We’ve spent the past few weeks in Australia! For our first trip down under we visited Melbourne (and area), the Daintree Rainforest and Port Douglas in tropical North Queensland, and then finished off by spending some time back down south in Sydney. Let’s just say we got around.
First up – Melbourne!
First up – Melbourne!
Fitzroy
In actual fact, Elizabeth arrived in Melbourne the week before Luke did because she was there for a work conference. It took place an hour outside of Melbourne in the Mornington Peninsula wine region and was held at a winery! So Elizabeth spent the first week sharing knowledge and networking with colleagues from around the globe, getting some work done, as well as sampling a bit of wine. It was hard work…
Luke showed up the next Sunday, and that’s when the real tourism began. To ensure Luke was not a victim of jetlag, once he arrived in Melbourne at 3 pm, it was straight out exploring the city to delay sleep as much as possible. We headed to Melbourne’s annual Night Noodle Market for some food and drinks to keep Luke going. Surprisingly – to us at least – there were few noodles to be found. Although we did enjoy our BBQ Pork Buns and did manage to find some Yakisoba. We then finished up the evening by meeting up with one of Elizabeth’s colleagues at a bar under a bridge. As we were told numerous times, Melbourne is a city you have to explore to truly discover.
Luke showed up the next Sunday, and that’s when the real tourism began. To ensure Luke was not a victim of jetlag, once he arrived in Melbourne at 3 pm, it was straight out exploring the city to delay sleep as much as possible. We headed to Melbourne’s annual Night Noodle Market for some food and drinks to keep Luke going. Surprisingly – to us at least – there were few noodles to be found. Although we did enjoy our BBQ Pork Buns and did manage to find some Yakisoba. We then finished up the evening by meeting up with one of Elizabeth’s colleagues at a bar under a bridge. As we were told numerous times, Melbourne is a city you have to explore to truly discover.
Night Noodle Market
The next day we hopped on our first out of town tour to see the Penguin Parade at Philip Island! But first, there were a number of stops along the way. We stopped at the pristine Woolamai Beach and hiked to some beautiful lookout points including The Nobbies, but the highlight of the day – other than the penguins, of course – was the Maru Koala and Animal Park. We spent some time exploring the park and checking out the koalas (mainly asleep, they do sleep 19 hours per day after all), dingoes, emus, wallabies, and kangaroos. The majority of our time there was actually spent feeding the kangaroos – partially because it was so fun but also because they eat incredibly slowly. We were all loving life.
After the kangaroo lovin’, the other highlight was the Penguin Parade. Philip Island is home to 32,000 “little penguins” and every night hundreds of penguins return from their daily hunt, form groups, and waddle back to shore to their nests to feed their family. Unfortunately you’re not able to take photos, but it meant that we ended up savouring the experience more. For fun, our guide suggested that we each pick a penguin and follow them back to their nest. We picked a penguin, who we named Jamie, but s/he seemed to walk very slowly and get distracted easily so sadly we didn’t have enough time to walk with them all the way home.
Penguin Parade Beach
After getting back around midnight on Monday, on Tuesday we enjoyed a day of casually exploring Melbourne. We started off with breakfast at a café nearby and then wandered around the historic Queen Victoria Market. We then reinacted Elizabeth’s Saturday of tourism before Luke showed up by catching a tram to the Fitzroy District. The eclectic mix on shops, bars, and restaurants on Smith St and Brunswick St make it an interesting place for a wander.
Heading down towards the riverfront, we took a route through Chinatown, picking up gelato along the way. Exploring the many alleyways that Melbourne is famous for, we also walked through Hosier Lane which is known for its graffiti-covered buildings and art installations.
Heading down towards the riverfront, we took a route through Chinatown, picking up gelato along the way. Exploring the many alleyways that Melbourne is famous for, we also walked through Hosier Lane which is known for its graffiti-covered buildings and art installations.
Hosier Lane
The Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Federation Square was our next stop, which Luke especially enjoyed as it explores the past and future of film and digital culture which includes games, of course. Before we headed to St. Kilda to catch up with one of Luke’s family friends we made our way through the extensive Royal Botanic Gardens and enjoyed a pizza and beer after a hot day of exploring.
Our last full day in the Melbourne area was a scenic drive along the Great Ocean Road.
Our last full day in the Melbourne area was a scenic drive along the Great Ocean Road.
Spanning 243 km southeast of Melbourne, between Torquay and Warnambool, the Great Ocean Road is a paradise for surfers and anyone who enjoys a good ocean view.
The day started off relatively early as we were picked up by our tour bus at 7:45 am. We stopped off for coffee at a beach an hour into the trip and then kept on heading along the road until we came across the Memorial Arch, a tribute to the WWI veterans who built the Great Ocean Road. There were a number of stops at beaches along the way, but we also stopped at some other places that you may not expect along the Great Ocean Road.
We drove through the seaside towns of Anglesea and Lorne before stopping to walk through an area full of wildlife such as cockatoos, lorikeets, and koalas. As to be expected, the birds were all over the group looking for a snack, and the koalas were minding their own business, asleep in the trees. We only managed to see one.
The day started off relatively early as we were picked up by our tour bus at 7:45 am. We stopped off for coffee at a beach an hour into the trip and then kept on heading along the road until we came across the Memorial Arch, a tribute to the WWI veterans who built the Great Ocean Road. There were a number of stops at beaches along the way, but we also stopped at some other places that you may not expect along the Great Ocean Road.
We drove through the seaside towns of Anglesea and Lorne before stopping to walk through an area full of wildlife such as cockatoos, lorikeets, and koalas. As to be expected, the birds were all over the group looking for a snack, and the koalas were minding their own business, asleep in the trees. We only managed to see one.
Spot the koala!
Koala spotting was followed by a tasty lunch at Apollo Bay before some rainforest exploration. We were led on a bush walk through the Otways rainforest by our guide, and it was our first taste of rainforest in Australia; this one was temperate, not tropical like the Daintree, but was still full of lush green vegetation, with giant trees above us and ferns below.
Our final stops were to see rock formations at the Loch Ard Gorge as well as the iconic 12 Apostles sea stacks. These limestone stacks are created by wave action eroding the limestone cliffs, creating caves which then become arches, which eventually collapse leaving these large sea stacks. Unfortunately, due to the same wave action and erosion that created them, some of the "Apostles" have collapsed, with only 8 still standing.
Our final stops were to see rock formations at the Loch Ard Gorge as well as the iconic 12 Apostles sea stacks. These limestone stacks are created by wave action eroding the limestone cliffs, creating caves which then become arches, which eventually collapse leaving these large sea stacks. Unfortunately, due to the same wave action and erosion that created them, some of the "Apostles" have collapsed, with only 8 still standing.
Our last stops of the day were all incredibly picturesque and it was difficult to capture the scale and the essence on camera.
Afterwards, we hopped back on the bus and headed to Melbourne. We enjoyed some Korean Fried Chicken and beers near our hotel and then packed our bags for our flight to Cairns (Daintree Rainforest and Port Douglas) the next morning. Stay tuned for our adventures in the rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef!
Afterwards, we hopped back on the bus and headed to Melbourne. We enjoyed some Korean Fried Chicken and beers near our hotel and then packed our bags for our flight to Cairns (Daintree Rainforest and Port Douglas) the next morning. Stay tuned for our adventures in the rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef!
(SLIDESHOW)
