Why Silos and Lighthouses? Two Very Different Touring Targets!
You might be wondering why we’d planned a trip featuring both grain silos and lighthouses. It’s a fair question, really. One involves enormous concrete structures covered in artwork, while the other involves tall towers warning ships to stay away from the rocks. Not exactly the usual combination for a holiday itinerary!
But there’s method to our madness.
A big part of this adventure would be exploring the spectacular Great Ocean Road, and given that it’s a fair distance from home, we wanted to make the most of the journey rather than simply point the vehicle south and hope for the best.
That meant looking for interesting places to visit along the way, and two things that caught our attention were Australia’s incredible silo art trails and its historic lighthouses.
Silo Art – Turning Grain Storage into Giant Canvases
Australia’s silo art has become a fantastic reason to explore regional towns. What were once enormous, fairly ordinary grain storage structures have been transformed into spectacular works of art, often depicting local characters, farming communities, native wildlife and the history of the region.
These murals can be absolutely enormous, making them difficult to miss — unless you’re too busy arguing with the GPS or looking for the next bakery!
Silo art also gives you a reason to venture off the main highways and discover some of the smaller towns you might otherwise drive straight through. You get to admire some impressive artwork, learn a little about the local community and hopefully find a decent coffee along the way.
We wanted to visit as many of these colourful landmarks as we reasonably could during the trip.
A great resource for planning your own silo art adventure is the Australian Silo Art Trail website. It provides information about silo art locations around the country and is well worth checking out if you fancy adding a few artistic detours to your next road trip.
Silo art sites
Lighthouses – Beacons of History
The other feature on our touring hit list was lighthouses.
I’ve always had a fascination with these impressive structures. They represent the ingenuity of the people who designed and built them, often in difficult locations, long before modern technology made life a whole lot easier.
Then there’s the dedication of the lighthouse keepers themselves. Imagine living in a remote, isolated location, sometimes exposed to wild weather and rough seas, with the responsibility of keeping that light shining to help guide ships safely along the coast.
It certainly wasn’t a job for someone who needed a busy shopping centre and a takeaway coffee shop just around the corner!
Many Australian lighthouses have fascinating histories, and their locations can be just as impressive as the structures themselves. Perched on rugged headlands, overlooking spectacular coastlines or standing guard near dangerous stretches of water, they’re often found in some of the country’s most beautiful spots.
For me, visiting a lighthouse is about more than taking a photo and ticking another attraction off the list. It’s an opportunity to appreciate the history, engineering and people behind these important maritime landmarks.
If you’re interested in exploring Australia’s lighthouses, the Lighthouses of Australia Inc. website has a handy lighthouse map to help you find locations around the country.
Lighthouse Locations
New South Wales
The Plan: Take the Scenic Route!
With silo art and lighthouses added to our list, we had another couple of reasons to explore beyond the main tourist routes.
The idea was to combine these stops with our journey south and our time exploring the Great Ocean Road, discovering interesting places along the way rather than treating the kilometres between destinations as something to endure.
Of course, there’d also be plenty of opportunities to discover country pubs, sample local food and enjoy a refreshing beverage or two. We are The Thirsty Tourists, after all — cultural appreciation only goes so far before someone starts wondering where the nearest pub is!
So, with the route taking shape, the planning was underway. Now all we needed was decent weather, a reliable set of wheels and enough room for all the photos we’d inevitably take.
After all, the best road trips aren’t just about where you’re going. They’re about all the interesting places you discover when you take the time to get there.