When you are in Melbourne, one of the must-go day tours!
It is so easy to travel around outskirts in Melbourne (and also Sydney), because they have frequent day tours that are so easy to book and caters to tourists. Although they can be quite costly- around AUD60-AUD200 per day tour, they come with very comfy coaches, sometimes inclusive of meals, and a friendly tour guide/driver. So, my advice, do not go Aussie with Singapore tour groups, instead, do free & easy, and just join the local day tours there.
These day tours are very reliable, they will pick you up at your hotel (or nearby hotels), but they can start very early (around 7am). Especially during winter season (June-Aug), where the day is relatively short, the itineraries have a tighter schedule.
The entrance to Great Ocean Road.
Nice houses on the cliff facing the sea. Good life!
The Great Ocean Road is actually a whooping 243km stretch of coastline road with the ocean at the left-hand side. As you drive, the road is winding and you will pass through various terrane and landmarks. It is about a 2-3hr drive, so you will be super excited at the start, but it gets boring as you drive on. Then, you will pass by the famous tourist sights such as the 12 Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge where you will want to boom your camera with photos.
Photos taken on the drive: Let the stunning bay view do the talking!
Then we reached the 12 Apostles.
The story of how the 12 Apostles was formed: By erosion. FYI, there are only 8 stacks left due to further erosion. So catch them before they may be gone in the future.
Close-up view of 1 apostle
Stairs to go down right to the beach
And finally, as we drove on, the Loch Ard Gorge. This was where the ship wrecked occured.
Finally, hot latte in the park waiting for sunset before heading back to the city.
A fruitful day indeed for the Great Ocean Road tour.
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Another must-join tour is the Phillip Island tour, where it is well-known for the Penguin Parade.
Saw this unusual sign to check roaming penguins who may be under vehicles!
You see, the penguins who came on shore at night freely roam about the region, and possibly into the carpark.
The Penguin parade is one of the most highly raved about tourist attraction in Melbourne, largely because it is a wildlife attraction. Australians were particular about maintaining and conserving the nature, thus, sorry for the lack of photos or videos while on the observatory deck waiting for the Penguins to emerge from the sea. Furthermore, we have to remain silent and wait patiently in the chilly weather for them: And, they are tiny!! These fairy penguins are the smallest in the world, and if we were to make them feel threatened, they may never set foot on Phillip Island ever again.
Fasinating, they can even predict the time they emerge from the sea.
They are superr cute and totally worth the wait. They would float on the sea and waddle quickly to their sand dune burrows. And, DO NOT leave so soon. It is difficult to see them when they are surfacing from the sea, however, you may catch a close glimspe of them when they are settling down in their burrows. So stick around for a while 🙂
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For the 5D4N we were at Melbourne, we spent 2 full days on the aforementioned tours.
For the rest of the time, we were roaming around our hotel, soaking in the Cosmopolitian Melbourne lifestyle. We stayed at the The Victoria Hotel, located on Collins Street, in the heart of Melbourne CBD. Happy with the hotel, reasonably priced, clean with decent breakfast served. The best thing is the walkable distance to the CBD area with alot of shopping and iconic landmarks. You can explore:
1) The Queen Victoria Market: A traditional open-aired market where you can find gourmet foods and alot of other stuff
2) Crown Casino and hotel: It is a posh hotel on the Yarra river; stunning view at night while you take a stroll. It has a faciful restaurants, branded boutiques, and a casino with a pub serving cheap booze (~4AUD onwards). I squandered my money at the casino with a Merlot in my hand. Realised I have fallen into their trap.
Adapted from scenicreflections.com
3) Shopping Spree: There are numerous departmental stores, including popular ones like David Jones and Myer, along with rows of shopping centres and many shops selling souveniors. I particularly love to shop for groceries!
Love their spread of pastries and breads
4) Flinders Street station: It is one busy train station serving hundred thousands of commuters everyday. It is one icon in Melbourne.
5) St. Paul Cathedrals: Another landmark
The interior is grand too!
6) Dine at nice restaurants: We dined at this random restaurant in a mall. It has the restaurant and the pub region. The food is nice, and you can sit Al Fresco have a nice cold beer (a Victoria Bitter maybe) overlooking the city or indoors in nice couches.
There are also many breweries restaurants where you can have nice Western food with some home-brewed beers.
Ahhh, I want to migrate to Melbourne.
xoxo,
singaporenoobmum 