East Coast Australia Road Trip

This is an itinerary from a few years ago, but because it was so unforgettable, I still want to record it. The entire trip was planned by my colleague, and since my driving skills are terrible, I couldn't help much either. In the end, I just obediently followed the group and didn't make any requests...

In Australia, traffic keeps to the left, so you need to get used to it on the road. We accidentally took the wrong highway exit or drove on the wrong side, which scared oncoming cars quite a bit. The traffic rules are very different from those in China, and there are yielding rules that everyone strictly follows; otherwise, accidents are likely.

Our route was: Gold Coast -- Sydney -- Canberra (the capital) -- Melbourne -- Great Ocean Road.

We flew from Gold Coast to Sydney because this stretch is the longest and there aren't any special attractions along the way. Then we drove all the way from Sydney to the Great Ocean Road, and from the Great Ocean Road back to Canberra, where we flew home.

There were six of us in total. We stayed in log cabins or apartments along the way, and when conditions allowed, we cooked our own meals. We flew with Singapore Airlines, with a transit in Singapore. The food was good, the flight attendants were beautiful, and the ticket cost less than 3,000 RMB. During the layover, we shopped at the airport duty-free shops. The itinerary was Hong Kong to Gold Coast, and return from Melbourne to Hong Kong. The whole trip lasted 11 days and cost about 10,000 RMB in total.

On the Gold Coast, we rented a house from a farmer and visited his farm.

The little calves were so cute. My friend couldn't resist buying feed, and the calf took the whole hand (including the feed) into its mouth, slowly swallowed the feed, then spat the hand out, leaving it covered in saliva... It was quite a sight, so I didn't try it myself. The farm also grew kiwi fruit, and we visited the workshop where they made kiwi jam. They gave us two jars of jam to eat with bread the next morning.

At the zoo, koalas cost 20 or 30 Australian dollars to hold and take photos with.

The kangaroos at the zoo were very cute and could be petted freely. We often saw silly kangaroos standing by the roadside, and some had been hit and turned into roadkill. But if you see a wild kangaroo, don't go near it, or it might kick you flying.

The beach at Gold Coast wasn't really suitable for swimming – big waves and cold water.

Next, we flew to Sydney and visited the University of Sydney, Fisherman's Wharf, Darling Harbour, and the Sydney Opera House.

What impressed me most about the University of Sydney was the handsome men and beautiful women, all with long legs.

The seafood at Fisherman's Wharf was very fresh, but not cheap – about the same as in China after converting to RMB? The woman shucking oysters was from Tahiti. She came to Australia as a tourist, fell in love with her now-husband at first sight, and stayed. Tahiti... a dream destination.

We were lucky to catch the annual Vivid Sydney light festival.

Then we drove to Canberra. Canberra is the capital of Australia. Apart from Parliament House and a shopping plaza, there's not much else... Basically, people who work in Canberra don't live there... Haha.

In Canberra, we visited Parliament House and the Royal Australian Mint. At Parliament House, we even got to hear a lively debate among parliamentarians about how to use funds.

Next, we went to Melbourne to visit friends, had dinner, and set off the next day for the famous Great Ocean Road.

The Great Ocean Road was scenic all the way, with many places to stop and enjoy the view, and many small towns along the way. Since we were short on time, we only stopped during meal times or at famous attractions such as the Devil's Elbow, London Bridge, and the Twelve Apostles.

The first place we stopped for lunch looked like a lake, but the beach a hundred meters away was actually the ocean, and the water was salty.

Along the Great Ocean Road, the wind and waves were strong, and the seawater was freezing, so it wasn't suitable for swimming. But we saw many locals surfing in the water.

At the Twelve Apostles, there was a helicopter ride available, but it was too late – they were about to close at 5 PM.

Loch Ard Gorge.

Silly alpacas. When they saw us stop the car, they just stood there motionless, staring at us.

We passed through Great Otway National Park to see the rainforest and wild koalas.

The guy in the blue backpack is my colleague who took me along. Although he often plays tricks on me, I still thank him for taking me on this awesome trip.

At a koala gathering spot, there was a koala quite low to the ground. We parked behind another car and got out to look at the koala. Then a few people got out of the car in front, picked up stones and branches, and threw them at the koala, trying to get it down. While they were laughing and talking, I heard Mandarin with a Dongbei accent... My ex-boyfriend is from Harbin, so I'm sure I didn't mishear. No offense to any region – uncivilized behavior can happen anywhere. I felt a bit embarrassed as a Chinese person seeing this. My friend kept whistling and clapping to try to scare the koala away. We spoke Cantonese, and those people probably realized we were Chinese too, so they dropped the stuff and left...

In May, I was still wearing a coat, but the surfers weren't afraid of the cold.

London Bridge. It used to be connected at this point. When it collapsed, there were still two tourists on it. Fortunately, they were on the outer edge and didn't fall into the sea; they were later rescued by helicopter.

Below are penguin footprints.

We ended the whole trip at a Chemist Warehouse pharmacy in Melbourne, shopping so much that we almost missed our flight. We arrived at the airport only one hour before departure, but luckily everything went smoothly and we boarded on time...