Melbourne Road Trip
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| Introducing to you my road trip partner: DJ E ! |
Hey it's me! I knew it's surprising to see me blogging in English instead of my comfort language Mandarin. I always wanted to try blogging in English but I'm lack of confident to do so. However, I also believe that stepping out of my comfort zone makes me to become a better person, right? Correct me if I'm wrong, I'll try my best to deliver my feelings in English. =D
This time I'm going to share about my journey with E to Melbourne from Adelaide by DRIVING!
It was a very short but contented journey where it only took us 3 days to complete it.(Will also blog about our trip in Melbourne city!) The other reason why it was short is that we did not want to spend too many days on the road, since driving is a tough job for E and I do not have an international driving license (I drove sometimes when E felt tired, thank god no police around!). Also, we both agreed to spend more time staying in Melbourne city, enjoy and relax since it was our "holiday".
Itinerary:
Day 1:
Car Pick up in Adelaide
Groceries shopping
Hahndorf town
Padthaway
Bluelake Lookout
Stay in Mt. Gambier
Day 2:
Umpherston Sinkhole
Rotary Wishing Well
Loch Ard Gorge
Twelve Apostles
Stay in Apollo Bay
Day 3:
Origin of Great Ocean Road (the sign)
Stay in Melbourne City
Day 4: (Melbourne City)
Brighton Bathing Boxes
Car return
Queen Victoria Market
State Library of VIC
Dinner with friend
Day 5: (Melbourne City)
Union Lane
Flinders Street Raiway Station
Day 6: (Melbourne City)
RMIT
Day 7:
Flight to Perth
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| The Hahndorf Town |
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| The Bluelake Lookout |
So on the first day, we picked up our hired car at the Hertz office, then we went to Coles for groceries shopping, to stock up some snacks and food that keep us awake during the drive. The first destination was the Hahndorf Town, about 30 mins drive from the Adelaide city.
It was a beautiful and romantic German-styled town. You will start loving it just by browsing through their official website. It was classified as the Australia's oldest German settlement, and it is a great place to spend your weekends or to have a short getaway. The Hahndorf Town has architecturally fascinating buildings, wide range of hospitalities, handmade crafts, craft beers, boutique wines,.. If you're a vintage lover, this is the place you shouldn't miss. It was quiet when we visited during the daytime, maybe it will be more lively at the sunset time.
Although it is a pretty town, it might be boring for people who don't love vintage stuffs since what we can do here is just to admire the handcrafts by the locals, take a sip of beer and just chill at the roadside bar, or just spend time doing nothing but enjoy the German architecture here.
After that, we drove through the Padthaway to our last destination of the day: The Bluelake Lookout. I must say, Padthaway was amazingly pretty. You will see a field of sheep, cows and horses, all the way from Hahndorf town to Bluelake. We stopped by a few times to just chill by the roadside, had our snacks while listening to the the animals sound and embrace the cooling wind. It was so peaceful and I really miss spending time like this!!
The Bluelake Lookout wasn't a very attractive place to go, I think. It was small, and not much attractive scenery could be seen. There is a tiny lookout platform for the tourist to view the entire Bluelake. We only spent about 15 mins here and that's more than enough for us.
About car rental
We rented a car at Hertz in Adelaide through their website, and there was an insurance offer popped out when we were about to pay for the car rental. It was almost 50% cheaper than the insurance that offered by Hertz, so we read through everything to make sure the insurance is reliable before we decided to take it.
However, when we went to the Hertz office, they gave us a different car model from what we'd chosen earlier on the website. We were okay with the given car model but how about the insurance? It was stated the insurance is only insured for the particular car model we chosen earlier. We argued with the person in charged, she was impolite and obviously an Asian exclusion kind of person, the way she looked down at us just because we're Asian was so disgusting and unacceptable, but we cannot do anything because we need assistance from her to have our problem settled. Luckily, the insurance is workable on the new car model they gave and we're able to start our journey after hours of waiting.
Lesson of the day: do not get cheap insurance if you can pay more. Nah, just kidding, the insurance itself wasn't a problem, Hertz was the one given us a different car model. Choose a better car rental next time!
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| Our stay in Mt. Gambier - Motor Inn. Even though it's a motel, it has everything we needed: a large and comfortable bed, hot shower, parking, a pantry, small but well-equipped living room, everything's good! It's also self check-in check-out, i love it. |
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| The Umpherston Sinkhole |
On the next day, we had a simple breakfast-on-the-bed which E prepared(*happy*) before we started the day. The nearest attraction to Mt. Gambier is the Umpherston Sinkhole. As its name implies, it is a sinkhole, or also known as a sunken garden which is formed years ago. Before the sinkhole was formed, it was a natural limestone cave on the land and then when the chamber's roof collapsed, it became a large sinkhole. It was then beautified by James Umpherston in 1886, slowly it became what you can see on today, a big and nicely trimmed sunken garden.
Along the way you walked down to the sunken garden, there're banners on the wall telling the stories behind this Umpherston Sinkhole. Besides the Umpherston sinkhole, there are actually about 50 natural sinkholes in the Mt. Gambier which were formed similarly as the Umpherston Sinkhole.
Villages near to Mt. Gambier are lovely. They are all so vintage, the villages are quiet and peaceful when you walk around. You can see a lot of park areas, or a large and wide green field as well. You can easily find your ideal picnic spots here. Too bad, we weren't prepared for a picnic :\
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| Look at the cute sheep!! We can see this everyday during the road trip!! |
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| We spent a little time to just looking at the wave hitting the rocks and then go back to a few seconds of calmness, then hit the rocks again..keep repeating... |
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| We love this secret spot, there was no one here. (I forgot where is it) We can spend our own sweet time taking picture, looking at the wave, screaming, running,.. |
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| The Loch Ard Gorge |
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| Look at the crowd at the Loch Ard Gorge. We met a lot of Malaysians here. |
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| The Twelve Apostles, it's breathtaking to just looking at this view and feel the breeze. We met a foreigner here, I guess he's a middle east person, asked us to take a photo of him and he offered to take a photo of us as well, not forgetting to say "you guys are lovely" to us too. :D |
We then went to the famous tourist spots, the Loch Ard Gorge and the Twelve Apostles. They are the "must-go" places when you visit to Melbourne. Thus, you may also see numbers of tourist buses, from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand.... all Asian countries you can tell. Not forgetting the scary crowds, you may heard Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai.... or more specifically, Malaysian Mandarin, Malaysian Cantonese,.. If you'd been there before, you can feel me.
E and I both don't like crowded places, we felt that the noises could spoiled everything. Even we're looking at a stunning view, we couldn't feel it with our heart because we're being disturbed. We only spent about 30 minutes at the Twelve Apostles, walking from the trail to the extended platform, take a photo, and then return. It's kind of a waste to just "check-point" the place, but we prefer to spend time quietly at a less famous/attractive spot. So we decided to move on.
We stayed at Apollo Bay Seaview Motel on the second night. We did not manage to catch the sunset view at the motel because the sun already set by the time we reached the stay. (We chose mostly motel/airbnb during trips in Aus, budget!) We had a large plate of fish and chips which we dabao from a restaurant nearby, with my favorite drinks in Australia, the Bundaberg Ginger Beer, while watching 白色強人 that night.
The motel is worth mentioning, it was sparkling clean(which is the most important), it's hugeeeeee, it has a double bed and a single bed even tho we only booked a double room. It has a backyard, you may walk through the yard to reach the nearest beach. It has all basics you'll need like pantry, TV, toiletries, and surprisingly a big bathtub!
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| There were about 50% of time we're looking at this view during the road trip, another 50% of time we're looking at green field with animals on it. |
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| The arch that indicates the beginning of the Great Ocean Road at Torquay, and it marked the end of our road trip on the Great Ocean Road. |
Here are some information about the Great Ocean Road in case you don't know what it is. Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage, having a total length of 243km stretch along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities and Allansford, about two hours drive to finish the entire Great Ocean Road. It is listed as one of the World's most scenic coastal drives too!
Our driving direction was slightly different from the normal drive where people usually drives from the beginning of the GOR, Torquay (in Victoria city) towards the west to finish at Allansford. What we did was the other way round. We began from Adelaide to Allansford, stopped by at Apollo Bay and then continued to Torquay before we drove to Melbourne city. No matter which way you're planning to go, the scenery will be great.
The third day of the road trip was the last day on the road before we settled down in Melbourne city. We wanted to see sunrise by the beach which is just 2 mins walk away from our stay, but obviously we did not make it because firstly we overslept, secondly it was a misty morning. When we woke up it seems like about to rain.
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| The Melbourne Center Station |
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| Famous doughnut in the town! |
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| The Brighton Bathing Boxes |
Little Story
After the Great Ocean Road, we were back to the city area again. Heavy traffics, limited parking spots are what make us frustrated. We kena a saman in just 10 mins time when we were at the Brighton Bathing Boxes. Why are the polices so efficient? Hahah. And you know what!! We're going to return back our car right after visiting to the Brighton Bathing Boxes! So unfortunate to get a saman 1 hour before we "disown" the car T^T
Anyway, be extra careful when you park in Melbourne city okay. Look around and check whether there's the parking sign before you decided to park somewhere. Also, read this if you do not know how to identify the parking sign because their parking signs are quite confusing (1P 2P, time duration, weekdays weekends difference).
Therefore, when we choose our stay in Melbourne, we also paid extra attentions about the parking and transportation nearby. We only shortlisted those with free trams around, slightly further than the city center so that it's less noise and easier to park.
Our itinerary in Melbourne city was rather simpler. Right after we reached Melbourne, we went to the famous attraction: the Brighton Bathing Boxes.
I thought it was a man-made attractions but turn out it isn't. It has it's historical background. These small houses were built over 100 years ago. Do you ever curios why is it called the "bathing boxes"? They were being used as changing rooms for women to change their swimwear back in 80th century. The houses were simple and elegant, built with timber framing, weatherboards and corrugated iron roofing with no electricity even until now. They're then turned into a new leaf when people decided to paint them with brilliant color and with different themes, and quickly became a tourist attraction. They are still being used but not for woman privacy anymore, they're now a storage for fishing gears, deck chairs and as a shelter from the sun.
One thing I love in Melbourne is definitely their transportation. They have trams travel around the city, and certain areas are the free zone! Also, there are buses of course, and trains which basically could bring you to explore every corner of the city. Transportation fees in Melbourne are a lot cheaper than other cities in Australia(like in Perth we had to spend a lot for public transportation). Oh, i heard a lot of the locals actually didn't pay for the tram(since you do not need to scan a card to enter, you entered then only you scan), some of them scan it honestly but some didn't, I never try tho, be an honest bee!!
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| I love how their city planning goes.. where most of the lanes are wide and walk-able, friendly to the pedestrians. |
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| State Library of Victoria |
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| Date with my unimate JS jiejie. Very big portion of chicken chop where two of us couldn't finish. |
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| Look at the guy, gave me a thumbup while I was taking photo haha |
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| Our simple celebration for Mid-autumn: Tang yuan from the Asian store & winter melon sweet soup by E :D |
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| He used to make breakfast for me everyday, or almost every meal because he cooks better than me(but i can cook more variety haha). But now not anymore, can't even see each other's faces :/ |
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| Fleeders Street Railway Station |
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| Love this retro tram! |
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| Union Lane |
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| Hidden bar in one of those lanes. |
It was the mid-autumn festival while we're at Melbourne. I'd never been celebrating Mid-autumn for like 3/4 years? Since we're not working during this special day, I requested to have a simple celebration with E. We went to most of the Asian grocery stores to seek for a delicious mooncake. All of them have mooncakes selling in their shop but those were not what we wanted. Lastly we decided to buy glutinous rice ball instead, and I love glutinous rice ball too!! E cooked wintermelon sweet soup with glutinous rice ball :D
The State Library of Victoria is a must-go in Melbourne. It's not only just an attraction but also a real library where you will see students studying around. The popular tourist spot is definitely the significant Domed Reading Room, where there are balconies at each level encircling the middle space, while the balconies became exhibition areas now and the Domed Reading Room is where students or anyone could grab a space and spend their time.
The State Library is listed on the Heritage Victoria's Victorian heritage database because of it's architecture style. The iconic dome, ionic columns, the facade design and it's significant octastyle portico are making it one of the world's great libraries. Not only the architecture itself making it a best library, the content of it too.
Had a great dinner date with JS, my unimate who currently studying master course in Melbourne. She brought me to an Italian restaurant which serves large portion of chicken chop with a very reasonable price. Then right after the dinner, me and E went to the Fleeder's Street Railway Station for a night version of the railway station! It was raining, it was beautiful and stunning. I felt like I'm in a drama scene.
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| Look!! Pretty isn't it! |
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| Korean lunch for one of those days in a hidden lane. |
Restaurants picked
We didn't went to many restaurants to dine-in because we still prefer to homecook :D
However, those restaurants we went to mostly were good and not expensive!
A Japanese cuisine restaurant called "Don Don" located at a lane closed to the State Library was cheap and delicious! I think we went twice? The first time we went for a normal lunch, second time we were in a hurry and we decided to dine-in again because they served food in just few minutes.
The best doughnut in town definitely goes to the American Doughnut Kitchen. This portable kitchen is in a petite vintage van where you can normally find it at the Queen Victoria Market. Their menu isn't complicated, just a few choices but they're all delicious!
Universal Restaurant, where I had dinner with JS. We didn't have chance to taste food other than chicken chop because we couldn't even finish that chicken chop. But I must say that this restaurant provides generous portion of food where any big eaters will satisfied with.
Humble Ray, a breakfast-brunch cafe recommended by JS too. They serve wide-range of meals, English breakfast, spaghetti, pizzas, burgers, sandwiches... The ambience of the cafe is good, with natural lighting and comfortable seating, if it were in Malaysia I would probably love to spend time there.
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| Breakfast at Humble Ray |
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| This building has a H&M retail at ground floor, post office at the upper floor, interesting. |
The day before we left Melbourne, I had a brunch date with JS and managed to pay a visit to her university. It's great to see an old friend doing so well in current academy, enjoying her study journey in Australia and knowing that she's another step closer to her dream!
We had a midnight flight to Perth on the last day. Our host were kind, she's a Malaysian girl currently based in Melbourne working as house rental agent. She's managing a few condominiums and renting out as airbnb or to people who come for short stays like us, also for people who want to stay for long with contract. She offered us to stay as free after we check-out until we left to the airport in the evening so that we don't need to pay rental for another whole day nor need to go to airport hours earlier than our flight. We even managed to catch a beautiful sunset at the balcony right before we departed!
This marked the end of our entire trip from Adelaide to Melbourne. From driving 4-5 hours a day for three days to reach Melbourne city, I can still remember how we screamed out joyfully along the way on Padthaway where we saw the fields were full of sheep; how I express my feelings to him on the night we spent at Apollo Bay, cried hysterically in his arm because of the truth of leaving this magical life in less than one month time; I can still remember how he brought me to every places he had been to, to tell me his story, good and bad happy or sad; how we spent time in the grocery store every evening to discuss for dinner ingredients; I miss how we spend quality time together with just each other but nobody else; I miss how we explored the city together without worrying the time, wandering around without thinking of anything, had a walk after our meal, went back to our stay whenever we felt tired; I just miss everything in Melbourne. :\
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| Sunset view from our balcony |
Thank you for giving me a wonderful journey in Australia. E, he was the one who brought me to Australia, giving me a job, arranged all the needs for me, and giving me the happiest memory in my life. Thanks for being wonderful, caring and loving. Happy birthday ❤️
/ 大叔生日快樂！
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