Driving the Great Ocean Road
Melbourne was to be our last major stop in Australia so we were both happy and sad to arrive there. We initially stayed outside the city centre in an area called St. Kilda. St Kilda used to be a happening place, but then it fell into a state of ill-repute. It's starting to reclaim its former glory, but there is still evidence of its seedier past -- there are more than a few girly bars standing shoulder to shoulder with the more elegant home furnishing shops and cosy coffee shops in the area!
We took a couple of days to recover from our overnight train journey to get there, and to plan a road trip along the Great Ocean Road. It took us a while to sort out a car rental as pretty much everything in the city was booked; our visit coincided with the FINA swimming competition, Formula 1, and Melbourne's Food & Wine Festival. Needless to say, the city was packed! We finally booked a car with Hertz, but funnily enough we were only able to book online. When we went into their office, they didn't have access to their own online booking system! The man at the counter told us to try to book online and, if we were able to get something, to just come and pick it up. Which is exactly what we did. Weird. But, fortunately, it all worked out and we were on our way!
The Great Ocean Road (GOR) stretches from Torquay(just south of Melbourne) to Adelaide, a total distance of about 260km. We planned to go only as far as Port Campbell and the renowned 12 Apostles, a distance of about 150km (a total of 300km there and back). And we gave ourselves three days to do it, so it made for a very leisurely drive. Driving the GOR is very easy. There isn't a lot of traffic, and there are a lot of areas to pull off to enjoy the view (which was fortunate for Ulrik as he did most of the driving). To offset the cost of the car rental we slept in the car the three nights we were on the road. And I have to say that the Toyota Corolla is a very comfortable car to sleep in!
Driving yourself is definitely a nice way to get around. We were able to go at our own pace and stop whenever something looked interesting. We walked around the 12 Apostles, did several walks around the Loch Ard Gorge, and toured the Otway Lighthouse. And we got to see so many koalas in the wild! They were in the trees leading to the lighthouse. And they were in the trees on the walk toward the Kennett River. At one point we stopped for lunch at the appropriately named Koala Café, and I saw seven koalas on my way to use the bathroom! By the time we finished our tour, I was almost koala'd out.
After three days, though, it was time to return to the city. This time we decided to stay closer to the city centre as we only had a day and a half before our flight to Indo. We toured the Queen Victoria Market and enjoyed the western toilets and hot showers (we weren't sure when we'd get to enjoy them again!)
It's been wonderful getting to see Australia. I remember when I was a little girl, the most exotic and far away place I could think of was Australia ... probably because it is literally on the other side of the world. Unfortunately, we've only seen a small part of it, but I am sure that we will be back someday -- there's still the Outback, the Great Barrier Reef, and Western Australia to explore. As for now, although Australia has been a thoroughly enjoyable interlude of western delights, we are looking forward to getting back on the road and enjoying the often daily challenges of travelling in developing countries. The travel may not be as comfortable or easy, but it's certainly always interesting!
For more photos, see our Great Ocean Road photo album.
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