1st day – Sunday (06/03/2012)
We took the flight from Queenstown (NZ) to Melbourne – see more details of our trip to NZ here – and we arrived at Tullamarine airport around 12pm. We took a shuttle shared at the airport (cheaper than a taxi) that dropped us off at the door of our hostel, the Melbourne Central YHA .
It was under construction, so the entrance was a mess, but the rooms were OK and our private room was just luxurious! I confess that having spent a week sleeping in campervan is much less comfortable than a whole little room cozy…I even missed it.
We left our things in the room, got ready and went to reception to ask about activities on Sunday. They told us that there was going to be a rugby game in the city around 4pm and they gave us the tip to go earlier. Queen Victoria Market. We took the city's free tram, which is a real treat with an old-fashioned style. It goes around the city center. (Melbourne CBD) and you can catch it every fifteen minutes at any station. It was great for us, because it goes at a leisurely speed and with the map in hand, it was possible to see different places in the city and not get so lost. We got off at the market station, without any problems.
Queen Victoria Market
I found this market incredible! You can find everything from oysters to fridge magnets. It is huge and really sells everything at super affordable prices. We even found a stall selling açaí, just look... The people are extremely polite and the vendors are very friendly. It makes you want to buy everything!!!
We went to the food section, since we were starving. We passed by several little shops, but one caught our attention because of the amount of people buying sausage hot dogs. We bought one each and enjoyed it, because it really was delicious.
Afterwards, we went to a seafood stand and Celo decided to buy oysters because he thought they looked good (and they really did). I have to say that my boyfriend is the pickiest person in the world when it comes to eating out, so he bought them there because it really seemed safe. (And thank God it was!) He loved the oysters! I don't like them very much, but from what he said, they were definitely better than the average Brazilian oyster he's ever eaten. Afterwards, we bought a beer, even though the vendor told us that if the police saw us, there could be some trouble. We ate well, paid little and enjoyed the atmosphere, as if we were locals. I recommend it!
Melbourne Cricket Ground
We left there, took the cable car again and got off at a station near the stadium. Melbourne Cricket Ground. We walked a little, passing several small Victorian-style houses and when we arrived at the stage, we went looking for tickets.
We were able to buy tickets without any problems even though it was very crowded. The game was with the teams Collingwood and Gold Coast and the first one was the favorite. We entered the stadium, which is really cool, and went up some escalators until we got to our section.
We sat and waited anxiously for the recommended game to begin. rugby! Soon the stadium was packed and the game started. After a few minutes we realized it wasn't rugby, because the players weren't breaking each other, but rather, playing the ball with their feet and hands. How crazy! We deduced that it was Australian football, but we continued to be confused by the scoreboard with several numbers displayed. During the first break of the game, I made a point of asking the young lady in front what those numbers meant. After a friendly explanation, we were able to follow the game better. The game lasted about 2 hours and Collingwood massacred the Gold Coast team. There were a few breaks, which was great, because we were able to buy beer and go to the bathroom. It's impressive how during the game, no matter how exciting it was, the fans didn't make a fuss or insult the players, coaches, etc. Polite people are something else.
We left the stadium feeling a bit tired and cold, but we decided to walk back to our hostel and try to buy tickets for a musical we had seen advertised. The theater box office was closed, which was frustrating because we had to go quite a ways out of our original route to get there.
Dining at Nando's
We went down to Collins Street, which is the main one in the region and we stopped at the restaurant Nando's, which is a fast food more tidy and super affordable. We ordered food and although I asked for mine without spice, I suffered a lot with the heat of their “non-spicy” food.
We returned to the hostel a little frustrated, I confess.
2nd day – Monday (06/04/2012)
We woke up relatively late and only left the room around lunchtime. We left the hostel in search of a not-so-expensive restaurant to eat at and found a WONDERFUL one, although it was a little more expensive than we wanted.
Mitre Tavern
His name is Mitre Tavern, which as the name suggests, is tavern style, very cozy. We paid for our drinks and food beforehand at the bar and waited for it to arrive. Our chicken parmigiana with fries was delicious…we ate really well!
We left the restaurant and unfortunately it was raining, but we decided to continue walking around the city anyway. We passed by practically all the tourist attractions in the city center, which were indicated on the map provided by the hostel receptionist. It is very easy and pleasant to walk along Collins Street, Bourke Street and their perpendiculars. The city is full of modern buildings mixed with old buildings, with many jewelry stores, electronics stores (although I didn't find anything cheap) and nice restaurants and bistros.
Getting to know Melbourne
We went through: Royal Arcade (a gorgeous shopping arcade!), Capitol Theatre, Town Hall, Athenaeum Theatre, City Library, Immigration Museum, Flinders Street Station, St Francis Church (first Catholic church in the state of Victoria), St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne GPO (the fanciest shopping mall in town, according to their advertising), Parliament House, National Trust and for 1 minute, we almost got in St Patrick's Cathedral, which is beautiful from the outside. It was a shame...we wanted to go in, but the guard said they were closing. I think it was 5pm.
This tour was a bit unplanned. We took the map and headed to the spots that caught our attention the most. We didn't even check if they would be open that day or until what time...the important thing for us at that moment was to feel the vibe of the city.
We passed by the Visitor Center which is located in Federation Square and it's just amazing there! It's huge, there's a lot of information about the city and region and the people are super friendly and seem genuinely happy to help you. I loved that about Australia.
We tried to buy a ticket to see a musical broadway which was showing, but we couldn't get it again because it was already sold out. At some point, when our legs were already very tired, we took the electric tram to get closer to our destination for the night: the CROWN CASINO.
A night at the casino
We crossed a bridge with an umbrella that was almost blown away by the wind, but we thought everything was great. This Crown complex is amazing! It has a casino, a hotel, a shopping mall, many restaurants and best of all, it has an incredible view of the city, which at night was enchanting with all the lights.
The place is magical, but be careful! You think you're rich, with all the glamour you see...be careful!!!
We went straight to the casino and decided to play on the slot machines first. Bad choice. Then roulette and blackack…How lucky we were! We more than doubled our money (with great excitement!) and even became partners there, to earn 10 dollars to increase our fortune…lol. After the feeling of “we did it!”, we went to spend our money in a very fancy restaurant in the complex, which was participating in a seafood festival, the The Atlantic. What a great place! Celo ordered oysters as a starter (which he said were delicious) and for dinner, we ordered salmon and breaded fish. Everything was delicious (and for the price, right?)!!
We left there happy and satisfied and went straight to the hostel to rest! Oh, and we walked. We crossed the bridge and soon arrived, but there was one detail: no one on the streets. I admit it was scary. =(
3rd day – Tuesday (06/05/2012)
We woke up, we did the check out and we went to put our clothes in the hostel's laundry room to wash. Simple and cheap, just the way I like it! It was going to take half an hour to wash, so we decided to go down and have breakfast where our hostel had a discount. Time for delicious pancakes and updates on the Facebook for friends and family.
We went back and put our clothes in the dryers…another half hour. We took the opportunity to call the JUCY to see if everything was OK with our reservation. We asked if we could make a upgrade in our campervan We had to wait for a heater (after the tragic experience in Christchurch), but they told us that they didn’t work with cars with heaters in Australia. I almost had a fit… I panicked that I would be cold again. I tried to explain to the lady about what had happened in NZ, but she reassured me by saying that Australia was warmer than NZ. Phew! We chatted a bit with the receptionists about our trip to the Great Ocean Road, Phillip Island and Yarra Valley and were very excited about what we heard. We hung out on the hostel terrace and when it was almost time to take our clothes out of the dryer, we went back to the laundry room. We put our clothes in our backpacks and took them to Flinders Street Station, from where we caught a train that dropped us off very close to Jucy’s office.
We were a little disappointed with the size and comfort of their office, since we had used the NZ offices as a reference, which are very nice. But...it was not time to worry about that. We took our campervan (smaller than the one in NZ) and we were guided by the blessed GPS to the road towards the beautiful attraction on the road: 12 Apostles.
The road is excellent, as expected. We stopped at Torquay, a cute little town to have lunch and stretch your legs a bit. We had lunch at a family restaurant very close to Woolworths supermarket and then stopped at the supermarket to buy snacks and meals to make in campervan during the trip. Since things were expensive…the cheapest package of sliced bread I had: R$9, the tube of mayonnaise: R$7 (small). The best purchase was a 1000-piece puzzle (that's right!) for AUS$3. We even put it together in Brazil! =D
On the road to the 12 Apostles
We left the small town and went straight to the city where the 12 Apostles. We wanted to see the sunset from there, but since the road was BEAUTIFUL we made sure to enjoy it calmly, with all its curves and the well-designed cliff. We realized that we had a long way to go and when we realized that we wouldn't be able to make it in time for the sunset, we were very frustrated. The sunset there is highly praised.
As night fell, I began to search for Holiday Parks in the guide that Jucy gave us and I found one in Peterborough, city a little after Port Campbell, where the 12 apostles are. We went straight there and were shocked by how pitch black it was. Again, only our campervan parked and a house right at the entrance of holiday park, from where the owner came out to welcome us. We cooked our dinner and went to sleep with all the silence around us. It was low season after all…
4th day – Wednesday (06/06/2012)
London Arch and Loch Ard Gorge
We woke up and went to see the 12 apostles, discouraged by the cloudy weather. On the way, we stopped at a viewpoint with really cool rocks and then at London Arch, a really cool stone bridge that has been shaped by the wind. We continued on and stopped at Loch Ard Gorge, which is a very interesting rock formation.
12 Apostles
Swe left there and went to, finally, the 12 Apostles. We parked the car in the designated parking lot and paid our entrance fees to walk around the area. We walked along the path and were able to see the rocks in the sea, which are beautiful. They are also being shaped by erosion, so as time goes by, there will be fewer and fewer of them. =/ I found it quite interesting, but because of the cloudy weather, I confess that I didn't think it was anything special. Maybe I'll have to go back to improve my impressions of Melbourne and the surrounding area.
Our near miss
We left there and in the middle of the road, we came across a nearly empty gas tank. We even stopped in a small town nearby, but we found the price very expensive (almost double the normal price) and after doing our calculations, we decided to continue on to the largest city, Apollo Bay. However, we hadn't counted on hills, so we panicked. The reserve light came on and we were very afraid of getting stuck on the road. Detail: in addition to having to call Jucy and wait for someone to rescue us, we would have to pay a fine for running out of fuel. Given that everything in Australia is expensive, I was even more desperate about the possible amount of this fine.
My very mischievous boyfriend decided to play with the automatic car and kept putting it in “neutral” when we were going downhill, thinking that would save fuel. After doing this for a while, the car turned off halfway downhill and we lost our brakes. Total panic. I thought at the time that we were going to go downhill and crash, but thank God, Celo managed to stop the car on the shoulder and we were relieved. After a while, we tried to start the car and it worked! What a relief, you see… it started and drove, which meant to us that the fuel was still there. We drove slowly, without playing with the automatic gear and luckily we managed to get to Apollo Bay, where we soon went to the gas station. Phew!
Ferry Boat to Sorrento
We filled the tank and continued on the road, until Queenscliff. From there we took the last ferry boat (oh lucky!) until Sorrento. What a delightful ride… The ferry boat It's beautiful, very modern, and does justice to the price charged (AUS$69 for the car and the two of us). Take a look:
Sorrento
We arrived in Sorrento and we looked for hotels and Holiday parks, but we couldn't find anything open, because of the time. We had the brilliant idea of looking for GPS (that's right!) and found one that was still working. We called there to confirm if we could still do it. check-in and thank God they said yes. We were very well received by a lady and her beautiful cat, who showed us all the facilities and gave us the key to the gate. We needed to eat something without having to make too much effort, so we drove through the city and stopped at Subway, which went down really well. We went back to our little corner and got ready for bed. It was a tiring and stressful day.
5th day – Thursday (06/07/2012)
We woke up, took a shower, ate breakfast in our campervan and we set off towards Phillip Island.
Moonlit Sanctuary
We drove a little and stopped at Moonlit Sanctuary, highly recommended by some people we spoke to. This sanctuary is a kind of open zoo, with animals that are somewhat free-range (except for the dangerous ones) and where you can interact with them a lot. As soon as we entered, the lady explained to us that we could feed the kangaroos, so we bought some bags of food for them. We went straight to see them!
We soon came across 3 beautiful kangaroos, very well cared for and happy, very different from what we saw in Sydney. Hallelujah! That was exactly what we wanted to see: them hopping around, just like in the cartoons and documentaries we've seen. We approached carefully, because we were warned that they were skittish, and we managed to get really close to them. We crouched down with food and camera in hand (not on the same person...lol) and soon a lively one jumped up to us, interested in the food, of course. What a wonderful feeling it was to feed them...we were so excited! We spent some time there enjoying this incredible contact with them, until we realized that we had to see the other animals.
We walked a little and saw many wallabies jumping and walking freely. These are also marsupials and the best way to describe them, in my opinion, is to say that they are much more charming mini kangaroos. Kangaroos are a bit clumsy, I think, and these mini ones are more cute. I found them very cute. We spent a lot of time feeding them too, often 3 or 4 at a time. How hungry they are… lol.
We left their region and found a wombat solitary, which is a cute little animal, although very dangerous (at least that's what the sign said). Then we found a Tasmanian Devil lonely too, that the sign was very explanatory: “There’s no point in running, swimming or climbing trees. I can do everything much better than you.” Tense, right? We found dingoes also, which are the typical wild dogs of Australia. One was even one-eyed, poor thing…
Then, if not the best part, but one of them, was the delightful contact with a very, very, very cute koala. I almost cried with emotion when I was so close to him. In the state of Victoria, unfortunately for us and fortunately for koalas, it is not possible to hold them, only to pet them. I paid a lot of money for this, but I must say it was worth every penny! These animals are truly incredible!!! They only eat eucalyptus, sleep 18 hours a day and have fur that would make any cat or dog fed the most expensive food on the market jealous. Simply divine! =D
We spent a few minutes petting the koala, took lots of photos and were soon kicked out of the garden because there were some people in line who wanted to do the same. We went back to play with the kangaroos and said goodbye to the Tasmanian devil too. I highly recommend this sanctuary!! It is incredibly organized and the animals are beautiful. We left there happy!
Seeing penguins on Philip Island
We continued on the road towards the park where you can take the excursion to see the arrival of thousands of little penguins. We were very excited and since we couldn't find anywhere open to eat and we didn't have the tickets for the excursion, we decided to go to the place where the excursions leave from.
We got there and took the opportunity to have lunch. (fish and chips, as always), because we were so hungry. Then we went to the ticket office and bought the ticket. Ultimate Penguin Tour, which was the most expensive excursion, but in return, we would be next to the penguins (right on the sand), when they came back from the sea at night. It was worth every penny!
First, we were called into a small room, where our guide explained the tour and the history of the place. Some time ago, man brought foxes to the region and today they are the biggest threat to the penguins. Hunting the few foxes that still exist on the island is completely legal. The thing is, this island is not really an island, that is, you can get there by car. So what they did, to protect the penguins, was to remove all the houses and residents from the region and leave the place only for the penguins to build their nests (and for tourists to visit this migration phenomenon). Cars, domestic animals and other factors were responsible for a large drop in the number of penguins of this species that visit the island, so it was only fair to expel all these people to save them. This is beautiful, right?
Well, the explanation of the excursion is as follows: We wear windproof clothing (because it is very windy!!), we use flashlights and binoculars for the night and we take portable chairs to set up on the sand, when it is time to watch the penguins arrive from the sea.
We left there in one of their cars, which took us to see where the people who paid to sit in the stands (cheaper) are staying. Then they dropped us off on the other side of the island, where we walked to a strategic area on the sand. We sat down and waited for the penguins to arrive. In a matter of 10 minutes, they began to emerge from the sea and walk to their nests, built in the sand or in the vegetation very close to the sand. It was really cool to see them up close, in that darkness, with all the special equipment they gave us. We couldn't make any noise or make any sudden movements so as not to scare them, so we spent practically an hour frozen watching this beautiful thing happen. WE LOVED IT!!! Their movements, the sounds, the darkness, the wind...the whole experience was incredible. I highly recommend it!! It's a shame you can't take pictures without them. flash or record the sounds of the little ones...you have to go there to understand. I only managed to take a few photos of the view.
We left the sand and on the way to the house, we came across some penguins going to their nests. We also heard many sounds, which according to our guide, ranged from mating sounds to fights between them. We were walking with our flashlights and it was so dark, with so much noise... I thought it was amazing!
Yarra Valley
We got back on the road and drove to Yarra Glen, because we had scheduled our balloon ride for the next day, at 5 am. That's right... really early. After a few hours on the road, we arrived in the city, but it was pitch black. We started calling some hotels that were in our guidebook, but none of them answered us, maybe because of the time. We found one on the way and decided to take a chance, driving in. We were greeted by a sleepy old man, who welcomed us very well. We even paid him more, because we ordered whatever food he had at the hotel. I was so hungry! Both the room and the dinner were great. We slept very well, but it was a shame that it was only for a few hours because of the tour.
6th day – Friday (06/08/2012)
We woke up at 4:30 am, got ready quickly and ran to the winery where our balloon tour would depart from, from the company Global Ballooning. We arrived 5 minutes late, but the whole group waited for us, phew!! We went to the company car, which was carrying our balloon in its back.
Our balloon ride
A large picnic basket and all the balloon paraphernalia were loaded into a flatbed pulled by our car. We drove for a few minutes and stopped at a location, along with other competing companies, to release a helium balloon with a red flare. The tour guide watched the direction and intensity of the wind, as did the other guides. After some small talk, he got back in the car and drove to another location.
Then he stopped and asked us to get off because the adventure was about to begin. Wow!
Around 6am, everyone had to help assemble the balloon, which consisted of: taking it out of the back of the car, unrolling the balloon fabric, holding the ropes, waiting for the balloon pilot to inflate it...etc. In this process, I confess that I didn't help much. I was sleepy and wanted to record the moment, so I stayed a little away, making videos and taking pictures of everyone. Poor Celo...lol
After almost 1 hour of assembly, we were ready to fly. The pilot told us to get in, one at a time, but quickly, so that we wouldn't run the risk of the balloon taking off without anyone. We did so, and in less than 5 minutes, we were already very high up. Very high indeed... it's scary how fast the balloon goes up.
I have to say that it was scary. The place where we stood, with 8 other people, is a large wooden picnic basket and it looks like it's going to fall apart (I'm the only one who thought of that, I think). The people who were right under the little place where the fire is lit had their hair burned (don't forget to bring a hat) lol. Luckily I was on the side and didn't have many problems.
Well, the view from there is incredible… A cute little town below, with really cool houses and after a while, wineries and farms. Too bad the weather was cloudy. I imagine it would be much better with sun! =D
After a pleasant 40-minute flight, we started to get ready to descend. However, we encountered unexpected winds and some trees and cows that prevented us from landing where we wanted. We spent more than half an hour trying to land in a safe place, which was very exciting and frustrating, especially because the guide said that at some point the gas would run out. I was nervous, of course.
We followed the car with the bucket carrying the dismantled balloon from above. It followed us on the ground throughout the landing process. As soon as we landed, we had to dismantle it completely and put it in the car, so that the next flight could be made.
We continued with the tour car to the winery, where we toasted with champagne and we had a wonderful breakfast. Also…we were really hungry, since we woke up at 4:30 in the morning.
Skiing at Mount Baw Baw
After breakfast, we decided to go to the Mount Baw Baw, to ski. It would be a few hours on the road, but we weren't tired, so we thought it would be cool. We kept going, going, going... until we came across signs in the middle of the road, almost reaching Mount Baw Baw, saying that the use of chains on the wheels of cars was mandatory. We panicked, because we didn't have any chains on our wheels. campervan (we should have asked) and the places that said they sold them were closed. The fine if we were caught by the police without chains was a few thousand Australian dollars. We thought it wasn't worth the risk and decided to go back, very frustrated.
Getting to know the wineries
We arrived after a few hours in Yarra Glen and went to visit the wineries. We visited the Graeme Miller, a smaller, family-run winery and Balgownie Estate, bigger and more chic. In both, we tasted the wines and bought the ones we liked the most after being well attended to. We left the last winery and went to Healesville, a city bigger than Yarra Glen, looking for a nice place to eat. We stopped at a really cool, rustic pizzeria, which I can't remember the name of at all. We were very well looked after and served. We even asked for recommendations for cheap hotels to stay at. We received a list of recommendations and after calling and visiting a few, we stopped at a motel right on the road, which was very affordable and very cozy. We slept very well =D
7th day – Saturday (06/09/2012)
We woke up relatively early, had an improvised breakfast and hit the road towards Melbourne, because we had to deliver the campervan until 12pm so we wouldn't have to pay any fines. We drove calmly and just before arriving in Melbourne, we got stuck in traffic. We were a little worried, but everything went well...we arrived at the store 15 minutes before 12pm. We packed our things and left the car in perfect condition for delivery.
From there, with our backpacks on our backs, we took the train to the area of our old hostel and casino. We got there and tried to leave our backpacks in the locker, but they didn't let us because we weren't staying there anymore. We asked about transportation to Avalon Airport, which is in another city, since our flight to Brisbane was at 10pm that day. We found out that the bus that goes to that airport wasn't running that day (I don't remember exactly why) and that a taxi to get there would cost between AUS$100 and AUS$150, which was out of the question. The hostel receptionist told us about a daily train that goes there and from locker at the train station, where we could leave our things.
We left the hostel and went straight to the train station, because we couldn't wait to get rid of our heavy backpacks. We bought the train ticket and then rented the lockers Once we were free, we went straight to the casino to kill time until our train, which was at 6:40 p.m. We got there and after a few games of roulette and blackjack, we won AUS$150! We felt sooo rich =D
We decided to spend a good part of that money eating a seafood feast, offered at the restaurant inside the casino itself. We ate very well!!!
We left the restaurant and went back to the game. We almost missed the train because of our excitement with the roulette. We left the casino at 6:25 pm (ten minutes later than planned) and by some miracle, we managed to get to the train station, pick up our bags and get on the train. It took about 2 minutes for the little thing to leave. (NOTE: I never want to go through that again!)
We arrived right at the train station near the airport and from there we took a taxi. We did the check in and we were left to languish in the departure lounge. We had time to have dinner, play on the naughty machines (because we only lost money) and to enter the Internet to give our friends and family the news. Our flight to Brisbane left on time and we slept like logs the whole way.
To learn more about the rest of the trip, see this post.
All posts from this trip
- Summary of 30 days in Australia and New Zealand
- Itinerary – Sydney and Blue Mountains (5 days)
- Itinerary – Auckland, Waitomo and Rotorua (3 and a half days)
- Itinerary – Christchurch, Arthur's Pass, Franz Josef and Fox Glacier (4 days)
- Itinerary – Queenstown and Milford Sound (4 days)
- Itinerary – Melbourne, Great Ocean Road, Philip Island and Yarra Valley (7 days)
- Itinerary – Brisbane, Surfers Paradise and Gold Coast (5 days)
- Itinerary – Alice Springs (Australian outback) (5 days)
