After CY's wedding, my wife and I went for a self-driving road trip with my brother-in-law and KS /KY. The trip took 8 days, covering Philip Island, Mornington Peninsula, Great Ocean Drive, Grampian National Park, Ballarat/Beningo and Shepparton.
We rented an 8 seater car - rather spacious and comfy, but also a bit challenging when negotiating small lanes / entrances.
Day 1 (15 Jan)
Went for breakfast at South Melbourne Market per CK's recommendation. Took fresh oyster and some European "fried rice". Departed for Philip Island thereafter.
Stopped over at St Kilda, and Brighton Colourful Beach Houses.
St Kilda Beach
 |
| Instagram favourite |
Set next destination at Forest Caves @ Philip Island - but alas, the place was closed for some renovation!
Instead, we drove to Philip Island Wildlife Park. Spend over 1 hour there, interacting with the Emu, Kangaroos, and walking around the dry and withered nature park, and snapping photo of Koala hugging snugly to eucalyptus trees.
 |
| Close encounter with emu |
 |
| Interacting with Kangaroo |
 |
| Feeding the Kangaroos |
 |
| A family of swans in the lake |
 |
| Tasmania Devil |
 |
| Wombat |
 |
| Koala Bear |
Visited Pyramid Rock Lookout - enjoying the majestic view of the sea and coastline.
Next we drove to Noobies, walking along the boardwalk lining the coastal region.
Travelled to Penguin Parade ~6.30pm, but the anticipated time of arrival of penguin was 9pm. Took our dinner in the restaurant at Penguin Parade Nature Park.
Made our entrance into the viewing arena ~8pm. It was rather chilly and cold, waiting for the arrival of penguins.
 |
| patiently waiting for the arrival of penguins |
Stayed overnight at an AirBnB apart @ Cowes in Philip Island.
Day 2 (16 Jan)
Breakfast in a local restaurant in Cowes.
Drove to Mornington Peninsula. First destination - Flinders Blowhole. I am not sure about the blowhole, but the sea-scape was definitely worth a visit!
Taking a photo at look-out point.
 |
| The wide expanse of large pebbles dotting the beach, with scattered pools of water laced with green plantations, is simply mesmorizing. |
Next, we moved to Cape Schanck - the look out point is so-so, but the broadwalk a further distance away was simply amazing!
 |
| Distant view of the light house at Cape Schank from the boardwalk near carpark |
 |
| Yours truly, posing @ the boardwalk leading to the distant beach. |
 |
| London Bridge |
 |
| The beach adjacent to London Bridge |
 |
| Cable car @ Arthur Seat Nature Park |
 |
| View of Morning Peninsula from the peak |
 |
| I have a faint feeling that the giant Arthur Seat was located in the garden in front of this mansion (when I visited this place many years ago) |
Stayed overnight at AirBnB apartment @ Weerebee.
First stop: Bells Beach @ Torquay - distant view of people surfing in the sea.
Then we drove all the way to Lorne - to visit Erskine Falls.
 |
| distant view of the light house |
The journey to Cape Otway Lighthouse cut through eucalyptus plantation with onsite Koala bears. But we did not see any koala bear enroute to Cape Otway Lighthouse this time.
Drove the The Redwoods Otway - enjoying the scenic view of the giant Redwoods Trees.
This is a small version of Sequoia National Park in California, majestic in its way nevertheless.
 |
| The gigantic redwood trees |
Took our dinner at The Perch Restaurant @ Lavers Hill - rather pricey and yet not so delicious food.
Went to Melba Gully for night view of the glow worms there.... yes, we managed to take a glimpse of the glow worms when the sky /surrounding environment was pitch black. But we had to make an early exit from the park as it started to rain heavily soon after.
Stayed overnight at Otway Junction Motor Inn - rather basic amenities, and not that cheap either!
If not for the glow worms nearby, one should give Otway Junction Motor Inn a miss... it may be better to stay in Port Campbell, about 1 hour drive's away.
Day 4 (18 Jan) - Continued on our Great Ocean Drive
Enroute to Port Campbell - visited Gibson Steps, and then 12 Apostles.
 |
| The obligatory photo when doing Great Ocean Drive road trip! |
Took our brunch @ Port Campell.
 |
| Port Campbell |
 |
| Port Campell |
Then resumed our journey along Great Ocean Drive - visiting Lorc Ard Gorge, The Grotto, and London Bridge.
 |
| Lorc Ard Gorge |
 |
| London Bridge |
 |
| walking down to the Grotto |
 |
| Grotto |
Soldiered on to Tower Hill Game Reserve at Warnambool. Climbed up the steps to Tower Hill Peak, and walked along Lava Tongue Boardwalk.
 |
| Group photo at Tower Hill Peak |
 |
| view from the peak |
 |
| Visitor centre (view from peak) |
 |
| Parking lot near visiting centre |
Pleasantly surprised to see 4 elusive koala bears perched on the trees when walking pass eucalyptus trees along Lava Tongue Path.
 |
| Koala... two of them if you look closely |
 |
| "free range" Emu |
Departing from Tower Hill Game Reserve, driving to visit Lighthouse @ Griffith Island next to Port Fairy.
Day 5 (19 Jan)
Visited Petrified Forest @ Portland. There is a signage pointing towards Seal Colony Lookout Point - but it didn't mention how long the walk will take. We detoured back after walking for over 10 min.
 |
| Wind Farm viewed from car park @ Petrified Forest |
 |
| venturing into the park |
 |
| On the way to see the iconic petrified forest |
 |
| Ropes buried into the sand - for prevention of soil erosion, I presumed |
 |
| Petrified Forest --- the forest that turned into rock when petrified by the roaring wind/storm |
 |
| walking along the track ... looking out for Seal Colony Lookout. |
Blowhole cave in the vicinity of Petrified Forest.
Drove 2.5 hours to Halls Gap @ Grampian National Park.
Checked into Breeze Holiday Park @ Halls Gap, then travelled to visit tourist spots nearby.
- Tried to visit Splitter Falls - but no actual guidance as to where to get there... gave up
- Drove to Silverband Falls - but alas the park was closed because of potential risk imposed by flood damage
- Visited Mackenzie Falls - quite impressive falls
 |
| walking down the slope to Mackenzie Falls |
 |
| Look out point - a view of the cascading water, before it plunges further down to form Mackenzie Falls |
 |
| Mackenzie Falls |
 |
| Fantastic view .... |
 |
| Car park @ Boroka Lookout |
 |
| View of Halls Gap |
Day 6 (20 Jan)
 |
| Cabin @ Halls Gap... getting ready to leave for Ararat |
Drove to Ararat - went to One Hill Tree Lookout for scenic view of the city landscape; then stopped in front of Gum San 金山 Chinese Heritage Centre。Stopped over at Thrift Shop - where KS bought some souvenirs.
 |
| One Tree Hill Lookout |
 |
| Ararat city landscape |
Went to Ballarat - took lunch at a restaurant - ate Japanese food. Original plan was to visit Sovereign Hill, a theme park depicting living condition/ handicraft skills of past residents in early days. But, the ticket price was rather stiff , at nearly AUD 50! We decided to give it a miss.
Drove onto Castlemaine for cursory view of old buildings in the town.
Enroute to Castlemaine, I missed a turn and drove along a gravel road that cut through a country side. Chanced upon a flock of sheep. I parked my car along the road side to take photos of the sheep. Suddenly, the flock of sheep grouped together and ran towards our direction, paucing a few meters from the fence in front of us, gazing at us (as if waiting for food). After about 5 minutes or so of waiting in anticipation (without any food), the sheep gradually dispersed.
 |
| The flock of sheep staring at us... |
Day 7 (21 Jan)
Drove to Hanging Rock, a 1 hour drive from Bendigo. A small park with rock formations among the hill. Entrance fee was AUD 10 per car.
 |
| Rock formation on top of an elevation |
 |
| Gentle hike up the slope to the peak |
 |
| The rock formations |
Hanging Rock - a good place to hang around if have extra time to spare. Not as grandiose as Grand Canyon, but passable!
After that, we drove another 2 hours to Shepparton - visiting CK at his rented house.
Went out for lunch in an Indonesian restaurant - the food was quite delicious!
Took a short break at Riverside Cabin Park, then went for reunion dinner around 7pm in a local Chinese Restaurant.
 |
| Reunion Dinner |
After dinner, went to the park next to Shepparton Art Museum for s walk.
 |
| The Art Museum |
Day 8 (22 Jan)
Drove back to Melbourne - visited Queen Victoria Market - doing the touristy things...
 |
| Even Queen Victoria Market has Lunar New Year decor... |
Then drove to Dandedong - visiting Puffing Billy Trestle Bridge.
Drove back to rest at Bruncwick Tower Hotel for about 1/2 hour, then off again to visit CY for buffet dinner at 大妙 Panda Hotpot.
Had a short stay at CY/Kevin's place - took some New Year Rice Cake (年糕) made by Kevin.
Left CY's place around 10.30pm.
Day 9 (23 Jan)
Drove to Shrine of Remembrance / Royal Botanic Garden in the morning.
The Shrine of Remembrance...
 |
| Entrance into the Shrine of Remembrance |
 |
| view from the balcony |
After that, went to ALDI supermarket nearby - bought some bread --> drove to Melbourne Airport.
 |
| Waiting outside Aldi |
Returned rental car --> boarded Jetstar plane which departed on time --> home finally!
There was some hiccups with getting access to our Covid vaccination status - but all was eventually cleared.
In Conclusion -
1. Great Ocean Drive is certainly worth seeing - its coastal rock formation, famed 12 Apostles, rugged coastline are simply amazing!
2. Philip Island also is worth exploring - Penguin Parade should not be missed, and of course the Pyramid Rock Lookout and Nobbies should be included as well. Philip Island Wildlife Park is a good place to see iconic animals of Australia.
3. Flinders Blowhole and Cape Schanck are two under-rated tourist spots - strongly recommended if one have time to spare when visiting Melbourne.
4. Hanging Rock, Port Fairly and Portland - only if you have ample time to spare.
