdown and you either cycle or walk back along the 34 km Rail Trail completing the walk over the Trestle Bridge and into Timboon township.

TREETOPS TO THE SHORE LOOP

Experience, ancient rainforest, sweeping seascapes, Otway villages, Shipwreck History and wildlife in a full day loop. Depart Bellevue for Princetown (30mins).

Suggested stops: Serpentine Wetland Walk, Princetown; Melba Gully, Lavers Hill; Castle Cove, Glenaire; Cape Otway Lightstation (the oldest in Australia); Apollo Bay Visitor Information Centre; Otway Fly Treetop walk (a gentle 1hr roundtrip walk on a canopy elevated 25m above the rainforest); Triplet and Little Aire Falls; Otway Historic Museum and Lounge (Otway NouriShed), Ferguson. Optional side trips include the Gable Lookout (gravel) and Johanna Beach (sealed). A pleasant alternative route on gravel is to take the Old Ocean Road from Princetown.