Great Ocean Road’s Loch Ard Gorge Blowhole viewing platform is now open

The $8m Poombeeyt Koontapool project is officially open for visitors.

The Great Ocean Road has just been elevated with a new lookout.

Originally devised in 2018 following community consultation, with construction having started early in 2024, the new lookout over ‘The Blowhole’ near Loch Ard Gorge is now open for visitation. With an $8 million investment from the Victorian Government, the Parks Victoria project titled Poombeeyt Koontapool, meaning ‘Breath of the Whale’ in Keerray Woorroong language, allows for impressive views of the coastline’s natural beauty, whilst preserving the natural vegetation of the area.

Visitors to Victoria’s south-west from today have an impressive view of the dramatic coastline from Poombeeyt Koontapool in the Port Campbell National Park. This project provides a safer and more accessible experience for millions of visitors that will come to this iconic location into the future.

Poombeeyt Koontapool – Great Ocean Road

Where: Loch Ard Gorge Blowhole, Great Ocean Road, Port Campbell National Park

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The project comes following the removal of the former lookout, with it being marked as end of life due to its potential visitor risks posed by the natural erosion of the limestone rock. Geotechnical investigations and extensive community and industry engagement informed the approach for the new lookout, with the new design led by the Eastern Maar community in consultation with the Port Campbell National Park and Parks Victoria.

The stunning design of the lookout is informed by Koontapool, the Southern Right Whale. The seating near the blowhole are the callosities on Koontapool’s head. Adding to the conscious design of Poombeeyt Koontapool, each Koontapool has unique callosity patterning that identify individual whales. The lookout is subsumed in the landscape without impeding the symbolic breathing of Koontapool and is shaped to dramatically reveal the blowhole, amplify the atmosphere of sound and spray, and respect the environmental and cultural characteristics of the site.

Whilst the design is impressive, the function is foundational to the project. Based within the Port Campbell National Park on Keerray Woorroong Country, improved access tracks curate the approach by concealing and revealing views so visitors experience The Blowhole lookout and native vegetation from a range of locations.

Adding to the expansive natural phenomena that is the Great Ocean Road, a further $126 million has been committed to the Twelve Apostle Precinct Redevelopment. Being delivered by Regional Development Victoria, this investment will change how visitors experience the region. It will provide streamlined access to nature’s greatest attractions, while protecting the environment and cultural history at this spectacular location.

The opening of the new lookout also means the return of walking tracks Thunder Cave and Sherbrook River, which were closed during the construction of Poombeeyt Koontapool.

This project was part of Stage One of the Shipwreck Coast Master Plan, which is expected to support approximately 120 ongoing jobs, add $12 million to the regional economy and increase the annual visitor spend by $14 million.

Poombeeyt Koontapool is a welcome addition to the glorious landscape of the Great Ocean Road, arriving just in time for the warmer weather and tourist influx over the summer period. It will be safer and easier to enjoy the areas’ stunning natural assets, draw domestic and international visitors, and encourage visitors to stay longer, transforming a day visit into an overnight stay in the Shipwreck Coast region.

To find out more about Poombeeyt Koontapool and the Great Ocean Road project, head here.