Twelve Apostles to attract eco-disciples with new resort

Victoria’s Great Ocean Road is set to be transformed with work on the first resort development set to start early next year, attracting many more visitors to the iconic Twelve Apostles.

Developer Don Musto is building a $200m environmentally friendly spa and resort near the Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road: Picture: Arsineh Houspian

The first resort development on the doorstep of the Twelve Apostles is set to be built more than a century after the magnificent Great Ocean Road was blasted out of Australia’s southern shores.

Developers are preparing to start work on a $200m hot springs and accommodation resort in the shadows of one of Australia’s most-visited attractions, with the project set back 900m to minimise the environmental impact and ­ designed to transform the way tourism is conducted in the area.

The Great Ocean Road is rich in geological sites but poor in ­facilities, sparking action amid seismic shifts in the tourism industry caused by the pandemic.

With thousands of people normally visiting the Twelve Apostles each day, there is currently limited opportunity for recreation or places to stay, and few car parks and other facilities outside the nearest town of Port Campbell, which is 10 minutes down the road.

Before the pandemic struck, developer Don Musto said more than 10,000 people had visited the Twelve Apostles on New Year’s Day in 2020, underpinning the enormous tourism demand of the site but with virtually no value-adding besides the nearby sightseeing helicopters.

Work on the 80ha development, which has been many years in the pipeline due to layers of red and green tape, is set to start early next year.

Mr Musto – an expert in environmentally sensitive developments who was central to the Sunrise at 1770 project at 1770 Beach in Queensland – said the Twelve Apostles was a prime global tourism destination that had been held back.

“I think in the current Covid market, domestic tourism and particularly Victorian travel is booming,” he said. “But with the international borders now opening up and the Twelve Apostles being such an iconic site when you come to Victoria, the people will start travelling there as well.”

Over the pandemic, visitation numbers collapsed, particularly during lockdowns when people were restricted to as little as 5km a day movement from their homes.

It meant that even those isolating in their beach houses in towns such as Lorne and Apollo Bay could not legally visit the site, which has seven limestone stacks visible from the cliffs.

Three companies – Rocdon Development, Quattro Corp and Pomeroy Pacific – have partnered to deliver the eco-resort development, with the aid of a $7.25m state government grant.

The joint venture sounds appealing: Australia’s largest hot spring bathing operation, with water drawn from a depth of 930m and at temperatures up to 42C; food and beverage facilities; 150 accommodation pods; and an amphitheatre in the eco-resort.

Although the accommodation will be set back, it will be closer than at other renowned tourist destinations such as Uluru.

 

Extensive work, including grass on the roof of the tallest but still low-slung building, has been done to minimise the environmental intrusion.

Guy Obeid, the strategic project director, said there were two key markets for the Twelve Apostles: day trippers and multi-day international or Australian tourists. “I think that creating something that is respectful of the local community, is commercial and is a good proposition for the travellers is crucial,” Mr Obeid said.

“Getting all those elements right is not easy. But I think that this is going to provide a compelling proposition for both those ­markets.”

The project, which is outside the national park on private land, will also place another stake in the ground for the commercialisation of major tourism locations.

Governments are increasingly eyeing business opportunities to provide assets without having to inject hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer funds.

Parks Victoria, which manages nearly 20 per cent of the state’s land, is increasingly trying to exploit commercial opportunities, in part to ease the pressure on its own budget. This includes the controversial Grampians Peaks Trail, which can cost hundreds of dollars to walk.

Mr Musto said the beauty of the Twelve Apostles development was that nature delivered the prize.

“The destination is made,” he said. “It’s not as though you are trying to build a place in the middle of nowhere.”