Melbourne and The Great Ocean Road

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Melbourne was interesting. The first day we arrived it was super hot, they said it was record breaking heat and with no breeze from the ocean it was deathly. Not that I am overly complaining but, a little bit of AC would have been nice. After that first day though it was cold. I guess 17-20 isn’t really considered cold but, it was to us. Thank god Laur and I kept our Lulu coats because I literally sent home all my warmish clothes save 2 sweaters and 1 pair of pants. The jeans I did have were craftily transformed into short jean shorts by the ‘Tailor’ Kent. John and Kent convinced Laur and I that we didn’t need jeans at all since it was going to be so hot. Melbourne was a different story. Even though it was cold, rainy and mostly overcast we did have a fairly good time in the city. Everyone says the city has pretty nice architecture and I guess it does. There are a bunch of old historical buildings mixed in with newer ones and weird arty sculptures all around.



The second day we were in Melbourne Laur and I went to the Melbourne Aquarium. Laur was super economical and asked the aquarium lady for a student discount and we saved $10! Thank you expired student cards from universities we no longer attend. I will add that to the short list of things I liked about Trent. The aquarium was pretty neat, they had a huge penguin display with emperor and Gentoo penguins. We sat and watched the penguins for probably close to an hour. If I could have a pet penguin I probably would they are that cute. We also watched scuba divers feed giant manta-rays. These things were HUGE one literally wrapped itself completely around the diver. Naturally on our way to the aquarium we got lost, but I will consider it a scenic detour. We ended up at some random art museum. I think I can safely say I will never, ever be intrigued in art. This museum was full of random crap from churches and old plates and cutlery. Thank god it was free because it would have been a complete waste of money. We also got yelled at for having Starbucks in the museum. I never knew you couldn’t bring in coffee! They should have signs in my opinion, this one definitely did not. After the aquarium we walked along the river and had a delectable lunch consisting of Subway. For $5, it is the best lunch money can buy, that and sushi rolls but, Melbourne didn’t seem to have as much sushi as Sydney and Byron had.



We went to St. Kilda one of the days while we were in Melbourne it is about a 20 minute tram ride outside of the CBD (Central Business District). Trams are not cheap it is $4 for 2 hours in zone 2, whatever that means and there are these evil little ‘plain clothes officers’ that lurk on the trams for people not paying the fare. Luckily we never encountered one except when we were confused with the machine. If they catch you it is about a $180 fine. No thank you. That is a lot of bikinis. In St. Kilda we walked down the pier where there is a little penguin colony that lives on the shores in the break wall. It was pretty amazing to see actual wild penguins chilling on the beach.



The last couple of days we spent in Melbourne we did a lot of sightseeing, we went and wondered around the city and stumbled upon the stadium where they held the Melbourne Open. Laur and I spent a day shopping and were told about this awesome discount mall where clothes were like $5. A great find.



On Sunday we left the city in our rented car and headed out onto the Great Ocean Road. We got a great deal on a car, for $250 we had a car for 4 days and 5 nights. Initially it was supposed to be a 2008 Ford Fiesta but, we got upgraded to a brand new Kia Celasta (or at least that is what it looked like on the back of the car, I’m probably butchering that name). It was super nice and had a ton of room which was good since we had a bunch of stuff including a tent and some camping supplies (I know shocking I went camping, not really though). We set off at about noon, Laur was an amazing driver and am proud to say not a single mishap with driving on the other side of the road. There are signs all along the Great Ocean Road stating ‘Drive on the Left in Australia’. Our first stop on our journey was Tourquay. It has been deemed the birthplace of surfing and Bells Beach is home to a famous surfing championship every year. In Tourquay there is a ton of outlet surf shops like Billabong, Roxy, Quicksilver and Ripcurl all with stuff at 40% or more off. We stopped at a scenic lookout at Bells Beach and walked down to the water where there were a ton of tide pools and great views. From Bells Beach we drove along and stopped at a random beach that wasn’t mentioned in any of our Australia books but, looked like it was out of a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. All the rock formations along the beach were really weird with hidden inlets and little openings. As we continued on we stopped at a lighthouse (they have a ton here and for some reason the tour guide people at the information places really encourage you to see them all). The lighthouse was nice, but the lookout onto the ocean was so nice, bright blue water and sandy beaches all around. We obviously had to stop at the ‘Memorial Arch, Eastern View’ which is a giant sign over top of the road. Conveniently located is a picture platform perfectly positioned so you get the sign just over your head. The Great Ocean Road is literally made for tourists, there are lookouts at every corner, information plaques and signs everywhere. It makes the drive pretty easy, which is nice considering the GPS on the iPhone was dead after leaving the city. Fun fact, the GOR was constructed by returned soldiers from World War I. It was intended to give returning veterans a job with a decent pay and rehabilitate them to civilian life. We finally got to our first stop on our trip, Lorne. It is a pretty town just along the coast and we stayed at a campground on the river that fed into the Ocean. Putting up the tent was interesting, but we managed to successfully pitch the tent (is that what it is called?). We were all really tired so we made dinner, played some cards under the one flashlight we had (Thank you Dad for the flashlight that I thought I would never use) and went to sleep.



Well.... that was the first and only night I slept in the tent. Camping is not for me, when I say I don’t camp I mean I don’t camp. I froze that first night in the tent and was uncomfortable and woke up to annoying cockatoos. I guess it beats being woken up by annoying drunken people in the hostel but, for the remainder of our camping nights I ‘camped’ in the car. We started out Day 2 by visiting the Erskine Falls just outside of Lorne. Next, about 10 minutes down the road we went to the Lorne Pier which was reconstructed in 2007 for $5 million dollars. We watched a bunch of local fisherman fish, one guy had already caught 2 sharks and this other guy caught a manta-ray and was cursing the whole time about how he didn’t want it and wanted it to get off his line. We stopped along the road at the W.B. Godfrey Wreck where we could actually see the top of the mast from a ship that capsized in 1891. No one died when the boat capsized but, 5 people later drowned when they went to retrieve cargo from the sunken ship.

For lunch we stopped in Angeleasa and went on a hike to Maits Rest, it was probably only a 20 minute hike up this mountain but, worth every step. We were able to see along the entire coast We saw everywhere we had driven and where we were to drive next. Our second last stop for the day was The Great Otway National Park where we saw wild koalas chilling in the eucalyptus trees. There wasn’t just on either it was a bunch of them. Although, it is no wonder they are endangered or on the verge of extinction the small branches they climb for leaves over the road are bound to break they are so small. Before heading to our campsite for the night Bimbi Campground we stopped at a rainforest that looked exactly like the movie Ferngully (if you have seen the movie you know exactly what I am talking about) and the Mountain Ash trees were insanely large. When Laur and I stood in front of one with our arms out stretched we still weren’t as wide as the tree. plus they were super tall and over 300 years old. Our campsite was in Otway National Park and we literally slept under koalas there are eucalyptus trees all over the campground with koalas sleeping and eating in them. That night I slept in the tent but, Jovi and Laur were terrorized by a Koala and something killing another Koala they think. I somehow slept quite sound and warm in the car.



Our last day down the Great Ocean Road, was probably the most scenic, although initially after the day before we didn’t think we would have been able to beat the it. We started the day by visiting the Otway SkyWalk, it is a giant platform built literally amongst the trees. The platforms were way above the ground and it was really amazing to see truly how tall the trees were. It was also a sight where the dinosaurs roamed, they had dinosaurs placed around the walk on the way to the platforms. Next, we stopped at Triplet Falls which was once a logging area and had old logging carts preserved on the path to the falls. Finally, after 2 and a half days we arrived at Gibson Steps, the first stop on the Twelve Apostles sight seeing. The three of us literally ran down the stairs and across the sand to see these two towering giant rocks in the water. The view from the beach was actually the greatest view yet (we weren’t at the Twelve Apostles yet) the pictures we took were amazing but, really don’t do it justice. It is one of those things that make you realize how lucky you are to actually see them before they erode and collapse. A short drive down the road we got to the Twelve Apostles. Which have actually never been twelve so says the information boards and are currently more like 5. You can see the remnants of a fallen apostle next to the ones still standing. After spending a fair amount of time at the Twelve Apostles and taking about 100 pictures we moved on to see a bunch more of the rock formations along the road including the Razorback,london bridge which one was actually a bridge, but collapsed one day leaving 2 tourists stranded on the piece in the water. The couple were later rescued but, dodged all media attention after they were safely on land because turns out the two of them were actually having an affair. Lastly we stopped at ‘The Grotto’ which was like a opening leading out into tide pools and the ocean. We stayed the night in a lovely little town called Peterborough (I was largely opposed to this as the name brings back feelings of hate) The name aside the campground we stayed at was really nice and had the coolest thing I have ever seen. It was called a bouncy pillow! It was like a giant bouncy castle with no walls. Why we do not have these in Canada I do not know but, if it can be imported I am buying one.



Our last day was mainly spent driving back to Melbourne but, we did manage to stop at ‘Cheese World’ I think we all had higher expectations of what Cheese World would be since it turned out to be a grocery store, a little cafe and a tiny area that sold wine and cheese and a lady gave out cheese samples. The cheese was actually amazing they had this one cheese that was cracked black pepper and garlic, and another that was red pepper and chive. Delicious. It would have been purchased if I wasn’t about to get on a plane to Cairns. Not going to lie though I am seeing if the export it to Toronto, if they do I am getting some.



Laur and I are currently on a plane heading to Cairns! Sunshine, Great Barrier Reef and snorkeling here we come! Plus, get back our tans since I am pretty sure cold and rainy Melbourne made them disappear.

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