Gold Coast & Melbourne [240513 - 020613]
Day 1 & 2 [240513 & 250513]
Took a night flight and reached Gold Coast early on sat.. The nice driver, Fred offered to drop us off at Mac and let us have our breakfast there on our way to the apartment! Mac was good.. Had a ham and cheese burger that isn't available here..
Our apartment wasn't ready when we reached, so we went to Harbour Town, the Outlet shopping place. Spent our afternoon there and bought back ingredients to prepare our dinner for the night. Our chef johnson did most of the preparation and cooking.. A simple and nice dinner :)
Our first apartment - Narrowneck Court at Surfers' Paradise. Apartment was big.. Interior was quite normal but our apartment has an amazing sea view!
Day 3 [260513]
Went to take photos at the beach first thing in the morning.. Australia has the nicest sand~
Movie World next! I don't really remember this place since I visited the place when i was a kid. But this time round, it feels small. And i rem there used to be characters walking around for photo taking.. No more? The characters are only there during the parade. 4D show (ice age) wasn't fantastic either.. I like the not-exciting 3D ride though.. Lol! Left the place around 4+ when the sky is getting dark.. The place closes at 5pm i think? Sigh.. that's australia. gotta get used to completing our plans before 5pm everyday!
Went back to Surfer's Paradise to have our dinner at a restaurant called Seafood Empire. The western food was good! Especially the steak and caesar salad~
Day 4 [270513]
Woke up super early to catch our flight to Melbourne~ Picked up our vehicle which accompanied us throughout our days spent in Melbourne. Car wasn't exactly the cleanest.. But at least it served us well during the 5 days.
Had lunch at this cosy place called Druid's Cafe which also offers free wifi, hence we are happy to nua inside till we can check in our apartment. Hahah.. They sell all kinds of food, western as well as fried rice.
Milano apartment was our 2nd accommodation. We loved this apartment! 真的是一分钱一份货.. We paid most for this place and it didn't disappoint us. The apartment was so cosy, clean and nice~ Supermarket is just downstairs and train/buses were walking distance away.
Took the tram and went to the various attractions for our photo taking. Nice architecture. Went to Chinatown in the evening for dinner.. Chinatown is a good place! The whole stretch is full of all kinds of restaurants and small shops.. And the best thing is these shops open till later hours! Went into this 'Vietnam Noodle House'.. The hot beef soup and rest of the dishes were good, esp in the cold weather~
Day 5 [280513]
Our long road trips started. First stop was the Brighton Bath Boxes. These colourful houses are so cute and photogenic! We spent a good 1.5 hours just taking photos.. haha. After that we saw Burger King nearby so stopped for a quick lunch.. Then off we go to 'Willow Creek' Winery.. A pity that it's the wrong time of the year to visit a winery. Nonetheless, we bought a bottle of wine to share (and kena cheated -.-).
Last stop of the day was to reach Philip Island for the Penguin Parade before the sun sets. It's really a pity that photos aren't allowed at all. We sat beside the sea and waited for the penguins to come home.. Almost got frozen with the sea breeze.. Hahaa. And when the penguins swam back, they walked all the way to their individual homes. They were practically just beside us when they walked home! An amazing experience :)
And after that was the scary drive back to Melbourne in the dark. And it was really in the DARK. The street lamps were as good as nothing, except in the city area.
Day 6 [290513]
Our road trip continued.. Drove to Torquay for lunch since it was on the way to Great Ocean Road. Had lunch in this restaurant called 'Frontbeach' and it was really expensive! The seafood platter cost us $75aud! After that it was my turn on the wheel! Haha.. My first time driving overseas~ It was a long drive to Great Ocean Road.. I drove for 1.5 hours on a road with only empty fields beside, with some cows occasionally -.- Haha! And the best thing was we took a different route as what we planned, nearly got lost and couldn't reach the 'Twelve Apostles' on time! But thanks goodness we just managed to reach before sunset. Phew.
Checked into our apartment late at night - Parkview Motel at Port Campbell. Finally had chance to eat the cup noodles which we brought all the way there.. Lol. This 2-storey apartment was like a chalet. And there was some hilarious and horror story in the middle of the night, shan't share here =p Luckily we were only staying there for 1 night!
Day 7 [300513]
Visited a few more attractions along Great Ocean Road before we have to make our way back to the city - 'The Arch', 'London Bridge', 'The Grotto' and 'Loch Ard Gorge'.
Found this place called 'Frying Nemo' near our apartment to have lunch before we set off for our long drive again. A very small shop but they serve the best fish and chips!!! Am missing it now..
Stopped at Geelong to take photos of their famous bollards. They have many of those along the whole stretch. Then we stopped at a boat house for a cup of hot Flat White~ Relaxing life.. Hahaa.
On our way back, we managed to catch a full rainbow and the sunset after the rain! So desperate for photos that we stopped at the petrol station to take photos.. Lol. By the time we reached the city, it was already dark. So we went back to Chinatown for dinner.. Found this 烧腊 shop and they were tempted by the duck rice. I think hunger spoiled our brains, we didn't realise how big a plate of duck rice was and ordered 1 plate each. Faints! The girls left heaps of rice untouched after the meal.. hahah.
Day 8 [310513]
Our last day in Melbourne. Went to the famous Queen Victoria Market for breakfast and shopping~ We finally had a sumptuous breakfast compared to our budget breakfast every morning (corn flakes, milk and fruits).. Haha. Then we walked around the section for shopping, managed to grab a number of items! Lastly, we couldn't resist the temptation of the cheap fresh oysters. $12aud for a dozen! Bought 1 plate and immediately ate them. We also bought some prawns and sea urchin to try.. My first time trying sea urchin and it was yucks! Not gonna eat them anymore..
Went back to Druid's Cafe for lunch as we were worried we would be super hungry after the flight. Rushed to the airport after and we panicked due to our 12kg excess baggage. No thanks to the heavy nuts, manuka honey and wine.. Lol! Unpacked and repacked.. Managed to scrape through.. Phew!
Reached our apartment at night.. Have to survive with Mac for dinner.. Haha. Our last apartment - Silverton was a disappointment. Everything looks old and creepy.. Oh well.. Can't complain since it's the cheapest apartment on our list.. Haha..
Day 9 & 10 [010613 & 020613]
Thankfully, there is a breakfast place just opposite the apartment so we went for a good breakfast! Our 2nd visit to the Surfer's Paradise to take more pictures before we proceeded to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. The whole place was quite small, managed to take my 2nd pic with a koala again~ And the kangaroo enclosure is quite cool.. They are free to roam around!
When we were done around 4pm in the afternoon, we went back to Surfer's Paradise for some shopping.. Was so sad we didn't have more time! Surprisingly, the clothes are quite cheap considering their high standards of living.. We could have bought more given more time. The shops were all closing at 5pm.. Zzz.
Had ramen for dinner at this japanese place called 'Hakataya Ramen'. The ramen is good!!! Tasty and spicy~ I miss it!
Drank the wine that we bought at Queen Victoria Market at night.. Haha.. Chilling and chatting our night away since we need to fly on the next morning..
A last pic with the friendly Fred before leaving Australia..
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This trip did change my impression of Australia a little.. I don't used to like this place because I find it very boring.. Maybe a free and easy trip did help.. Since we are able to plan our time and visit places of our choices. Would visit other parts of Australia in future when there's a chance!
