Melbourne – What A Great Tour Destination (Our Itinerary)

A short summary of a holiday of enormous rocks by the shore, national parks where koalas and kangaroos outnumber human beings, beautiful skyline of Melbourne city, a town recreated to model the 18th century, lots and lots of romantic beaches, a lovely 3rd honeymoon to be with that someone special 24×7 freed from any distractions, and more. I will post more pictures as time goes by.

Returned from Australia with sands on my shoes, a good tan on my skin, an additional of 3kg on top of the 2kg I have gained since last Christmas, over 500 digital pictures, in excess of 2 hours worth of video, and of course, all the lovely memories that will take weeks to pen down. Rather than posting the one final article that may seem dated after sorting out all the pictures and thoughts, it may be a better idea to publish bite-sized articles each under a cohesive theme. The above is one of the 3 stitched pictures I have taken (a combination of 4 pictures taken in horizontal order) showcasing the absolute charm of the Great Ocean Road; rock stacks that are formed by the waves and wind coming all the way from the Antarctica; a breathtaking scenery that reminds us how tiny we all are compare to the size and the timescale of those monumental work of nature. You do not need to look close to the stitched picture to observe that the Earth is indeed … round. Amazing, isn’t it? (Click on thumbnail above to see a larger image).

Contrary to what Cynthia thinks, I am not much of a travel planner. Having a fixed itinerary diminishes the level of adventure. Besides, there are lots of uncontrollable variables such as weather, how much we will love the place, new discoveries, and so on. Cynthia has a lunch appointment in Melbourne on Day 3 so the initial plan was to have a 2 1/2 days city tour. After one day walking under a 38 degrees hot sun, I think we have covered most of Melbourne’s tourist spots in the city itself. We even experienced the sunset at the Central Business District by the river.

Visiting the Tourist Information center on Day 1 has inspired me to rent a car immediately on Day 2 and head off to Phillip Island down south of Melbourne (number 8 on the map above). My action has somewhat shocked Cynthia and with a car, she was not complaining at all. After a day of walking in a hot, hot weather, she welcomed the comfort of a car with a capital W. Phillip Island is a lovely place to experience Australian wildlife (such as koalas and penguins) in its natural habitat. I did not know that there are penguins living in Australia and we were shivering in a cold drizzle just to watch the penguins making their ways to the hills of Phillip Island at dusk.

After Cynthia’s lunch appointment on Day 3, I have suggested to hit the Great Ocean Road (number 7 on the map) as it is supposed to be the highlight of the entire tour. I had no idea how many days we would spend in Great Ocean Road. As we were approaching Apollo Bay, I spotted a sign saying “Bed & Breakfast – A Room with a View”. I drove up the hill and checked ourselves into a room with one of the most spectacular views I have seen so far. The sound of the ocean and view of the shore from the hill was just charming.

Continued the Great Ocean Road drive, we went as far as Peterborough on Day 4 and found another B&B – a house that can easily be one of the most beautiful Western home I have seen. On the night of arrival, the owner – an Australian musician who has won a golden album award back in the 70s – was jamming with his band inside the garage. What more could I ask for?

Day 5, we finished off all the major scenic lookout, passed the capital of Great Ocean Road – Warrnambool (somewhere near Portland in the map) – and I have decided to visit a National Park for a change. Up north and into Grampians we went (number 6).

I have always wanted to visit a National Park and did not have a chance to. Now I have. We have seen herds of kangaroos jumping across a small crater and what intrigued me most is that we were most probably the only pair of human beings in a 10 km radius. The Australians must have been camping deep inside the park or we have chosen an odd timing to visit the park.

The motel we stay at Halls Gap (still at number 6 in the map) is probably one of the best motels we have stayed – spacious with a somewhat artistic layout. Day 6 and Cynthia wanted to visit the town Ballarat. Hence we drove towards the direction of Melbourne and visited one of the Melbourne’s top tourist attractions – Sovereign Hill, a typical gold mining settlement has been re-created. We had no idea how heavy gold bars are and what miners have to go through in finding gold.

Continued the journey to the east we have reached Yarra Valley and stayed at Healsville (number 10 in the map). Day 7 and we have visited the Healesville Sanctuary – a temporary home for many Australian wildlife. We have visited some of the famous wineries in the region as well.

With one more day to go – though we were both tired – I proposed to head down south and visit the Mornington Peninsula (number 2) in the morning and relax ourselves at the St. Kilda Beach in the afternoon. Cynthia gamed for it. Lovely. The town Sorrento at Mornington Peninsula is truly beautiful – the beach, the boats, and the seagulls. And St. Kilda Beach? Wait till you see the photos I post later on.

If you have not visited Melbourne, I strongly recommend you to do so. You won’t regret it. More blogs and pictures to come.