Great Ocean Road, Victoria

 

My most memorable moment around Aussieland was doing a road trip with one of the most amazing person on planet Earth. It was neither more nor less than doing the Great Ocean Road with my mother. We first took the plane from Sydney to the great city of Melbourne. We picked up our rental car from Melbourne Airport and drove to our staying place, which was the Tune Hotel on 609 Swanston Street. While driving thru the streets I immediately felt something about that city. There was something inside telling me that this city was different, in a good way of course. We arrived by night so we just had dinner in the Italian district before going to bed. The day after (2nd of  January ’15) my mother and I went for a city walking tour and it was all clear to me: Melbourne and I was love at first sight!

 

We walked till Flinders Railway Station, took a look in St Paul’s Cathedral where we burnt a candle for those we love and enjoyed a moment at Federation Square. We crossed the Yarra River and saw the Spire of the Arts Centre. Next to the art centre we discovered an interesting idea, called Testing Grounds. It is an outdoor and free place where people can experience their ideas. Afterwards we reached the 88th floor of the Eureka building for an outstanding lookout over the city. By the end of the afternoon we were on our way towards the Great Ocean Road. But we first stopped at Geelong where we stayed one night at the Novotel (10-14 Eastern Beach). We wanted to book a hotel closer to the beginning of the Great Ocean Road but unfortunately everything closer was full booked. We ended that day with a short walk to the beach and reached the end of the Cunningham Pier. We had dinner at our hotel where we met friendly people and their cute, funny and especially fluffy dog.

 

In the morning of January 3rd I started wishing my mother a happy birthday. That’s right, we were in Geelong for her 51st anniversary ready for our trip on the Great Ocean Road. We drove along the coast and finally reached the starting point. We stopped for a little bush walk with waterfalls and stopped once in a while for the lookout spots. Just before the big standing stones my mother finally saw her first wild koala. She was so happy and wanted to take it with her. After that fluffy moment we arrived at the first highlight, the Gibson steps, followed by the 12 Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge. The views were just amazing with those magnificent rock stacks that rise up from the Southern Ocean.

 

It started to get dark so we had to be on our way to the hotel. Again everything close to the Great Ocean Road was full booked so we had to drive till Cobden to stay the night. Grand Central B&B on 30 Victoria Street was the closest hotel we could book. The owner was really kind, because we arrived quit late and hadn’t dinner yet. The restaurant across the street was closed but his wife owned the restaurant and he arranged some diner for us that night. We were really lucky!

 

In the morning we had breakfast and I asked my mother to taste the typical Australian bread spread called Vegemite. She didn’t finish her loaf of bread neither the piece she had in her mouth. After breakfast we visited the last highlight we missed the day before, which was the London Arch. Then we headed back to Melbourne and stayed at the same hotel when we arrived. That night we had a proper anniversary dinner at Young and Jacksons, in front of the Flinders Railway Station. The next day we rent a bike and continued our city exploration. We rode around the beautiful Albert Park Lake, took the time for the Shrine of Remembrance and the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). After returning the bikes we went for a walk in the Botanic Garden where we had a good rest at the water! Our Melbourne story ended here and we flew back to Sydney. I hope to get back in Melbourne soon because believe it or not I prefer Melbourne to Sydney.