Melbourne, Great Ocean Road & Rugby Grand Final

(written by: Britta, 12.10.18, Newcastle)

In the last week of September and the first week of October, we had semester break. For the first week, we planned a trip to Melbourne to explore the city and take a road trip along the famous Great Ocean Road.

On September 25th, we flew from Sydney to Melbourne.

After arriving at the hostel, our first stop was the Skydeck observation deck on the 88th floor of the Eureka Tower.

Here, we not only enjoyed a wonderful view of Melbourne and the sunset, but also walked outside on a plank and jumped off the tower with a virtual reality (VR) headset. It was so realistic that I was too scared to make the "jump" and took off the headset instead...

Afterwards, we went to the Southbank district for a walk along the river and to admire the skyline of Melbourne.

On the next day, we went on a city tour with the organization "I am free," which we had already done in Sydney. They showed us the most beautiful and interesting places in Melbourne from the perspective of a student who was born and raised in Melbourne. Melbourne is a very beautiful city with many interesting places and narrow streets. It is less spectacular than Sydney but we found it more relaxing and perhaps more livable. One special feature of Melbourne is the public transportation system, which includes trams, but no underground or suburban trains.

Afterwards, we enjoyed the beautiful weather by the river and in the botanical garden. Then, we took a tram to the St. Kilda district to visit the free-roaming Australian penguins there.

After checking out the next day, we picked up our rental car. With Aaron and Stefan as responsible co-pilots, making sure I stayed on the correct side of the road (which is the left side here), we got used to driving on the left after a while. However, confusing the turn signal with the windshield wiper lever caused some funny moments during the trip.

From Melbourne, we drove to the Great Ocean Road, and our first stop after about 1.5 hours was the beach in Torquay, where the road officially begins.

Then, Stefan took over the driving, and after less than 5 minutes, we were waved aside for a police control. Fortunately, no excessive alcohol consumption was detected, so we could continue our journey.

Along the way, we encountered beautiful beaches and rock formations, including Bells Beach, Eastern View, Lorne Beach, Teddy's Lookout, Kennett River (where we spotted wild koalas), and finally Apollo Bay, where we stayed for one night in a hostel.

The next day, our journey continued to Cape Otway, which is home to the southernmost lighthouse in Australia, and then to the coastline where the famous "12 Apostles" and many other rock formations, beaches, and lookout points stretch along. Despite a rainy day, the views were beautiful, and even though one of us got tired of the rocks at some point, we visited several different destinations.

Back in Melbourne, we drove through the city center to our hostel, where we spent some time in the bar playing billiards and doing some networking.

The next morning, we went straight to the airport. After returning the rental car, we took a one-hour flight back to Sydney.

In Sydney, our English classmate Megan was already waiting for us, and we watched the final of the Australian Rugby League together. After a quick refreshment at the hostel, we headed to the stadium.

There was a great atmosphere both inside and outside the stadium. While Megan and I enjoyed all the pre-game activities, the guys watched the game calmly.

Even though we didn't know much about the sport and its rules, and Megan's favorite team (Melbourne Storm) didn't win, we had a great evening.

While the guys headed back, Megan and I tried to meet the players outside the stadium, but unfortunately without success. So, a little later, we made our way back to the hostel and went to a pub afterwards.

The next day, after breakfast in the city, we spent some time at Bondi Beach.

Afterwards, Megan and the guys went home before me, as I had a meeting in Sydney. Coincidentally, one of my former apprentices happened to be in Sydney at the same time, so we met up before I made my way back home.