After my three days in Cairns, I headed to my last stop in Australia, Melbourne. On this last stop, I was fortunate to stay with a new acquaintance that I have a mutual friend. This new friend welcomed me into her home for all three nights of my stay and took me out to some great restaurants that are local to the area. As an aside, Melbourne was by far my coldest stop on the trip since it is located the farthest south. Make sure you pack appropriately! I brought leggings/pants to wear every day and a heavy winter jacket for extended periods outdoors. I recommend gloves and a winter hat or a headband to keep warm as well.

Day 1: Exploring Downtown Melbourne

Today was all about exploring Melbourne’s downtown area. Luckily, there was a train station near where I was staying that made getting downtown very accessible. For context, I stayed in the Chadstone area and took the Blue Line into the city from Holmesglen Station. Note that you do need a Myki Pass to access the trains. The card costs $6 and you can expect additional fare charges after that. Pending what area you are staying in, this will correlate to how much your fare is. The daily fare maximum is $9 and the easiest option is to pay upfront. However, the tram in the downtown area is free which can help to reduce travel costs.

National Gallery of Victoria:

My first stop of the day was to the National Gallery of Victoria. I have talked many times about how art museums aren’t necessarily my favorite, but I was very impressed with this particular museum and thoroughly enjoyed it. The gallery is free to visit for general admission as well which is a nice feature. Many times, museums have additional exhibits where you can pay a small fee to see certain artists that are being featured. What I loved most about this museum is the variety of art. It had traditional items like photographs and paintings, but also unique areas like a section dedicated purely to fashion that displayed clothing from Christian Dior and how fashion has changed throughout the decades in Australia. I highly recommend stopping here on your visit if you have time!

Shrine of Remembrance:

Right across the street from the museum is a gorgeous structure called the Shrine of Remembrance. yh80[Dedicated to men and women who have served Australia during wartime periods and on peacekeeping missions, this shrine houses a serious amount of historical information. The Shrine is free to visit and walk around. The inside is filled with historical relics and gives you a sense of Australian pride in their rich history. You can also go up a few flights of stairs to the balcony of the shrine, which offers stunning views of downtown Melbourne. If you are really interested in Australian history, the museum offers paid guided tours each hour of the day for approximately $20.

Royal Botanical Gardens:

A quick walk from the shine is the Royal Botanical Gardens. Similar to Sydney, these gardens are filled with a variety of plants and sculptures that pique your interest every turn. From a tropical glasshouse to lakes filled with fountains along with rose and bamboo collections, this garden is the perfect place for a relaxing afternoon stroll. The gardens are completely free to visit and I spent about an hour walking around inspecting them. The Botanical Gardens do have guided tours you can join as well to get a more in-depth experience if that is of interest. Click HERE for more information on those tours.

Mural Hunting:

Melbourne has a major art scene. In my Scott’s Cheap Flights email subscription, they mentioned visiting the Melbourne murals. I saved each street in my Google Maps with a star, and then used it to guide me from street to street. After some research, here were the top spots to see some beautiful artwork!

• Hoiser Lane
• Tattersalls Lane
• Union Lane
• AC/DC Lane
• Duckboard Place

When I was walking around looking for murals, I also stumbled upon the Old Melbourne Gaol. This is an old jail that has been converted into a museum. The Gaol looked very enticing from the outside, but it was a $30 admission so I decided to pass. If you are interested in something more on the spooky end, I’d recommend visiting in the evening as the Gaol offers night tours as well.

Lunch at Brother Baba Budan:

After a morning full of walking and exploring the town, I decided it was time for an afternoon relaxation session. After some research, I discovered there is a Cat Cafe in this area which intrigued me (even though I am not a cat person).  The Cafe costs $15 to enter for an hour and you get a drink included within that cost. I eventually decided to look for another cafe where I could obtain a snack to nibble on. Brother Baba Budan filled me up with delicious hot cocoa and a pastry! This coffee shop has a really cute interior with a small bar area, perfect for reading my book and killing some time before my next stop.

Dinner at Mr. Miyagi:

After my day exploring, I meandered my way back downtown to catch the train towards the Windsor neighborhood to meet my friend for dinner. Mr. Miyagi was one of a kind dining experience. I first started off with a delicious Charli Dose Tokyo, a wonderful gin drink. For food, we ordered the salmon nori taco, tempura broccoli, schnitty bao bun, prawn and ginger dumplings, and the miyagi fried chicken. Each item is relatively small, so I recommend ordering multiple plates and sharing with whomever you are having dinner with. This was a splurge meal for the trip, but it was delicious and definitely worth the price!

Day 2: Hiking and Penguins

For my second day in Melbourne, I had originally planned to do more tourist-related activities. The friend I was staying with knew how much I loved being outdoors and recommended I go hiking at a local national park and see the penguins since they were in season. Her recommendations were spot on and I ended up having a fantastic day seeing wildlife!

Wilson’s Promontory National Park:

I slept in this morning until around 8 AM and then hit the road for a 2.5-3.0 hour drive to Wilson’s Promontory National Park. When arriving at the park, I knew I had limited time before my next activity so I wanted to use my time wisely among the following attractions. The best part of this national park experience is that it is completely free to visit!

Cotters Beach:

My first stop was a hike to Cotters Beach. This was the shortest trail I did today at around 1 mile equating to 20 minutes of walking. The beach, unfortunately, wasn’t anything spectacular, but the hike had many kangaroos, emus, and wombats in the area. I was lucky enough to see a kangaroo about 10 feet away from me! This was a very cool experience, but still a bit scary given you never know how wildlife can react to passerby hikers.

Fair Cove:

After the Cotters beach trail, I drove south for about 10 minutes to the Darby River Carpark. At this location, I decided to hike to Fairy Cove. A 1.75-mile moderate hike from the parking lot, Fairy Cove offers stunning mountain and ocean views. The Fairy Cove beach is relatively quiet, and its rocky alcoves offer a variety of wildlife. If you have extra time on your hands, I recommend going all the way out to Tongue Point. It took me approximately 1.5 hours to complete the roundtrip.

Big Drift:

After a 15-minute drive back towards the entrance of the park, you should look for the signs to Big Drift. When you park it will be at the Stockyard campsite, which is where the hike begins. It is around a 1-mile walk to the start of the dunes, which are incredibly impressive! The only other thing I can compare this site to is the dunes in coastal Oregon that we went to earlier this year. The dunes spread out for over a mile, but I only spent around 10-15 minutes exploring before I headed back. The Big Drift is a perfect last hike to do at Wilson’s Prom National Park.

Philips Island Penguin Parade

When my friend recommended seeing penguins live in person, I knew I had to seize the opportunity! Philips Island is around an hour and forty-five-minute drive from Wilsons Promontory National Park. Since the penguin parade began at sunset and we were in the wintertime, I arrived around 5 PM to get a good spot for penguin viewing. This experience costs $26.60 and you can’t take pictures/videos while the penguins are coming into their homes, but pictures are allowed afterward when walking around the island. I spent roughly an hour and a half exploring and watching the penguins, but I think you could easily spend more time. This is a great family-friendly activity as well if you have loved ones with you!

Day 3: The Great Ocean Road

My last day on my Australian adventure was spent exploring the Great Ocean Road, an adventure I have read about for many years prior. The Great Ocean Road is an iconic part of the Australian coastline that has always been on my list! I woke up at 6 AM to make the most of my drive to several iconic spots listed below! Note, the Great Ocean Road actually extends all the way to Torquay but I completed a stretch from Melbourne to Peterborough. This is an all-day commitment, so make sure you pack a large supply of snacks, lunch, and water! There are plenty of stops in the towns along the way, but by packing your own food you can save money by not eating out. These are all the places I decided to stop during my Great Ocean Road journey. For ease of navigation, I recommend saving each stop on Google Maps in order to stay on target.

Memorial Arch at Eastern View:

A great quick stop to learn about the history of The Great Ocean Road, Memorial Arch is a nice beach walk that doubles as a relaxing stroll.

Teddy’s Lookout:

After a quick drive through a quaint neighborhood straight uphill, you will arrive at the stunning point that is Teddy’s Lookout. There is great signage about the area and viewpoint as well that can provide some good historical information.

Kennett River Holiday Park:

When researching for this part of the trip, I came upon an article that said you can see wild koalas along The Great Ocean Road while passing through Kennett River Holiday Park. This was the one iconic Australian animal I hadn’t seen yet on my trip, so I made it a point to get here. The article was spot on – after taking a detour along a small side road, I saw multiple koalas lounging about and relaxing in the sun!

Cape Patton Lookout Point:

A quick stop on the drive offering stunning coastal views of a lush environment, I highly recommend Cape Patton if you have extra time to spare

Castle Cove:

I actually added Castle Cove as a last-minute addition on the day of my trip. A quick pull off from the highway with another stunning beach view, I learned at this stop that there is a trail called The Great Ocean Walk. Not only can you drive up to see some stunning views, but you can also make a hiking trip out of it as well! My husband wants us to go back in 2022 so he can take a motorcycle trip down this road, so perhaps I’ll hike it instead as a change-up!

Gibson Steps:

A stop of the road that leads down to some fantastic views of the surrounding area. There are 86 steps down to the beach, so make sure you are physically able (and willing) to make the trek down to the beach and back!

The Twelve Apostles Lookout:

Twelve Apostles Lookout is the most popular stop on the road by far and for good reason too. Look for parking on the right-hand side of the road. You will end up walking underneath the road to get to the viewpoints of these amazing structures. The area is set up well for tourists, so there is great signage about the history of the location and its evolution over time.

Loch Ard Gorge featuring The Razorback and Thunder Cave:

Loch Ard Gorge ended up being one of my favorite trails of the day. I spent over an hour at this location walking two separate trails and going down to see the gorge. This is a must-visit on your trip if you enjoy outdoor activities like hiking!

The Arch:

A quick walk from the car park, the Arch is a very cool geological structure and a good pit stop to take in some scenery and stretch your legs.

London Bridge:

Yes, the only thing you’ll have in your head while visiting is the song by Fergie. Two different viewpoints here at this stop and both equally jaw-dropping – I recommend stopping by and taking in Mother Nature!

The Grotto:

The last stop on my Great Ocean Road journey, visiting the Grotto was the perfect way to end the day. Peaceful and tranquil views with the water coming up from the ocean to fill in small pools, the Grotto is a very relaxing area and can help you forget about all the constant troubles in the world.

Driving through The Great Ocean Road was the perfect way to cap off my two weeks in Australia. The four-hour drive back to Melbourne really gave me time to reflect on this once in a lifetime trip and how lucky I was to experience it – Australia may be far away from the United States, but if you save early and plan accordingly, it is definitely doable and worth the life experience to make it out here!

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