Check out the Lorne Pier to Pub event held annually in January at Lorne. Lorne is located on the Great Ocean Road just under 2 hours drive from Melbourne. The Pier to Pub swim is the largest open water swim in the world. It is a 1.2km swim which commences at the Lorne Pier and finishes at the Lorne foreshore (located in front of the pub!). It is run by the Lorne Surf Life Saving Club. If you are so keen you want to enter, the entries are on a ballot basis. Remember that the party is not over after the last swimmer reaches the shore, the Pier to Pub weekend is one of the busiest in the town of Lorne and many head to the pub afterwards.
The day before the Pier to Pub swim is the Mountain to Surf run. The run is an 8km run which is also run in and around Lorne. After winding through the backstreets of Lorne, the run takes you up and over the hill and into the forest behind Lorne. The run ends around the winding Great Ocean Road and finishes at the Lorne Surf Life Saving Club.
Getting there
Rent a car from Melbourne and head to Lorne via the spectacular Great Ocean Road. The drive will take just under 2 hours.