Hello everybody! I am back! If you’re following along my Instagram, you’d have known that I was in Melbourne with my love last week and it was beyond amazing. I’ve left my heart in Melbourne, and am feeling a little lost now that I’m back. I texted my dad that I was so sad to be back and he dispensed the good ‘ol wise, cliche saying of…’all good things need to come to an end.’ What a bummer. Haha.
The highlight of the trip was definitely the road trip along the Great Ocean Road. I’m usually a city kinda girl and it was my first time doing a road trip. So glad that we did it! There were so many amazing ‘firsts’ throughout the 4 days that we were on the roads. I spent quite a lot of time before we left to plan for the route, where to stay and options on what to do along the way. The itinerary looked like this:
Day 1:
Melbourne to Phillip Island
Day 2:
Phillip Island to Mornington Peninsula to Aireys Inlet (via car ferry from Sorrento to Queenscliff)
Day 3:
Aireys Inlet to Lorne to Apollo Bay
Day 4:
Apollo Bay to Twelve Apostles and back to Melbourne
Major highlights along the way:
Our bed & breakfast at Phillip Island. It was my first time staying at a B&B and this was a complete stunner. The room was a separate studio from the main house and the ceiling to floor glass doors provided an amazing view of the ocean. I didn’t want to leave the next day.
Amazing food at a pub at Aireys Inlet. Everything was closed by the time we got in to Aireys Inlet so our host at the B&B pointed us to the pub. We weren’t expecting much from pub food and just wanted to fill our tummies for the night but were completely blown away when our food was served. Best pasta and pork ribs we’ve ever had.
This picture is not mine, but I saw a koala chilling on the side of the Great Ocean Road as we were making our way to Apollo Bay. We couldn’t stop in time for a picture and it looked like there were people about to help him back to where he belongs, so we just admired his cuteness from the car as we drove past. We also saw wild kangaroos along the way and one guy was hanging outside out B&B at Phillip Island! But they hop away really quick once they hear you, so I didn’t get a chance to get up close to them at all. It was still amazing spotting them from afar though. Koalas and kangaroos are so cute!
Climbing the rocks at Erskine Falls. We tried as much as possible at all our stops to go beyond the tourist look outs and explore slightly more unchartered areas, something different. It was all so worth it. We managed to get closer to the attractions and were rewarded by even more stunning views.
The breathtaking scenery along the way. Morning, noon or night, it was so picturesque everywhere. It was clear blue skies, sprawling wide open spaces, rolling hills or deep blue oceans everywhere we went; with every option equally wonderful. It left the city girl in me so awestruck and I was constantly going, ‘WOW’.
Last but not least, the ring. You may have seen this post on Instagram already: “He woke me up while I was sleeping on our road trip and made me get out of the car. That’s when he got down on one knee and said, ‘I’ve made you wait too long for this’…and put this ring on my finger. :)” Definitely the cherry on top of an already very amazing road trip.
This road trip is definitely going into the memory book to be stored forever. I want to remember every single detail and I’ll be blogging about our daily adventures in the upcoming posts.
If you’ve got unique personal experiences overseas too, why not share it with @TravelMadeDifferent! The team has an ongoing instagram contest to celebrate all travel experiences ‘Same Same But Different’ (#SSBD). You may have ventured pass your comfort zone and embarked on a camping trip, even though you’re a city girl at heart (like me!). Or you may have decided to be extra adventurous in filling your tummy by trying out exotic local food like ballot or fried maggots. We want to hear what made your travel different. And just by sharing, 40 lucky winners with great pictures and captions stand to win a $100 shopping voucher!
Here’s how to take part:
1) Follow @TravelMadeDifferent on Instagram
2) Post a photo/video on Instagram of your ‘Same Same But Different’ travel experiences
3) Write an awesome caption about your photo/video and include these hashtags:
#TravelMadeDifferent #SSBD #country
Contest ends 31st December 2014, so do send in your entries before then. I’ll go look! Oh, and don’t forget that your Instagram account needs to be public for your post to be seen.
-xoxo-
xoxojeneen.com 