Anzac long weekend in Melbourne. Visited an ex colleague from Singapore who now lives in Melbourne. As she is now a resident there we asked for travel and food recommendations. We told her we were going to start The Great Ocean Road the following day. Her advice was don’t expect too much. Knowing that we had been living in New Zealand for awhile as she did before she moved to Melbourne, she explained that The Great Ocean Road was nothing like New Zealand’s amazing coastal landscapes.
She was right.
After checking out of the Space Hotel, we picked up our vehicle from East Coast Car Rentals and fiddled a long time with the 2013 Toyota Corolla as we couldn’t find the switch for the rear window wiper and realised there wasn’t any for a sedan lol. It was also a luxury to be driving such a new car given we have been on 1994-5s. The road was easy to drive (not as narrow or winding in NZ) with plenty of signs to remind visitors to keep left.
There are several lookouts along the way. They look the same after awhile and we might have given a few a miss due to the rain that day. I remember on the way to the Split Point Lighthouse, we passed a group of people gathering at the beach for a wedding ceremony and saw two porcupines at the top. Stayed in Lorne for the night. We were thrilled to be the only ones in a 6 bed dorm. Dinner was Malaysian food at Lorne Country Club where kangaroos roam free.
Bells Beach
Point Addis
A porcupine?!
Split Point Lighthouse
Great Ocean Road Cottages
It continued to rain the next day. First stop was Cape Patton, again similar to yesterday’s lookouts. We woke up abit at Marriners lookout in Apollo Bay. Finally something different and abit of a walk to somewhere quiet though the view was similar to Mt Maunganui. I added in Otway National Park for some variety and change in landscape but was disappointed the Triplet Falls was partially blocked by the bush and had no power or height. We felt the 1 hour walk and detour was not worth our time. We did see a few koalas sleeping on the trees on the way out. By the time we reached Port Campbell the sun was setting and we went to catch a glimpse of the famous 12 Apostles before dark in case the weather was crap again tomorrow. Packed fish and chips from a shop called Frying Nemo for dinner and ate them in Port Campbell Hostel. Wifi only available in the lounge area.
Early start to the 12 Apostles as we had a three hours drive back to Melbourne on the last day. Finally the sun was out! Very cold and windy difficult to take photos. Watching the waves crashing on the rocks and thinking the millions of years it took to wash them away. Some parts of the beach are accessible to visitors if you wish to take a closer look at the limestone stacks.
Alamak wrong way
Rainbow started to appear at The Razorback
The Island Archway
Lorch Ard Gorge
Only 8 stacks left
Down the Gibson Steps
Rainbow appeared again, marking the end of our short road trip
I conclude that we were more excited with Gongcha, yong tau foo and chicken rice than the Great Ocean Road 😅.
She was right.
After checking out of the Space Hotel, we picked up our vehicle from East Coast Car Rentals and fiddled a long time with the 2013 Toyota Corolla as we couldn’t find the switch for the rear window wiper and realised there wasn’t any for a sedan lol. It was also a luxury to be driving such a new car given we have been on 1994-5s. The road was easy to drive (not as narrow or winding in NZ) with plenty of signs to remind visitors to keep left.
There are several lookouts along the way. They look the same after awhile and we might have given a few a miss due to the rain that day. I remember on the way to the Split Point Lighthouse, we passed a group of people gathering at the beach for a wedding ceremony and saw two porcupines at the top. Stayed in Lorne for the night. We were thrilled to be the only ones in a 6 bed dorm. Dinner was Malaysian food at Lorne Country Club where kangaroos roam free.
Bells Beach
Point Addis
A porcupine?!
Split Point Lighthouse
Great Ocean Road Cottages
It continued to rain the next day. First stop was Cape Patton, again similar to yesterday’s lookouts. We woke up abit at Marriners lookout in Apollo Bay. Finally something different and abit of a walk to somewhere quiet though the view was similar to Mt Maunganui. I added in Otway National Park for some variety and change in landscape but was disappointed the Triplet Falls was partially blocked by the bush and had no power or height. We felt the 1 hour walk and detour was not worth our time. We did see a few koalas sleeping on the trees on the way out. By the time we reached Port Campbell the sun was setting and we went to catch a glimpse of the famous 12 Apostles before dark in case the weather was crap again tomorrow. Packed fish and chips from a shop called Frying Nemo for dinner and ate them in Port Campbell Hostel. Wifi only available in the lounge area.
Early start to the 12 Apostles as we had a three hours drive back to Melbourne on the last day. Finally the sun was out! Very cold and windy difficult to take photos. Watching the waves crashing on the rocks and thinking the millions of years it took to wash them away. Some parts of the beach are accessible to visitors if you wish to take a closer look at the limestone stacks.
Alamak wrong way
Rainbow started to appear at The Razorback
The Island Archway
Lorch Ard Gorge
Only 8 stacks left
Rainbow appeared again, marking the end of our short road trip
I conclude that we were more excited with Gongcha, yong tau foo and chicken rice than the Great Ocean Road 😅.
