Summer in January - Australia (days 6-10)

DAY 6: Flight to Melbourne

We landed in Melbourne around 4pm and picked up our rental car and made our way into the city to check-in to our Airbnb place. By highway from the airport to our Airbnb place it took less than 30 mins!

On the way, we took the highway and noticed some strange pillars that were orange or yellow in one section of the highway – we guess that’s art? We noticed that there seemed to be lots of interesting looking buildings in Melbourne – much more than in other cities in Australia and around the world. It’s almost like they want to make their city have different pieces of art on the streets. I think that’s a great idea, as it gives each building more character and makes the city more interesting.

That night we went out for Nando’s just to try it, for me I thought it was similar to what I’ve had in Vancouver, but my cousin felt that it was still better in Vancouver.

DAY 7: Great Ocean Road

During my research, we found out about the Great Ocean Road (GOR) drive and wanted to see the Twelve Apostles – which in fact are just stumps of rock weathered by the wind and waves. The drive from Melbourne all the way to the Twelve Apostles is about 3.5 hours on Google maps, but I’ve come to realize that usually it will take at least half an hour to an hour more.

At first we wanted to drive all the way to the Twelve Apostles and then make stops on the way back, but because were going to pass by some spots on the way there and my mom was getting antsy sitting in the car the whole time, so we stopped along the way there instead.

Our first stop was at the Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch.

Then we made our way to Split Point Lighthouse – which we had actually pass on the way to the memorial arch….. oops!

At Split Point, other than the lighthouse (which you need to pay to go up to the top), you can walk along the coast and feel the ocean spray. It’s very windy!

Also there is a little restaurant in the former lighthouse manager’s cottage – they sell lots of baked goods and we stopped for a quick bite and to warm up.

The GOR drive is similar to the Road to Hana on Maui, not as treacherous though. It goes along the coast, and there are a few towns that you can stop at. However, during my research I didn’t find much that was of interest for stopping, there seemed like more things to do at the beginning of the GOR, like around the town of Lorne and even before that. There are some wineries that are famous for good food, but they only open for lunch so we couldn’t go to them because we were on a tight schedule.

After Split Point we also wanted to take the inland road/highway because we thought we might save on time but I think it’s pretty much the same in terms of time. We drove inland and passed through Timboon where they are famous for their milk and ice cream. We stopped and picked up a scoop of ice cream at Timboon Ice Creamery, and it was pretty good. I don’t usually go for ice cream because I don’t like the milky-dairy taste, but this one didn’t have that. They also allow you to taste the ice cream before buying and they had some interesting flavours.

From Timboon it’s just another 20-30 mins drive to Loch Ard Gorge, there you can walk along the southern coast of Australia and see some white cliffs.

We can also see the Twelve Apostles a bit further east along the road

Walking along the boardwalk you see the beautiful cliffs and coastline, it looks pretty much like what you see in postcards. Would I go back? Probably not, it’s way too long of a drive to see that and there’s not much on the way to keep it interesting. Would I recommend it to others? I would say you don’t have to go, especially if you don’t have time. I think the scenic photos that we took look great, but my favourite one is actually this one below, where you see the green plants that covered the cliff tops from the elements.

 above: Loch Ard Gorge - many ships met their end along the treacherous South Australian coast

below: the remains of the Twelve Apostles

We left GOR around 5pm and got back to Melbourne just before 8pm I think….. and the sun was still out. We went to Costco (because it was close by and my aunt has the membership in Canada) just to check out what they have. It’s located in the Docklands area and you can see this ferris wheel from the eating area!

Costco foods is pretty much the same as what they have in Canada and the States, but I’ve actually never eaten at Costco – because there’s always looooooonnggg line ups. We ate a hotdog as we were well past dinner time and hungry. And then on the way out, we passed by a bunch of displays and saw this……Coffins for sale!

DAY 8: Phillip Island

What did we do on this day? We had so much time during the day before we needed to head to Phillip Island before sunset…..

Ahhhh… we met up with Steve’s mom as he grew up in Melbourne, and she took us out for Vietnamese food and to buy canned abalone.  We went to a place that has really good Bun Bo Hue, we also tried other dishes such as the crab noodle soup and a rice dish. But it really was the Bun Bo Hue that was the best.

Afterwards we headed to the local grocery store and bought a case of canned abalone! They were pretty good! The soup in the can was actually very flavourful and just as yummy as the abalone.

Last stop before we left Richmond (an area within Melbourne known for their Vietnamese restaurants and grocery stores), we bought some Vietnamese sandwiches – so yummy and they have a big selection of fillings for sandwiches – this is much better than what we can find in Vancouver (although I heard there’s a store in Van that also makes only Vietnamese sandwiches, but I haven’t tried it yet). They tasted good even though we had them a few hours later when we were at Phillip Island waiting for the sun to set.

After saying good-bye to Mrs. Cheung, we started to make our way to Phillip Island. On the way we stopped at Brighton Beach for the beach huts. There are a row of colourfully painted beach huts that I think people own. We were able to peer into a couple of them and each one was decorated differently.

We didn’t see any (or I didn’t see any) Australian Flags during our trip in Australia, so at least we saw a beach hut with the Australian flag.

After a good 45 mins photographing the beach huts, we got back on the road to Phillip Island. It was around 4pm and we got stuck in a bit of traffic – rush hour? Even though we were already about 30 mins outside of the city.

The rest of the drive to Phillip Island was quite uneventful, and felt quite long. There’s nothing else of interest for us to stop at on the way.

We arrived at the Nobbies Centre and walked around on the boardwalk – there are a lot of boardwalks in Australia – every place you visit has one (at least!) Along the boardwalk you will see little boxes littered around on the hill/cliff, these are homes for the Little Penguins. You can actually build one for them at the Koala Conservation Centre - I looked into that as an activity, but it costs $50 and that's not even including the cost to the Penguin Parade.... :S plus we have 4 people.....

 above: the Nobbies Centre (far left of photo) and the boardwalk

below: spotted an animal that looks like a Kangaroo, but its face is different....

above: tried to do a panorama shot with 4 Phebes, got 3 only. :D

 

About an hour before sunset, we made our way to the area for the Penguin Parade. Outside of the area there was a little booth for children to learn about the penguins and they also had a little activity booth to teach children, “Blow bubbles, not balloons” so that the balloons do not cause pollution or strangle animals in the wild.

Before visiting Melbourne, lots of people warned me about how quickly the weather changes in a day. We definitely made sure to have a warm jacket in the car with us at all times. And it’s even more necessary when you go to GOR or Phillip Island, the wind is so strong and it gets very cool once the sun sets.

We waited for a while and once the sun had set and it was dark enough, the little penguins started coming ashore.

below: on our way to the Penguin Parade we saw a little penguin coming out of its home!

 above: lots of seagulls fly above us hoping to steal food -

they will hover over you waiting for the perfect time to swoop down!

below: the little penguins wait for darkness before coming ashore - they move in groups, and usually they push and shove until someone is brave enough to take the first few waddles. Then they all waddle together up the shore into the dunes

No photos allowed during the Penguin Parade to protect the penguins.

By the time we left, it was past 9pm, and by the time we got back to Melbourne it was like midnight…


DAY 9: Melbourne City Tour

Finally, we take a closer look at the city of Melbourne! We spent the last two days on road trips so today we left the car in the building’s carpark and walked and took the city tram to get around.

We started off walking through Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market, but this morning it was closed – because in the summer they have a night market every Wednesday.

On the other side of the market we got on the free city tram – which is not what I initially thought, one tram that goes around in a circle around the edge of downtown. It’s actually the whole downtown area that has free trams in every direction! That’s such a great thing for tourists and locals.

We got off at Melbourne Central station and walked through Melbourne Central and arrived at the State Library of Victoria. The library has books and different museums and exhibits throughout the year. On the 4th floor (or somewhere up there) there’s a beautiful space for studying, playing chess etc.

 below: really enjoyed being outdoors in Melbourne, there are so many interesting buildings, both old and new

Then we took the tram down to Federation Square and Flinders Station. We walked around and you will see from here, and all around Melbourne’s city centre, uniquely designed buildings. I love this aspect of Melbourne, and I love how there are old and new buildings on the same street, everywhere!

 above: the art centre tower, the Yarra river running through Melbourne,

feels almost like we're in Paris along the River Seine

below: the Australian Open was taking place while we were there

I think I already mentioned that so far the coffee that we’ve tried in Australia has been quite a disappointment, so we gave it another shot when we were in Melbourne. With a recommendation from a friend’s colleague, we stopped by Café 1932 in the Manchester Unity Building. Again, this café closes at 3pm, and we got there at 2:50pm! Australia doesn’t really work for my cousin who has her meals usually 2-3 later than everyone else.

above right: the Manchester Unity Building

We got a cup of coffee to go, took a sip and happily found that it was a rather pleasant cup of coffee. Finally, something that tastes good.

The staff at Café 1932 also recommended a place for us to go to for some food – Brunetti, just a short walk down the street. This is a place that is located next to an alleyway with loads of coffee shops and some street food carts (which my cousin got a box of stir-fry noodles – it wasn’t good though).

Brunetti is famous for their large display of desserts and cakes.

above left: Brunetti's menu - like the sketched drawing

above right: the alley next to Brunetti's

below: a cafe/restaurant with graffiti

 above & below: different types of street art

After filling out stomachs, we walked around looking for street art. There’s a map that shows the famous streets, we saw some interesting things, but none of it looked as impressive as what we see in photos on the internet.

After a whole day of walking around the city, we made one last stop at Queen Victoria Market. It was smoky and hot now with all the food stands grilling and barbecuing.

above: again, the variety in building height, design and colours makes the skyline interesting

DAY 10: Last Day in Melbourne

On our last day in Melbourne we all split up. My aunt went to the outlet in the city, my cousin went back to the city centre to walk around, and my mom and I went to Melbourne Museum.

Melbourne is a relatively small city – all the things we visited and the areas we visited are pretty close together - going from one end of the city to the other (well, I went from Melbourne Museum to Richmond to Docklands all in 30 mins). Also when we were walking around the city centre yesterday it was very easy to walk around. The streets are quite short from one end of the block to the next. There are also lots of “Little _____ Lane” which are like alleys or lanes in between a block and they have shops and restaurants.

We boarded our plan at 7pm that night and then when we landed in Sydney we went to Coles to buy some TimTams as souvenirs. Went to bed around 2am and then woke up at 6am or something like that to fly to Hong Kong. And that concludes our Australia trip this time.

I look forward to coming back again one day – especially to see my friends who I miss every day!

(but before then....)

***Special thanks to Phebe for allowing me to use some of her photos in these blog posts. It's a joy to travel together!