Recollection: 2nd Day In Melbourne

Sorry it took me more than 3 months to continue from where I left.

So my 2nd day in Melbourne was doing a tour of Great Ocean Road. My main agenda of this trip was to visit the Twelve Apostles. Cos 1) it is a natural phenomenon, and 2) just like every other natural phenomenon, it will soon disappear.

My mistake about touring in Melbourne.... buying through a travel agency in Singapore.

Here's the thing about Melbourne tour buses. You can hire their services on the day itself. Just walk down to the Federation Square and you would see four counters: APT tour, Grayline, ATT Kings and Mebourne's Best Day Tours. This is also their main pick up point. Otherwise you can just hire them from your hotel. But I don't know how they charge though.

So back to my GREAT OCEAN TOUR!

They picked us up from our Hotel. From there, we had to transfer to a bigger double decker bus. Here's a tip, sit on the left of the bus. Because that's where all the scenery is. But by the time I got on the bus, the left side was full. :(:(:(

Ok photo vomit time!

The tour bus pick up point is just opposite of this theater.

The 4 counters at Federation Square.

My brother getting his playlist ready for the long ass journey!

The interior of the double decker. 1st floor.

View from the top of the double decker.

The tour package comes with billy tea, lamington cake and VEGEMITE! First taste of that thing was quite ok. Second try.... erm... Holyshit batman! What did I just swallowed?! Lol. Thank god for lamington and the tea cos it helped to rid the acquired taste. hahaha!

My brother standing along the Anglesea Riverbank.

Me! Its the first day of spring BTW. And I am freezing!!!

Not sure if the depth is deeper than it looks. But the water is so crystal clear I am jealous! Why don't we have this in Singapore?!?!?!!!

Angelsea is a small community.

Learn from my mistake. Sit on the left side of the bus. At the next stop, I sat downstairs instead. Which is still not as bad. But I would prefer if its at the top AND ON THE LEFT.

The start of the Great Ocean Road. 

My brother and I. First photo of us together. Awwww..... 

At our 2nd stop on the Great Ocean Road: Memorial Arch - Eastern View.

Our 2nd photo together. Awwwww.......

How do I look? Cool right? Lol.

Relying solely on the tour guide for information (hahaha, I didn't do my homework cos I didn't expect it has a history behind it), who is also our driver btw (I don't know how they actually concentrate on the road!!?!!), I was told that the Great Ocean Road was built by the army men who returned from the war. Many died and hence they built this memorial in their honour.

Lost count of how many photo stops we made. Btw we saw two whales during our journey to Apollo Bay. And we also passed by Koala Bears in the wild! That was interesting.

I think this was the spot where we saw the whales.

Apollo Bay is actually a small town. We had our lunch at a small Bed & Breakfast. It is actually included in our package. But I would not suggest eating at this place. Their vegetarian meal is stone cold. Anyway, if I do come back to Melbourne, I would definitely stay overnight here. The Great Ocean Road tour is no joke man. The journey is super long. So breaking them up into two parts is recommended.

Boarding the bus for our next stop: The Twelve Apostles!

A really nice view. Something I only used to see on tv commercial, "So where the bloody hell are you?" -- I think..... lol.

A magnificent view deserves a second serving. Lol.

Waves crashing into the limestone. Actually, this can be seen throughout Australia's coasts. But its there with The Twelve Apostles. So might as well just take a shot of it. Cos geography says, it will not look the same tomorrow. Who knows, one day this will become The Thirteenth Apostle. Lol. Ok, I'm rambling nonsense.

The long and winding boardwalk. 

I am jealous. This place serves as a reminder to tourists their country's beachside is not as awesome as Australia's. Hahahahaha!

Nearby The Twelve Apostle is the Gibson Steps. I believe this is where you go to see the Twelve Apostles from below.  

The Gibson Steps is about 80 steps. But if you think about it, its 160 both ways. So from this photo above, did you see this tiny crazy person waving her arms in the air? That's me. And the one who just walked down 80 steps, is my brother. The Australia tourism board should seriously consider installing an escalator here. Lol.

You know why there's growth on the rocks? Because there's a water source. Lol. There's actually a tiny water fall in between the cracks. Just imagine how old this water source must be.

The good thing about a tour like this is.... your itinerary is taken care of. The bad thing about it is... you will feel everything is rushed. For the Gibson Steps, we only had less than 20 mins to explore. Which is not much if you consider the distance you have to walk from the bus to the photography spot and back.

Which brings me......

We're here at the Loch Ard Gorge!

It was our 2nd last stop. And our bus driver had a schedule to stick to. We arrived quite late in the day, and we had to make our way to the city before 7pm. It was not my fault that we arrived late. So it was rather disappointing when the driver told us we only had 45 minutes to explore the area! There's three places to explore btw and each are nowhere close to one another. So I only manage to see the Loch Ard Gorge. I couldn't see what was left of the London Arch cos I don't have the bloody time! 

Since I felt like I am neither here nor there, I just said "fuck it" and went down the stairs. I am glad I did, otherwise this trip would be a waste of time.

Right after this photo was taken, a HUGE wave came crashing. And Ang Mohs started stripping into their undies and jumped into the sea. I wish I had brought along my bikini, then I can also join in the fun. Lololololol.

Dreading the climb back up.

While treking back, the Ang Mohs lining up to jump into the next wave.

Our last stop for the day.... Port Campbell.

Interesting signboard.

And.... Thats a Wrap!!!

It took me almost 2 hours to blog about this. I will blog about my 3rd day in Melbourne some other time. Btw, did you know 3 months after this trip, I actually went to Hong Kong? Lol! And this time, I did it DIY! Best trip ever! I'll try to do an entry on that too.

Till then......