Melbourne & Great Ocean Road

Touch down in Melbourne after midnight and omg was it cold. We wore what we could to not get a shock from freezing and took an Uber to our Airbnb place for that night. We turned up the AC to 27 degrees and simply slept tired from travelling.

For the next two days we moved to the Nomads hostel in St. Kilda, South of downtown. After lunch and check-in to our 6-bed-dorm we took the tram to the city. Still we were freezing...15 degrees, wind and rain. No fun exploring the city. Our escape lead us into huge malls all connected to eachother starting from Collins Street. After having spent two weeks in the outback without people or traffic we were overloaded with the big city vibes around us. We sat in a cute little bar, had a drink and decided to spend the evening in a movie theater, a fancy one by the way. Yummy poke bowls, a big bag of popcorn...and we were happy :).

Even my beach run next morning didn't give me the usual satisfaction after sports, so we tried to make the best out of another rainy and windy day. Tripadvisor helped us discover the Queen Victoria Market for souvenirs and the Hosier Lane with impressive graphity art on the walls.

For the evening we had planned to walk along the St. Kilda pier for a special event. A local had told us about it. We rested for a while in our hostel, had dinner at a close by pizza place and started walking the pier just before sunset. Unbelievably icy wind, but we were rewarded with the view of worldst smallest penguins. At the end of each day they climb up the rocks for rest after a day searching for food in the ocean. Such cute little creatures and worth every freezing moment.

After we picked up the rental car in town, about 2 hours drive and we reached the scenic Great Ocean Road. Close to the wild coast the road took us up to Lorne. We stopped there for some shopping and Asian lunch.
Just close to Lorne a 9km drive we could get a glimpse of just one of the many waterfalls around. Anyway the Erskine Falls are the tallest, at which we spend some time.
Another ten minutes towards the coast was Teddy's Lookout with a great view of the ocean.

It was getting late and we wanted to reach our next stop Apollo Bay before dark, so drove another hour along the coast with still stunning views.

First thing next morning we went to the Visitors Center in Apollo Bay to get information on what to do. It's the easiest way to get insights and distances in the area without waisting time on Google ;). The lady suggested to drive to the Beech Forest North of the city to again go to waterfalls, which I love anyway. Also a canopy walk high above the rainforest was a destination we chose for $20 each. We could have also gone to the lighthouse, but it would have been a detour and weather wasn't the best that morning. So we grabbed some take-away lunch in town and drove an hour to the forest. Another hour along the high bridges, that gave us amazing sights down the giant trees and farns. It was a bit drizzling and cool at 10 degrees, but somehow just the right conditions for an easy hike in a rainforest. 

Only 3km further we reached the waterfall parking and took the short track down the steps to the beautiful Triplet Falls.

From the rainforest we drove the Great Ocean Road crossing farm landscapes with covered cows, sheeps and kakadus flying around...weird mix of animals we thought. Even though the surrounding reminded more of outback scenary, we were close to the most stunning coast...the Twelve Apostles.
We stopped at several lookout points: The Gibson Steps, The Twelve Apostles, Castle Rock, Loch Ard Gorge and Thunder Cave. All of them had different but comparable amazing views.

By now it was almost dawn and we reached our final stop on Great Ocean Rock Warrnambool. Had some dinner in town and checked in to our backpackers for a relaxed rest of the evening...

From the Visitors Center we also got recommendations on activities around Warrnambool. The close by Tower Hill Nature Reserve was on a former volcano with plenty of wildlife and free to visit. On two different loop walks we were lucky to see several koalas sleeping in the trees, kangaroos on a hill, an emu and even snakes on the path, omg! Luckily in safe distance because they were poisonous, a copperhead and tiger snake. What an adventure on a morning walk!

We stopped at Breakwater Rock Pier for lunch and a beach walk. At last before heading back to Melbourne we enjoyed the beach views at Logans Beach.

Since Melli had her flight late that day we drove back, I dropped her off and drove another two hours to Phillip Island. Sadly I was now on my own for the rest of the trip. But I know how this feels and that I will not only get used to it, but also feel comfortable. With one difference, I am not in the mood for meeting new people, simply want to enjoy some quiet days in nature...we'll see how that goes.

Unfortunately the temperature had dropped from 28 down to 14 degrees. That happens this time of the year along this South coast of Australia.
I got my clothes washed, bought some grocery to cook in the evening and asked the reception what to do on this one day I had. Luckily the sun showed up although it was windy, so I drove to Cape Woolamai to hike the two hour loop. Wind almost blew me away walking close to the coastline, first on the beach and after some steps high above the cliffs. Views were stunning, but because of the wind not enjoyable for long.

Just half an hour drive across the bridge leaving the island the Maru Wildlife Park offered encounters with Australian animals, so I got to see a baby Koala close and feed kangaroos. I was glad to hear that they control the weight of the kangaroos, so that they don't get fead too much. An hour was enough to walk around.

The most popular activity on Phillip Island is the penguine parade, taking place every evening after sunset. It's a 20 minute drive from the East to the West coast of the island at Nobbies Center. Huge parking and visitors center already gave the impression of what to expect as one of the main attractions here. Single adult ticket for viewing only is already $26 and you make your way towards the beach. It was freezing cold and by the time the sun set, the wind picked up and it started to rain. I tried to cover myself with what I had taken with me, but the cold just goes deep. After darkness arrived, few and then more and more penguines came out of the water, waiting a moment until danger was out of sight and then ran up the beach towards the grass. They were fishing all day to provide for their little ones waiting in their nests in the grass area. Since their eyes are very sensitive to light, we weren't allowed to take any pictures, so only before they arrived we could capture the beach atmosphere.

After half an hour the spectacular was kind of coming to an end, but also the cold chased me away, shivering down to my bones. So I drove back to my hostel, warmed up with a hot showered and went to bed to rest...tomorrow the next adventure was about to come: Tasmania!