Johanna is a rural farming settlement stretching along the coast between Glenaire and Lavers Hill.
Rolling hills and lush rainforest meet at the foot of the wild Southern Ocean.
The area is steeped in history, from the discovery of dinosaur fossils in the Glenaire Valley to the Cape Otway Lightstation, the oldest of its type on mainland Australia. Cape Otway Lighthouse is the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia. Built in 1848, the lighthouse perches on towering sea cliffs where the Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean collide.
Hundreds of lives were lost in shipwrecks off Cape Otway – a sad but fascinating history which led to the building of the Light station on the coast at the foot of the impenetrable forests of the Otways. For many thousands of 19th century migrants, who spent months travelling to Australia by ship, Cape Otway was their first sight of land after leaving Europe. The Great Ocean Road is prime koala spotting territory, along with the route to the lighthouse at Cape Otway.
The surf beach at Johanna is a stretch of beach breaks, or beach and reef, noted for its power and reputation for rapid jumps in size. The Bells Beach Surf Classic competition has been moved from Bells Beach to Johanna on occasions as the westerly facing Johanna Beach picks up swell that misses Bells and the Surf Coast. Johanna Beach is also an awesome fishing spot, particularly for schools of salmon.
You'll hear a lot about many other destinations along the Great Ocean Road, like Apollo Bay, Torquay, Lorne or Port Fairy but try Johanna for a genuinely relaxing Great Ocean Road experience away from the busyness and buses full of day trippers. Take time to enjoy the natural and ancient experiences around Johanna.
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This region is home to spectacular sections of the Great Ocean Walk which can be done independently or with guides or tour operators, depending on what you prefer. The big skies and wild nature of the Great Ocean Walk will astound you. Discover the region’s diversity of plants, animals and scenery. Weave your way through tall forests, coastal heathlands, besides wild rocky shores and along windswept cliff-tops presenting amazing views.
Not far from Johanna is Dinosaur Cove. A fossil-bearing site in the southeast of the continent where the Otway Ranges meet the sea to the west of Cape Otway, adjacent to Great Otway National Park. The inaccessible ocean-front cliffs include fossil-bearing strata of the Eumeralla Formation that date back to about 106 million years ago and have provided discoveries important in the research of the natural history of dinosaurs in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere as a whole.
You can visit Otway Fly when you stay in Johanna depending on your level of adventure try a zipline tour or treetop walk. Experience a breathtaking birds-eye-view of the magnificent Otway Ranges from the 25 metre-high elevated walkway or fly 30 metres high from tree to tree on the Zipline Tour. The Treetop Walk is a one hour rainforest walk experience, that is approximately two kilometres in total and features a 600 metre long and 47-metre high steel structured treetop canopy walkway. The Zipline Eco-Tour is a two-and-a-half hour, fully guided experience including training and simulation, eight cloud stations, six flights and two suspension bridges.
When you stay at Tree Frog Cottage, Blue Wren Cottage or Possum Cottage, you have to explore Melba Gully. While one of the wettest parts of Australia might not sound super tempting once you walk among ancient mossy trees and giant tree ferns at Melba Gully in the Otways and experience the unique spectacle provided by the twinkling of the tiny nighttime creatures, it will be one of the greatest experiences of the Great Ocean Road.
Take the easy walk along Madsens Track which reveals the small surviving remnant of dense rainforest in the Great Otway National Park. Meander through the original forest, following the Johanna River and passing the Big Tree – a 300-year-old Otway messmate with a massive girth of 27 metres, a reminder of the giant trees that once covered the Otway Ranges.
Visit Melba Gully at night to see hundreds of tiny pinpricks of light gleaming and twinkling in the dark forest creating a magical effect. During the 9-month larval stage, the glow worms live in damp, dark places throughout the Otways, such as the soil banks and overhanging ledges along the walking tracks in Melba Gully. Bring a torch but avoid shining it directly at the glow worms, as they 'turn out the lights' when disturbed. There are guide rails beside the best viewing areas.
Johanna is named after any explorer's mother or wife but the schooner “Joanna” that was wrecked at the mouth of the Johanna River on 22 September 1843.
Visit Search and Stay now to find holiday accommodation on the Great Ocean Road, holiday houses near Bell's Beach and the three unique holiday rentals in Johanna - Tree Frog Cottage, Blue Wren Cottage with disabled access and Possum Cottage.
Source: VisitVictoria and VisitGreatOceanRoad