Port Campbell is the small coastal town at the centre of the Shipwreck Coast's most famous scenery. It would be easy to treat it as just a bed near the Twelve Apostles, but the setting is better than that: a sheltered bay, a little jetty, cliff walks, and limestone formations close enough to revisit when the light changes.
This is the practical place to slow down on the western Great Ocean Road. Day tours from Melbourne tend to race in and out, while staying or pausing in Port Campbell lets you see Loch Ard Gorge without watching the clock and gives you a chance at sunrise or sunset on the cliffs.
The town itself is compact and walkable. Swim in Port Campbell Bay when conditions are kind, wander the jetty, then use the Discovery Walk to get above the coast. It is still the national park that does the heavy lifting, but Port Campbell is the rare gateway town that earns some time of its own.