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During our time in Melbourne there were 2 big trips we wanted to do, Philip Island and the Great Ocean Road. After leaving everything until the last minute in Perth we decide to get organised earlier this time. First was a trip to Phillip Island, we decided to book a day tour for this one. We started out early on a Saturday morning, it was a small group with just ourselves, one English guy and 5 Japanese and our guide was a Kiwi. Our guide was a little odd, he got very stressed with the traffic getting out of Melbourne and decided because only 3 of use could speak English that there wasn't any point in telling us too much!?! When he did decide to enlighten us with some local information he would take 10 minutes to get a sentence out, if at all!
Our first stop was a wildlife park, we saw some unhappy looking Koalas (grumpy from the cold), wombats, Tasmanian devils (twins) and more kangaroos. We’d seen our fill of kangaroos at this stage so weren’t that fussed but did get to a see an albino kangaroo. We had lunch at the park before heading to Philip
Island, stopping at a beautiful beach, a bit chilly for a swim the day we were there though. Phillip Island is famous for two things; the Moto GP and the little penguins, we were off to see the penguins that swim in from the sea everyday as the sun is setting, it’s called the Penguin Parade. The penguins are the smallest in the world, called little penguins or fairy penguins.
Before watching the parade you can walk around and try and spot some penguins in their nests or under the walkways. Once a year they molt, during this time they can not go into the water so you find them in their nests during the day. When we were there you can also see the babies that wait for their parents to return with food. The guide was actually pretty good at finding there nests so we got to see a good few hiding away. After our pizza dinner we headed back to the beach to get our spot for the parade. They have built big grandstands right on the beach as they get thousands of people everyday of the year to watch the parade. We staked out a
spot right down the front on the beach and we didn't have to wait too long either, pretty soon you started to see little heads popping out of the water. The penguins are meant to walk up the beach and into their little homes, so they walk past everyone sitting quietly on the beach. They will also only come up in groups and it takes one brave little penguin to lead them. When they come out they gather into a little group and one leads, if this one gets scared they all run back to the water and regroup and give it another go. Very cute, but some of them are probably still running in and out of the water trying to get out. After watching a few come out you can go back up off the beach along the walk ways where you see loads of them just shuffling along to find there little houses. After the parade it was back on the bus and back to Melbourne!
The next trip we wanted to take was to drive the Great Ocean Road. This time we decided to discover it ourselves and hired a car for the weekend. Picked
up the motor Friday after work and headed off, our first stop was Torquay, this is kind of where the scenery starts, and would be a good place to pick up in the morning. Torquay is a little seaside town and meant to be the home of surfing in Oz with a museum and nearby Bells beach. It’s also well known for its surf outlet stores like Quicksilver, Ripcurl, Oakley etc. The place seemed to be deserted though! We walked around looking for a pub with a bit of atmosphere without much success; it was like a ghost town!
Next morning we started by checking out the shops and the visitors centre where we picked up a guide of all the places to stop along the way. The Great Ocean Road hugs the southern coastline of Victoria for about 300km, so it’s a spectacular drive with the showpiece being the 12 Apostles; pictures just don't do it justice when you see them for the first time! First stop on our road trip was Bells Beach, famous for its surfing. There were lots of surfers there that day despite the cold weather. Apparently the other local attraction is the public
toilet in the carpark! It was painted by the local Aboriginals; we took a photo for you’re viewing pleasure!
One of the next things was Split Point Lighthouse featured in the TV program "Round the Twist" for those who remember it. Along the way we stopped to take in the views and lots of picture and scenic walks. We even spotted a few wild koalas in a small town called Kenneth River along the way. We also took a minor detour in land in Lorne to visit Erskine falls. The second night we stayed at the YHA in Apollo Bay, nicest hostel ever, we’ve stayed in far worse hotels! We enjoyed fish and chips and a few drinks in the local bar that night before hitting the road again in the morning. It wasn't long before we reached the 12 Apostles, we parked up the Hyundai and made the short walk out to the cliffs and when you turn the corner the first view of them is pretty spectacular. After spending time here and taking lots of happy snaps we continued the drive. At this stage you’re in the heart of Port Campbell National Park and you can’t drive
five minutes without coming across another spectacular cliff lookout. We stopped for several, the grotto and Loch Ard Gorge were two really nice areas, however after awhile the sun was being to set and we decided we’d seen enough sea arches to last us a life time so we turned around and headed back to Melbourne via the inland road which was about as scenic as the M50 but saves you a couple of hours. We did pass through a town called Winchelsea though which I thought was an ominous sign considering it was the final day of the Premiership season, happy Manu won later that day so all was well!
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