The Great Otway National Park is in the state of Victoria and is approximately 160Km south west of the city of Melbourne. It is an incredibly diverse area, including part of the coastline of The Great Ocean Road, cool temperate rain forest and the Otway Ranges.
The Otway Fly is a visitor attraction that can be accessed as part of a trip down The Great Ocean Road by taking the Skenes Creek Road (C119) just east of the beachside town of Apollo Bay. The route is well signposted and involves a left turn just after Tanybryn. It takes about an hour in total from The Great Ocean Road as it is a hilly, twisting, turning journey through sections off the most amazing rainforest.
There are two main activities once you arrive.
- The Otway Fly treetop Walk
- The Otway Fly Zip Line Tour – unfortunately this was closed on the day of our visit.
The tree top walk is 25AD and takes about an hour to complete. It includes 600m of elevated walkway through the forest and an opportunity to climb to the top of the tree canopy via a spiral tower which takes you to a giddy height of 47m.
Cool temperate rainforests are very old having been around for 140 million years. The rainforest in the Otway receives about 1.5m of rain a year and the cooler temperatures ensure that the forest doesn’t become as dry as many parts of coastal Australia.
One of the most significant trees in the rainforest is the Myrtle Beech. They can grow up to 35m tall and live for around 300 years. It is hard to believe that some of the trees growing in the forest today were saplings before Captain Cook discovered the south east of Australia. Despite its great ability to age it is an increasingly vulnerable species as it is highly susceptible to bush fires as its seeds are not fire resistant like those of other species such as eucalyptus whose seeds need fire to help them germinate. The trees themselves become heavily buttressed as they age with swollen bases.
Ground ferns and tree farms are found in abundance in the understory while the branches of trees are often festooned with mosses and lichens all adding to the biodiversity of this wonderful habitat.
The forest is a magical place and well worth the detour from the Great Ocean Road to visit it. There is a real sense of timelessness here despite the fragility of such areas in light of human activity. They should be protected and cherished, but don’t all go to see them at once as it might just spoil the peaceful tranquility of the place.