Sydney to Melbourne to the Great Ocean Road and back

Apologies in advance for the hugeness of this post. I've been away from the internet for 10 days and I'm making up for lost time.

This Google Map link shows the road trip I've just completed with Elissa. It took in Jervis Bay and the whitest sand in the world, The Nobbies on Phillip Island (surprisingly like the Needles on the Isle of Wight), Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road, the Twelve Apostles, the Yarra Valley wine region and, on Tuesday, a 9 hour drive back to Sydney. We saw eagles, fish, jellyfish, bats and fruitbats, lizards, koalas, kangaroos and, I think, echidnas, alive in the wild. We also saw the World's Biggest Merino, and the Giant Earthworm. I don't recommend the Giant Earthworm at all. It's rubbish.

Part 1 - Sydney to Melbourne


We left Sydney and headed south to Jervis Bay. On arrival it was already getting dark, cause we had set off later than we meant to. We checked into the hotel and headed to the local pub, where we had a few drinks and a couple of games of pool. Halfway round we decided that this was round 2 of an international England Vs Australia pool tournament, and so when Elissa won the 2nd and 3rd games, she went 1.5-0.5 ahead (since our two games in Herne Bay in the UK went one each). We're planning the third round in Singapore in September, if we can find a pool table. We waited for dinner outside the pub, in amongst the cockroaches, and then went back to the motel.


The following morning we visited some local beaches. At Chinaman's Beach we sat and had lunch and then went for a dip in the ocean. We hung around for a while but then we headed to another beach. A town further round the coast was called Bendalong, and I thought this was a pretty funny name so we went there. The beach was quiet and sandy, with very little surf. We saw pelicans nesting out on the rocks, and we headed over the rocks to see more wildlife. While we were out there we saw crayfish (or something similar) hordes of sea snails, some small silver fish, and orange triangular fish of some sort, and eagle overhead, and a lizard we still haven't identified. Back at the motel, the lady behind the desk told us that stonegrilling was the new local thing, so we went to try it. It consisted of a slab of raw meat being brought out onto your table on a slab of red hot granite. Elissa and I sat and cooked our own dinner and it was surprisingly tasty.


The next day we drove down to Eden, and booked in for two nights. On the way we met up with some of Elissa's relatives, who showed us round their area. Elissa's uncle talked about the local fishing, and showed us kangaroos, alive and dead. We had a quick bite to eat and headed on, with a couple of bottles of John's home brew. That evening in Eden, we headed to another local pub for dinner. They boasted of their unique stonegrilling dining experience, but we passed it up for a huge Chicken Caesar Salad and a Fish and Chips. The following morning we went to Eden's Killer Whale Museum! It was really very dull indeed, so we ended up playing hide and seek behind some of the exhibits. By 1pm we'd decided there really was nothing to do in Eden, so we drove on, abandoning our room only 10 minutes too late to claim a refund.


The next stop was Lakes Entrance, a few hours round the coast. It was a quiet little town with an excellent fish and chip shop. We ate more fish and chips, and watched the moon rising, blood red through the smoke from the bushfires.


The following morning we woke and headed out early (well, 10am) to get to Phillip Island before setting off for Melbourne. We arrived at the Phillip Island Grand Prix track (a mainly motorbike circuit) but they wouldn't let us drive round it. Maybe we'd have better luck in Albert Park in Melbourne? We also pressed on through the island to the Nobbies, where we took lots of photos.


Driving up to Melbourne, we passed the Giant Earthworm. We drove into the car park to see it but it was rubbish, so we left and pressed on.



Part 2 - Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road


We met up with Anthea at about 7pm at her place, and met her cat, Hunter. I haven't seen Anthea in about three years, she's an old colleague from Abel & Cole. We then headed into town and met Rob (who I also knew from London) and some of their friends in a bar. For dinner we went to this little Italian place up an unmarked stairway, that you'd only know was there if you'd been told. Anthea said it was one of the best places in town, but the service was terrible. Elissa had a sudden realisation she had been there before.


The food was excellent. The service was terrible. Afterwards we went to a bar and had some drinks and collapsed into the air mattress at Anthea's place at about 2am, after lots of little skirmishes with Hunter.


The following day we went for Souvlaki (Greek for kebabs I think) and looked at books. That afternoon we wandered round St Kilda and found lots of people kitesurfing. I was tempted to join in, but I'm hoping to learn with one school in Sydney, so it's consistent. We also managed to find some tickets to see Ross Noble at the comedy festival, that night.


Ross Noble has a highly improvisational style. Basically he talks crap for close to two and a half hours, but manages to tie it all together so it's hilarious. Oddly the only bit I have a strong memory of involves a bum-faced child and some escaped baboons in a zoo.


The following day we left Anthea and Rob's place (I'm hoping it won't be the last I see of them while I'm in the country...) and went along the Great Ocean Road to see the Twelve Apostles. The scenery was absolutely incredible all the way along, we saw wild koalas in the afternoon, and we saw the Twelve Apostles too. It was a long day, 12 hours in total, most of which was driving, but well worth it. That evening we met Nick and Andrea, who were our hosts for the next two nights.


The last day in Melbourne was spent on the beach in St Kilda again, and then we picked up a few bottles and stayed at home drinking. Nick and I played the guitar, Andrea got very drunk and Elissa tried to hide the fact she was singing. It was a great way to end our stay in Melbourne.


Part 3 - Yarra Valley, Araluen Lodge and the World's Biggest Merino


We left Melbourne for Yarra Valley the next morning, and by 3pm we were at our first winery. 4 wineries and 6 purchases later, we had tried around 20 different wines and seen some beautiful countryside. I'm looking forward to the next winery tour. Yarra specialises in Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs, both of which I can recommend trying. After the sixth Pinot Noir we were getting a bit bored of them, but the whites were excellent, and we're looking forward to savouring our purchases later.

We managed to get good directions to the B&B we were staying in. Elissa had organised this one, but she said it wasn't that nice. So when we got there and the sign had more stars than you could shake a stick at, and was using the word "luxury" I was a little surprised. When I found out we'd booked the spa cottage (a cottage with a living room, bedroom and a luxury bathroom) I was even more surprised. Needless to say we had a great evening and a perfect night's sleep.

Breakfast was provided, with dried fruit, cereals, orange and apple juice, milk, tea, coffee (dried and fresh), bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast, biscuits, fresh fruit.. you name it. By noon, when we checked out, we were stuffed. The drive back to Sydney was about 900km, and it took us from noon to about 10.30pm. On the way we stopped for dinner near the World's Biggest Merino - an enormous concrete sheep built purely so people will come and look at it, I think! By the time we were home we were shattered, and slept like babies right through til 9am the following morning.

The next road trip is up to Cairns around Christmas, and it should be even huger!