Johanna Beach Campground

Johanna Beach Campground is the Great Ocean Road camping spot that most tourists drive straight past, and that’s exactly what makes it special. Tucked into Great Otway National Park about an hour past the Twelve Apostles, this small, no-frills campground sits behind one of Victoria’s most dramatic surf beaches with towering cliffs, wild seas, and sunsets that genuinely make you stop mid-sentence.

This is proper raw-coast camping. There are only about 10 unpowered sites, no showers, no drinking water, no bins, and zero mobile reception. You’ll need to BYO everything including a gas stove (no campfires in national parks). The sites can be sloped and it gets seriously windy, so bring solid pegs and a freestanding tent if you’ve got one. Insects are on the higher side here, pack repellent.

A word of warning: the surf at Johanna is genuinely dangerous with powerful rips, so this isn’t a swimming beach. But it’s a cracking spot for fishing, watching seals, and spotting hooded plovers nesting along the shore (Aug–Feb). Kangaroos graze the paddocks at dusk, and you’re a 15-minute drive from the Melba Gully glow worms — one of the best free nature experiences on the entire Great Ocean Road. At $15.70 a night, it’s hard to beat for adventurous campers who don’t need creature comforts.