We flew into Melbourne Thursday night and immediately we knew it was our kind of city. The streets were all tree lined, the cafes and shops were all packed with young professionals, and most importantly, our hotel was gorgeous.
We got up early Friday morning, grabbed some brekky (very good!) and headed south down the Great Ocean Road. The Great Ocean Road runs southwest of Melbourne down through the coastal towns of Geelong, Torquay, Lorne, Apollo Bay, Queenscliff, and Port Campbell. It’s a breathtaking road that winds back and forth through the coastal hills of Australia’s southeastern state of Victoria. The main attraction of the Great Ocean Road, and the purpose of our drive, was to see a group of natural limestone formations just off the coast called the Twelve Apostles. The formations got their name based on the fact that originally there were twelve of them, however as waves continually erode their bases a number have fallen over entirely and currently there are only 8 apostles remaining. We thought we would make the journey to see the remaining apostles before they fall victim to the forces of the ocean.
The drive down to the Twelve Apostles is about four hours in total, so we decided to spend Friday night in the small beach town of Apollo Bay. Outside of the summer months Apollo Bay isn’t normally a bustling tourist destination, however to our surprise, in addition to Carey’s birthday falling on the Anzac Day weekend, it also happens to fall on the same weekend as the Apollo Bay music festival. This made for a rather entertaining Friday night as we got to enjoy some local music while celebrating the holidays with the locals. We were told when we checked into our hotel that due to the festival the downtown was going to be “mayhem” all night long. And while it was a great time, it was definitely closer in size and activity to a small town fair than to a normal weekend night in any major city-but very sweet that they were so proud and excited about the big festival and the "mayhem" they planned to ensue on their little beach town!
Our original plan was to get up early Saturday morning and view the Twelve Apostles at sunrise (supposedly this is supposed to be a spectacular site). However, as we got caught up Friday night in the excitement of the Apollo Bay music festival we didn’t make it to the Apostles until around 10:00 Saturday morning, well past sunrise. Regardless, it was still a fantastic site and definitely worth the trip.
We made it back to Melbourne shortly after lunch (which we ate in the car – American style). We then proceeded to spend the next six hours on Chapel Street, Melbourne’s shopping mecca. Needless to say Carey was in heaven and Greg is now caught up on all things celebrity gossip as he spent the afternoon reading magazines while sitting in the obligatory chair that all womens’ clothing shops are required to provide. To compensate for the hours of shopping he was rewarded with an 8 ounce porterhouse steak for dinner. And while it was delicious, the barramundi Carey ordered was even better. As far as food and shopping goes, Melbourne definitely stacks up well against Sydney. Although we probably won’t be saying that too often to the local Sydneysiders, as the Melbourne/Sydney rivalry puts New York/Boston to shame.
The drive down to the Twelve Apostles is about four hours in total, so we decided to spend Friday night in the small beach town of Apollo Bay. Outside of the summer months Apollo Bay isn’t normally a bustling tourist destination, however to our surprise, in addition to Carey’s birthday falling on the Anzac Day weekend, it also happens to fall on the same weekend as the Apollo Bay music festival. This made for a rather entertaining Friday night as we got to enjoy some local music while celebrating the holidays with the locals. We were told when we checked into our hotel that due to the festival the downtown was going to be “mayhem” all night long. And while it was a great time, it was definitely closer in size and activity to a small town fair than to a normal weekend night in any major city-but very sweet that they were so proud and excited about the big festival and the "mayhem" they planned to ensue on their little beach town!Our original plan was to get up early Saturday morning and view the Twelve Apostles at sunrise (supposedly this is supposed to be a spectacular site). However, as we got caught up Friday night in the excitement of the Apollo Bay music festival we didn’t make it to the Apostles until around 10:00 Saturday morning, well past sunrise. Regardless, it was still a fantastic site and definitely worth the trip.
We made it back to Melbourne shortly after lunch (which we ate in the car – American style). We then proceeded to spend the next six hours on Chapel Street, Melbourne’s shopping mecca. Needless to say Carey was in heaven and Greg is now caught up on all things celebrity gossip as he spent the afternoon reading magazines while sitting in the obligatory chair that all womens’ clothing shops are required to provide. To compensate for the hours of shopping he was rewarded with an 8 ounce porterhouse steak for dinner. And while it was delicious, the barramundi Carey ordered was even better. As far as food and shopping goes, Melbourne definitely stacks up well against Sydney. Although we probably won’t be saying that too often to the local Sydneysiders, as the Melbourne/Sydney rivalry puts New York/Boston to shame.All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. Happy Birthday Carey! Click here to see the new pics!
