Road Trip to Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road

This is one of our first road trips in Australia!!
Amazing feeling!! Awesome experience!!

Total distance traveled - 2700 kms in 6 days

Feels like an achievement!!!

Accommodation:
Melbourne - Breakfree Bell City - 3 nights
Port Campbell - Langleys - 1 night
Albury - Albury Central Motel - 1 night


Day 1: Sydney to Melbourne
Left early in the morning at half past 5 and checked in at the hotel in Melbourne at 4.30 PM.
Took a big halt for breakfast at Yass and for lunch at Wodoonga.

Day 2 - Melbourne
Explored two of the major attractions in Melbourne

Puffing Billy: Steam engine
It is a train running on the steam engine. We took the train ride from Belgrave till Lakeside station and return.
Picturesque views of the Dandenong ranges, wooden bridge, wild life and birds.

Steam Engine

Phillip Island
It is 2 hours drive from Melbourne
First halt was at Nobbies Centre. We were welcomed by the wallabies and the ducks at the car park.
This is a must see place on Philip Island. Take the walk down the spectacular boardwalks to enjoy the breathtaking views of the ocean. We could spot a wide variety of animals - little bunny rabbits, wallabies and also cute baby penguins. If you are lucky, you can spot the seal colonies. There is also an explosive blowhole in action.

Next we visited the Penguin Parade.  On the way to the viewing platforms, we spotted some baby penguins in the burrows, eagerly waiting for their parents to feed them.

Baby Penguins eagerly waiting for their parents to feed them

The first penguins started arriving at around 9.15 PM. As it got darker, more and more penguins started arriving in groups. A huge flock of seagulls were waiting to snatch their food. The brave penguins were walking towards their burrows escaping from the sea gulls.
After some time, we walked on the board walks to watch the penguins at a closer look. Its really amazing to see them struggle to walk up the island to feed their babies. This was one of the most wonderful experience for all of us. The arrangement that they have at the center is also really good.
No videos or pictures are allowed there, giving us a chance to capture all those memories in our eyes!!

Day 2: Melbourne CBD
The best way to explore any new city is using its local transport. We started with the train to the CBD, followed by the tram.

Flinders Steet Station

Melbourne CBD

At first, we visited the botanical garden and the War Memorial. The  upper level of the war memorial gives a very good view of the botanical garden and the surrounding areas.

War Memorial

City View from War Memorial

Next we took a tram to the Docklands. They have some nice rides for the kids. We boarded the "Melbourne Star", which is an observation wheel giving unparalleled panoramic views of Melbourne in absolute comfort. This was a thrilling experience for all of us.

Melbourne Star

From the Melbourne Star

Yarra River view from Melbourne Star

Next we took another tram to the St. Kilda Beach and spent some time there and then came back again to the city.

Luna Park (along the Kilda Beach)

St. Kilda Beach

The whole city looks vibrant and amazing in the night. We took a walk along the Yarra river. There are many good restaurants along the Yarra river. We had our dinner followed by ice cream. In my opinion, the Yarra river walk in the late evening or night is a must see in Melbourne.

Along the Yarra river

Yarra River bridge at night

Day 3: Melbourne to Port Campbell (Great Ocean Road Drive)
This was the most exciting and the best drive so far.
We checked out of the hotel in the morning and left for the Great Ocean drive.

Bells Beach: Our first halt was Bells Beach. This is a very popular beach known for holding national and international surfing competitions. We could already see experts surfing the wild seas.

Bells Beach

Great Ocean Road Arc

Great Ocean Road Arc

Lorne: This is a nice small town. We gathered information from the tourist info centre and picked some maps. Lorne is a good place to have lunch. After a nice lunch, we headed to our next destination.

Erskine Falls: This is the highest waterfall in this region. The drive to this place is really scenic. The water fall has a viewpoint at the top. We trekked to the base of the waterfall. It is quite an easy trek and should be around half an hour return. We walked along the rocks to reach the actual base of the waterfall. It was quite a thrilling experience especially with our little one. It made me realize that she has actually grown up :)

On the way to Erskine Falls

Erskine Falls View Point

Under the Erskine Falls

On our drive back from the Erskine Falls, we spotted a koala resting on the tree. It was the sweetest thing ever.

Teddy's Lookout: Next halt was a Teddy's Lookout. It gives picturesque views of the ocean as well as the winding roads of the Great Ocean Road.

Teddy's Lookout

Great Ocean Road as seen from Teddy's Lookout

Apollo Bay: We started our drive back on the Great Ocean Road. The road till Apollo Bay is exactly along the coast. We had early dinner at Apollo Bay. Its a nice big town, with many nice food options. After Apollo Bay, the landscape changes as you can experience the dense Otway National park and you no longer see the ocean that often. Its still very scenic. We spotted another Koala, carrying another baby Koala on its back. It was actually watching the road and when we stopped for him to give way, it started crossing the road. Such a cute little thing!!

Koalas

The Twelve Apostles: There we are finally at the Twelve Apostles. This is the highlight of the Ocean Drive and once you see it, you know why. They are such magnificent structures standing in the ocean. By the time we reached there, it was late evening and close to sunset. Watch the sunset at the Twelve Apostles, dream come true for me :)

Apostles at Sunset

Apostles at Sunset

Selfie with Apostles

Loch Ard Gorge: Just 4 kms from the 12 Apostles, is the Loch Ard Gorge. It was quite windy. Hence we just saw this from the viewpoint.

Loch Ard Gorge at Sunset

At last we reached our guesthouse at Langleys. It is an awesome place, very well maintained and quite spacious.

Day 4: Port Campbell to Albury
We visited the farm at the Langleys and could spot farm animals - sheep, cow, hen, etc.
They have apple trees, lemon trees, mint, and many many more plants.A stroll in their farm was a great way to start the day.

Langleys Guesthouse

Charvi picked an apple

Posing with apple tree and apples

The Arch: At first, we visited the Arch, which is a huge arch like structure standing in the ocean.

The Arc

Family pic with the Arc

The London Bridge: After a short drive from The Arch, is a bridge like structure called London Bridge.

The London Bridge

The Grotto: A short drive further, there is The Grotto. Walk down the steps to view this amazing creation. Just in-explainable!!

The Grotto

Family pic with the Grotto

Lock Ard Gorge: This time we visited this on a bright sunny day. It looked amazing and different. We walked down the steps and the view from down was just amazing. As me and my daughter enjoyed the ocean, my hubby went to explore the caves which are indeed quite deep.

Loch Ard Gorge

Caves at Loch Ard Gorge

The Twelve Apostles: Viewing the Twelve Apostles in bright sunlight is quite different from viewing it at sunset. Both the views are equally enchanting. This time we walked the pavement to capture the Twelve Apostles from different. They have a very good viewing platforms to see it from various angles.

The Twelve Apostles in bright sunlight

Finally that was the end of our Great Ocean Drive. We headed back to Sydney. On the way we took a halt at Albury, which is in New South Wales but located at the NSW-Victoria border.

Albury: We checked in in our motel, which was quite descent. The small town of Albury actually surprised us. It was much much bigger and vibrant then we expected. They also have a very good range of restaurants serving various cuisines.

Day 5: Albury to Sydney
Albury is a very good place if you want a break for the Sydney-Melbourne drive. They have a wonderful lake and the lakeside is quite a cool and nice place for hanging out.

After a wonderful vacation and a successful road trip, we headed back to Sydney.

There is no place like home.