Twelve Apostles visitors to be charged entry fee to see natural wonder

Victorian government says ‘it’s only fair’ Great Ocean Road tourists should pay to see famous limestone stacks Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Tourists will soon have to pay an entry fee to see the Twelve Apostles on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, in a move the government says will help protect the site for generations to come. The Victorian environment minister, Steve Dimopoulos, on Monday announced a fee for tourists to visit the $126m Twelve Apostles Visitor Experience Centre, which is due to open at the end of 2026. He said “every single dollar” would go back into the area surrounding the Great Ocean Road, which he described as a 240km stretch of coastline “under threat” from climate change, coastal erosion and the impact of millions of visitors each year. “We want to make sure the Great Ocean Road is there for the next 100 years. We cannot be the generation that lets it fall away,” Dimopoulos told reporters. He said it was “only fair” and “not unusual”, given fees are charged at Uluru, Kakadu and Kosciuszko national parks and Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain. While there are now only seven ”apostles” re