There are many amazing sights along the Great Ocean Road, but it’s rare to have the best ones all to yourself. If you’re up for a bit of trekking, though, you’re likely to find yourself all alone at the spectacular Magic Rock.

I’ll be the first to acknowledge that getting out to this magnificent limestone formation is a bit of a hassle. Nothing is signed, and the walk itself is not particularly inspiring. This trek is all about the views at the end.

If you type “Magic Rock” into Google Maps, it’ll get you to an unmarked parking area by the road just down from this fence:

Google thinks that you can drive in from this point, but both the fence and the road conditions suggest otherwise. So you’ll need to get out and walk. If you’re still using Google Maps, it says that Magic Rock is just a 15-minute walk — but again, Google lies. It’s at least 30 minutes to the overlook (and I’d guess another 15 minutes if you’re brave — or crazy — and want to try to get down to the rock itself).

First you walk up this scrubby path, which is slower going than it looks — it’s like walking through a mini sand dune.

Then you get to the only tricky(ish) part in the whole walk. It’s pretty obvious, but you need to turn right where the path bends here:

Just make sure to keep the fence line to your right, and you’ll be fine. You’ll go along a rocky path that looks like this:

After about ten to fifteen minutes of this terrain, you’ll get to a spot where the path narrows and the scrub gets taller …

… and then the area to your right will open up into sweeping, empty fields:

Shortly after this, the path will turn left, and you’ll find yourself walking down, down, down toward the sea. It’s exciting to finally get to scenery like this.

From here, you’ll want to veer to the right — keep the shoreline to your left.

Keep looking out toward the ocean — it won’t be long before you see the waves crashing against Magic Rock itself:

It’s wonderful just to sit on the cliffs and watch the waves.

Word (and this photography blog) has it that from here, you can scramble down the rocks to the shoreline and get up close and personal with the Rock. It’s pretty clear where the path might go to make this happen, but I wouldn’t recommend it — these limestone cliffs are not reliable walking surfaces. We were happy just to watch the action from above.

Is there more to see on this walk? Well, I usually like a bit of flora and fauna on my hikes, but this was all we found (bonus points for the shiny ant):

If you’re heading out this way, enjoy!