East Coast Australia Road Trip

This itinerary is from a few years ago, but it was so unforgettable that I still want to document it. The whole trip was planned by my colleague, and since my driving skills are terrible, I couldn't help anyway. In the end, I just followed obediently as a group member without making any demands...

Driving in Australia is on the left, so you need to get used to it. We once accidentally took the wrong highway exit or drove on the wrong side, scaring oncoming cars. The traffic rules are quite different from China's, with specific right-of-way 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 that was the longest stretch with no particular attractions along the way. Then we drove from Sydney all the way to the Great Ocean Road, and from the Great Ocean Road back to Canberra to fly home.

There were six of us in total. We stayed in cabins or apartments along the way, and when possible, we cooked our own meals. We flew Singapore Airlines with a transit in Singapore. The meals were good, the flight attendants beautiful, and the ticket cost less than 3000 yuan. During the layover, we shopped at the airport duty-free. The itinerary was Hong Kong to Gold Coast, and the return was Melbourne to Hong Kong. The whole trip was 11 days, and the total cost was about 10,000 yuan.

In Gold Coast, we rented a house from a farmer and visited his farm. The calves were so cute that my friend couldn't resist buying feed. The calf took the whole hand along with the feed into its mouth, slowly swallowed the feed, then spat the hand out. The saliva hanging on the hand... It was quite a sight, so I didn't try it myself. The farm also grew kiwifruit, and we visited a workshop where they made kiwifruit jam. They gave us two bottles to eat with bread the next morning.

At the zoo, koalas: 20 or 30 Australian dollars to hold one for a photo. The kangaroos at the zoo were very cute and we could pet them freely. We also often saw silly kangaroos standing by the roadside, and some that had been hit and turned into 'carpets.' However, if you see a kangaroo in the wild, don't approach it, or it might kick you flying.

Gold Coast Gold Coast

The beaches in Gold Coast aren't really suitable for swimming—big waves and cold water.

Then 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 were the handsome men and beautiful women—all with long legs.

The seafood at Fisherman's Wharf was fresh but not cheap; converted to RMB, it was about the same as in China? The woman shucking oysters was from Tahiti. She came to Australia on vacation, fell in love with her current husband at first sight, and stayed. Tahiti... a place of dreams.

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

Next, we drove to Canberra. Canberra is the capital of Australia, but besides the Parliament House and a shopping plaza, there isn't much else. Basically, people who work in Canberra don't live there... haha.

Our itinerary in Canberra included the Parliament House and the Royal Australian Mint. At the Parliament House, we even heard the MPs engage in a lively debate about the use of funds.

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

The Great Ocean Road is scenic all the way, with many lookout points and small towns along the route. Because we were pressed for time, we only stopped at meal times or at famous spots like the Devil's Elbow, London Bridge, and the Twelve Apostles.

At the first stop for lunch, it looked like a lake, but actually the sandy beach a hundred meters away was the ocean, and the water was salty.

Along the Great Ocean Road, the wind and waves were strong, and the seawater was icy, so swimming wasn't suitable. However, we saw many locals surfing.

The Twelve Apostles: there was a helicopter ride available, but it was too late—they were closing at 5 p.m.

Loch Ard Gorge

Silly alpacas; they didn't move when we parked, just stared at us.

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

The one with the blue backpack is my colleague who brought me along. Even though he often pranks me, I still thank him for showing me the world.

At a koala hotspot, we saw one koala close to the ground. We parked behind another car and got out to look at the koala. Then the people from the car in front got out, picked up stones and branches, and threw them at the koala, trying to knock it down. They were laughing and talking in Mandarin with a northeastern accent... My ex-boyfriend is from Harbin, so I'm pretty sure I heard right. No regional offense intended—uncivilized behavior can happen anywhere. At that moment, I felt a bit embarrassed as a Chinese person seeing this. My friend kept whistling and clapping to scare the koala away. We spoke Cantonese, and I think those people recognized it, dropped their things, and left.

It was May, and I was still wearing a winter coat, but the surfers didn't mind the cold.

London Bridge: it was originally connected at this point. When it collapsed, two tourists were on it. Fortunately, they were on the outer edge and didn't fall into the sea; they were rescued by helicopter.

The marks underneath are penguin footprints.

Finally, we ended the whole trip at Chemist Warehouse in Melbourne, shopping until we almost missed our flight. We arrived at the airport just one hour before departure, but luckily everything went smoothly and we boarded on time...