One of the most spectacular glow worm displays in the whole of Australia can be found just a short detour from the Great Ocean Road. The experience of walking along giant cliff walls covered top to bottom in glow worms is nothing short of extraordinary.
In the past couple of years we’ve visited over 40 different glow worm sites and Kennett River is easily one of the best. If you want to experience one of the most magical sights in Victoria, look no further.
A tip for before you visit the Kennett River glow worms
Unless you’re staying nearby, we’d recommend combining a trip to see the glow worms with the Kennett River koala walk - which is literally along the road that leads to where you’ll find the glow worms.
As koalas are usually more active towards dusk, this works out perfectly, and to be honest we can’t think of a better way to spend an evening than spotting wild koalas followed by thousands upon thousands of glow worms! We already have a whole blog post on tips for finding the koalas so we won’t go into it here.
Where to find the glow worms
You will drive up the Grey River Road and park at the Grey River Picnic Area, which is 6km from the start of the road.
If you’ve just visited the koalas and it’s not quite dark yet, there’s a lovely picnic area with benches where you can sit and relax while you wait for darkness to fall.
The secret grotto
Just before it gets really dark you can visit the secret little glow worm grotto which is surrounded by such dense foliage that it doesn’t require the same level of pitch black that you need to experience the rest of the glow worm colony.
To find the grotto, walk from the car park across the bridge and back down the road (approximately 120m from the car park). Then look for the little opening into the bush on the left, it has a tiny creek running through it (it’s next to a reflector on the road).
Although there are plenty of dense ferns which do a good job of hiding it, if you know roughly where to look you’ll find it.
Take a few steps inside and you’ll immediately see all the little twinkling blue lights.
The biggest numbers, which are strung across the grotto like fairy lights, can be seen on the right side of the tiny creek - crossing the creek takes just one step and is not difficult.
Just use a small amount of light if your eyes aren’t adjusted.
You will then be standing in front of a beautiful little glow worm dell. This is a good point to turn off all light and let your eyes truly adjust, the longer you stand in the darkness, the more glow worms you will see.
This grotto is fab but it’s nothing to what you will see when you step back outside.
Onto the giant glow worm walls
Once you’ve enjoyed the smaller grotto and true darkness has fallen, it’s time for the main event. This is where it becomes absolutely jaw-dropping.
We were visiting at the same time as a lovely family who had only seen glow worms in this area and after finding out we’d been visiting a lot of places they asked what we thought of this one by comparison.
At this point I had seen the secret grotto and one wall of glow worms beyond and I said it was great. If they’d asked me a little later I would say it’s one of the best displays I have ever seen - our photos don’t do it justice.
The giant walls of glow worms continue down the road for another 300m (and a little beyond in lesser numbers).
The fact that the road is wide, flat and perfectly graded means you can walk in total darkness without worrying about tripping and this allows you to really take it all in. It’s otherworldly.
The walls sparkle and you can’t believe that with every step you take there are hundreds more of them!
It really is an incredible experience and it’s so wonderful that the easy nature of the walk means it can be enjoyed by everyone.
Saying it has wow factor doesn’t really cover it, it’s something you have to see with your own eyes!
Tips for experiencing the best of the glow worms
Make sure that when you are walking along the road, where the majority of glow worms are found, that it is truly dark. If it’s not you won’t see a fraction of what’s really there.
Allow your eyes at least five minutes to adjust to the darkness or you won’t actually see the majority of glow worms.
Never shine light on glow worms, it stops them feeding and can really harm them. Please look after them so they are there to wow generations to come.
If arriving at the parking area after dark, watch for walkers on the road and drive slowly as lots of dust can be kicked up which might really spoil someone’s experience!
Glow worms like a moist environment so numbers will drop in times of drought. Numbers also tend to be highest in the warmer months of December - March, but unlike many other spots along the Great Ocean Road numbers are so high at this colony that seeing a decent amount year round shouldn’t be a problem.
If you’d like some tips for glow worm photography, we have a whole blog post dedicated to how we take our photos without using any light.
Watch for wildlife on the road when driving back out again, there are large numbers of roos, wallabies and koalas.
Getting to the Grey River Picnic Area
The Grey River Picnic Area is located 6km down Grey River Road. It is a dirt road, but it’s in good condition and doesn’t require any special kind of clearance. It has a lot of corners and is full of wildlife (some people also walk along the road to see the koalas), so be careful and drive slowly.
The picnic area is located approximately 35 minutes away from Apollo Bay and 20 minutes from Wye River.
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