Melbourne Autumn Trip 2019 – Summary

Please be ready for an extremely long post that will capture the 10 days journey at magnificent Melbourne filled with activities and of course food+wine. It has been a great and eye opening trip, albeit the chilly weather which I am truly unprepared for (below 8 degree with strong winds is no joke).

So right off from the beginning, I thought that it could be a daunting task in planning an itinerary for 7 pax that include one baby (6 months plus old) and one senior citizen (60 plus years old). Turned out, it was quite a breeze in this age of internet. Behold, all the apps that you would need:

• AirAsia (for flight ticket, boarding pass, extras)
• Airbnb (for Zzzz of course)
• Klook (for discounts)
• Google Map (for navigation)
• Google Trips (for research & suggestions)
• Uber (for lazy people who don’t want to walk)
• Bonus app: Willy Weather (for Aussie only – to get accurate weather forecast)

On top of that, I broke down my trip into 3 days of exploring outer Melbourne and 6 days of city exploring. In addition, our Airbnb was purposely chosen to be at Central Business District (CBD) to take advantage of the free tram zone and the proximity to the infamous Queen Victoria Market.

First, a happy group photo of us enjoying the view at the renowned wine region of Yarra Valley.

Another thing that made an impression in me was the churches and cathedrals at Melbourne that reflect the 19th century history. Many have the English Gothic styles and exhibit striking designs and architecture. Above is the beautiful St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Our Airbnb for our 10 days Melbourne trip is strategically situated on Elizabeth Street, Central Business District (CBD). Popular tourist spots such as Queen Victoria Market (QVM), Flinder Street Station, Melbourne Chinatown, Federation Square, Hosier Lane and State Library Victoria are just a few minutes of walking distance or can be reached by taking tram (within free tram zone) from the nearby station.

The above photos enough to summarize my 10 days life at Melbourne – wines and chips everyday, my ‘eat first, think later’ life is good! ＼(^ω^＼)

Queen Victoria Market (QVM)

QVM is Melbourne’s iconic marketplace which has been serving the people of Melbourne for more than 140 years. The Market is open every day of the week except Mondays and Wednesdays. Home to over 600 small businesses, QVM offers both local and international visitors a variety of fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood, delicatessen foods as well as specialty delicacies. It also has a large non-food related market, selling a diverse range of clothing, shoes, jewellery, flowers, souvenirs, books, toys, beauty and health products, kitchen ware, gift and stationery as well as handmade arts and crafts.

Busking performances are common sight at QVM.

Sumptuous seafood dinner prepared by me and my sis – we couldn’t resist the temptation of those fresh and beautiful produces from the QVM. It’s not a bad option if you’re on a tight travelling budget.

In this trip, we only rent car for 3 days which we went for road trip to Philip Island, Great Ocean Road and winery visit at Yarra Valley. We got a pretty good deal from East Coast Car Rentals – AU$ 270+ for a Hyundai iMax 8 seater van + baby seat + fee of adding second driver.

Philip Island – Koala Reserve

The first stop of our Philip Island excursion was Koala Reserve. There are two tree top boardwalks in the park – Tree Top Koala Boardwalk and Tree Top Woodland Boardwalk which offers  ‘face-to-face’ opportunities with koalas, wallabies, echidnas and colourful native birds. But we only managed to see some “lazy” koalas hugging the tree as well as a few wallabies hopping around the grounds. Visitors also can enjoy some educational displays in the indoor visitor centre.

Philip Island – Antarctic Journey

Next stop was Antarctic Journey which provides a hands-on fun and interactive experiences such as feeling the freeze in the Antarctic Chill Zone and comparing a penguin’s thermal image with ours own. The multimedia installation in the centre showcases some captivating landscapes and stunning wildlifes along the journey from Phillip Island through to Antarctica.

We had our lunch at the cafe attached in Antarctic Journey with spectacular view of the ocean.

Amazing view outside the centre.

Philip Island – Penguin Parade

Definitely the highlight of Phillip Island’s trip! We were seated at the Penguins Plus viewing platform and waited for approximately one hour to watch the world’s smallest penguin arrived and waddled across the beach to their sand dune burrows. The accompanied strong wind and rain very much explained my miserably face. (=｀.´=)

Our dinner was a delicious Vietnamese food at Richmond, hot soup noodles was what I needed after being “tortured” by the extreme cold weather. (⋟﹏⋞)

The next day, we departed as early as 4.00am for our 500km drive (from Melbourne and return) of Great Ocean Road road trip.

Great Ocean Road – Memorial Arch

After two hours of driving, we reached our first stop of Memorial Arch where you can see the Great Ocean Road Sign and Memorial Arch Statue. It’s drizzled so we didn’t walk to the statue.

Great Ocean Road – Lorne

We stopped by Lorne for breakfast and enjoyed the warmth of fireplace in the cafe.

Great Ocean Road – Teddy’s Lookout

The breath taking coastal views of the surf breaking into the mouth of the Saint George River at Teddy’s Lookout.

We continued our journey and spotted a huge rainbow over the ocean. ✿♥‿♥✿

Great Ocean Road – Apollo Bay

Apollo Bay – a relaxing little town with long beach, shops and cafes.

Delicious scallop pie and apple crumble pie we got from Apollo Bay Bakery.

Great Ocean Road – Maits Rest Rainforest Walk

Giant rainforest trees at Maits Rest Rainforest Walk in Otways.

Great Ocean Road – Gibsons Steps

First sightseeing stopoff in Port Campbell National Park for travellers heading West along the Great Ocean Road. The 88 steps cut into the limestone cliff face with stunning views towards two of the famous rock stacks of the 12 Apostles. But the steps was closed that day due to high tides.

Great Ocean Road – Twelve Apostles

Magnificent rock stacks that rise up majestically from the Southern Ocean on Victoria’s dramatic coastline. Extremely strong wind here and I have to grab my handphone tightly to avoid it being blown away. Since it’s a must see place for tourists, this place is perpetually thronged by visitors, so you need a lil skill to get a good spot to get that perfect photo of these remaining 7 apostles.

Crazy winds VS Crazy woman (;￣ー￣川

Great Ocean Road – Loch Ard Gorge

Named after one of the most famous shipwrecks of the Loch Ard, wrecked here in 1878 when it struck Mutton Bird Island located just offshore. Of the 54 passengers on board, only 2 survived. There is a set of stairs that lead to the protected beach enclosed by two cliffs leading out to the ocean but it’s quite impossible and unsafe to do so during stormy weather at this season (late autumn/early winter).

Great Ocean Road – Razorback

It’s another rock formation that one can view when visiting the Loch Ard Gorge.

Great Ocean Road – The Arch

Great Ocean Road – London Bridge

This marked the end of our Great Ocean Road excursion but there are actually two more stopping points which we didn’t stop by. (The Grotto and Bay of Islands Track, Peterborough)

The picturesque scenery along the journey when heading back to Melbourne. #windowswallpaper

Dinner at Mr. Wolf at St. Kilda

Domaine Chandon

The spectacular scenery of endless rows of vines against a bright blue sky.

An itinerary that a wine lover insisted to put in ƪ(♥ﻬ♥)ʃ

Wine tasting

Expensive Lovely lunch at the winery.

Hosier Lane

You’ve probably already seen tons of photos of Hosier Lane, Melbourne’s most iconic street art lane way and is one of the main tourist attractions in Melbourne.

We also bought a 48-hour passes for Hop-On Hop-Off Melbourne Bus Tour with two routes – City Route & St. Kilda Route.

Brighton Beach

The colourful bathing boxes are the highlight of this beach, there are total of 82 distinctive bathing boxes.

Full and satisfying dinner at Chinatown Melbourne.

Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium 

Houses more than 10,000 sea creatures found from across the globe includes the largest Saltwater Crocodiles in the world, King Penguins, Fiddler Rays, Port Jackson Shark and many more.

Crown Casino

We didn’t gamble, just went in to take a look. There is a food court with wide variety choices of food, restaurants, retail shops, hotels, cinemas and nightclubs at Crown Melbourne.

Sam and mom fed the seagulls and pigeons by the Southbank of Yarra River, outside Crown Casino.

Fritzroy

Had breakfast at this trendy suburb of Melbourne filled with painted alleys and laneways.

Fritzroy – Lune Croissanterie

Bumped into Lune Croissanterie when we walked around the neighborhood.

It’s said to be the world’s best croissant, price definitely not cheap, guess how much for this box of croissants and cruffins? AU$45 = RM150!!!! (ʘᗩʘ’)

Old Melbourne Gaol

We took the tour to Old Melbourne Gaol and the City Watch House. An extraordinary experience indeed.

Quick caffeine fix at Brother Baba Budan – One of the best coffee places In Melbourne’s CBD.

Eat-All-You-Can steamboat dinner at Chinatown Melbourne, burpss…….

Collingwood Children’s Farm

5km from the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, Collingwood Children’s Farm is a not-for-profit, inner city farm situated on the Yarra River.

We were glad that we managed to meet two friends and their family during our Melbourne trip. Thank you for bringing us around and it was a truly pleasant catch up session with you guys, see you all again in Malaysia soon!

That’s all for the summary of my 10D9N Melbourne trip and I’ll blog about each and every places in detail, so stay tune!

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